Best ground coffee: the cheap supermarket coffee that topped our taste test

Which ground coffee house blend really hits the spot? We asked a panel of coffee lovers to taste and rate widely available options to uncover the best.

Our test included ground coffee from Taylors plus eight supermarkets, including Asda, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Tesco.

We found you can save on your morning brew without compromising on taste, as our top-scorer from Aldi is also great value.

Read on to find out how all the coffees compare, and what tasters thought of your nearest supermarket's offering.

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Best ground coffee

Aldi’s coffee came top overall, and it’s also one of the cheapest options on test. Morrisons and Tesco ground coffee were also well-liked, tying for second place.

Best Buy & Great Value: Aldi Alcafé House Blend Roast & Ground Coffee – 73%

£2.19 for 227g (97p per 100g)

Aldi’s coffee was our tasters’ favourite and did well across the board. It looked good and had an enticing aroma, well-balanced flavour and a pleasant mouthfeel.

Aldi’s coffee is a winner on two counts: as well as coming top of the leader board, it’s also cheap enough to bag our Great Value logo.

Available from Aldi.

Morrisons Anytime Ground Coffee – 71%

£2.99 for 227g (£1.32 per 100g)

Morrisons was just a couple of percentage points behind Aldi's Best Buy ground coffee.

Its aroma, mouthfeel and appearance received good marks from our tasting panel.

Opinions were split on whether it was a little too bitter tasting, but overall it’s a good all-round coffee - especially if you favour coffee with a slight kick.

Available from Morrisons.

Tesco House Roast & Ground Coffee – 71%

£2.80 for 227g (£1.23 per 100g)

Looking and smelling good, Tesco’s coffee was also well-liked for its smooth mouthfeel. 

Nearly half were happy with the flavour, although 30% wanted a stronger taste.

 Available from Tesco.

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How ground coffee from Taylors, Lidl and the rest compare

When it came to the rest of the coffees, it was a close-run thing. M&S and Waitrose both got a respectable 70% overall, while others scored lower with tasters more divided over strength of flavour and bitterness levels.

• M&S House Blend Ground Coffee – 70%. Nearly half were happy with flavour strength and bitterness levels, but a nearly a third thought it was a little weak and too bitter. £3.10 per 227g (£1.37 per 100g). Available from M&S (in-store only) and Ocado.
• Waitrose Essential Mountain Blend Ground Coffee – 70%. Just over half found the flavour somewhat lacking. £2.75 for 227g (£1.22 per 100g). Available from Waitrose.
• Asda House Blend Roast & Ground Coffee – 69%. Just under half found the bitter kick a bit much. £2.09 for 227g (92p per 100g). Available from Asda.
• Taylors of Harrogate Lazy Sunday Ground Coffee – 68%. While more than half thought this coffee struck the perfect bitter note, a similar proportion found it too weakly flavoured. £7.50 for 454g (£1.65 per 100g). Available from Amazon, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
• Lidl Bellarom House Blend Ground Coffee – 67%. The cheapest coffee on test and not a bad choice. A little more than 40% were happy with the strength of flavour, but a similar proportion found it too bitter. £1.89 per 227g (83p per 100g). Available from Lidl.
• Sainsbury’s Fairtrade House Blend Original Coffee – 66%. The lowest scoring coffee, but still not bad. However, almost half found it too weak for their liking. £2.80 for 227g (£1.23 per 100g). Available from Sainsbury’s.

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Coffee strength and roast levels

All the coffee in our test had a strength rating of three. This is an indication of the level of roast the beans have been subjected to, rather than how much caffeine it contains.

Unfortunately there isn't a consistent scale for coffee strength, so one brand's three won't necessarily be the same strength as another brand. A brand may have a one to six scale, for example, while another has a 10-point system.

Use the descriptions on-pack to guide you. Medium roast coffees are lighter and smoother compared with coffees that describe themselves as continental or Italian-style, which tend to be a darker roast.

How sustainable is coffee?

The coffee sector doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to sustainability. It  has been associated with deforestation, biodiversity loss and detrimental effects on indigenous communities. 

All the coffees in our test display either the Fairtrade International logo or Rainforest Alliance certification on their packaging. 

To use the Fairtrade symbol, brands must pay a minimum price for the coffee as well as meeting certain social and environmental standards.

The Rainforest Alliance has no fixed pricing structure for coffee and relies only on policing production to lead to social and environmental improvements. Ethical Consumer considers it a weaker scheme than Fairtrade.

M&S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose display the Fairtrade symbol. Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, Taylors and Tesco feature the Rainforest Alliance logo.

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What's the best way to store coffee?

It's understandable if you're confused on this one - a scan of the coffee packs in our taste test reveals conflicting advice on how best to store it.

Asda, for example, recommends putting it in the fridge and consuming within two weeks, or storing it in the freezer for up to six months. 

Aldi says to put it in an airtight container or fridge and use within two weeks. Tesco states its coffee can be kept for two weeks in the fridge or four weeks in the freezer.

Coffee expert Giles Hilton told us it's best to avoid the fridge and freezer altogether, as the moisture can cause the coffee to absorb other smells and dampen the flavour. 

He recommends storing coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight. This will help to prevent the flavourful essential oils from evaporating.

If you do want to opt for the fridge or freezer, making sure the container you use is well-sealed should help to minimise any moisture-related issues.

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How we tested ground coffee

The ground coffee was rated in January 2024 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume ground coffee. The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. 

Each brand of coffee was assessed by 71 people. The panellists rated the flavour, aroma, mouthfeel and appearance of each brand of coffee and told us what they liked and disliked about each one. 

The taste test was blind, so the panellists didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they tasted the coffee was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each panellist had a private booth, so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 30% aroma
• 10% mouthfeel
• 10% appearance.

These weightings are based on how consumers rank the importance of different attributes of coffee.

Can coffee packs be recycled?

Flexible ground coffee packs can't be recycled at home. Some large supermarkets will accept them as part of their flexible plastics collections in-store, There's also a Taylors of Harrogate recycling programme, run by TerraCycle,  that accepts all flexible coffee packaging.

Price and availability correct as of 16 February 2024