Every November, when we sit down to assemble the list of the most exciting coffees we’ve tasted throughout the year, we’re reminded that specialty coffee is a field defined by relentless curiosity. This year reaffirmed that truth. In late 2024, our team decided to expand Coffee Review’s Top 30 list to 50 coffees, with the goal of providing readers with a more nuanced window into our experience of the thousands of coffees that hit our cupping table. As we close out 2025, our Top 50 Coffees of 2025 list highlights the producers, roasters, varieties, and processing innovations that shaped the year’s most memorable coffees. This year’s winners reflect the continued rise of hyper-expressive microlots, as well as a renewed emphasis on classic profiles. From record-setting Panama Geishas to surprise standouts under $30 per pound, the 2025 landscape reveals a market defined by both excellence and diversity.
How Do We Choose the Top 50 Coffees of the Year?
We select and rank our top 50 coffees based on quality and distinctiveness, represented by overall rating (read more about how we review coffees), and extrinsic factors like value, uniqueness, innovation, certifications, and overall excitement of the team. Our one hard and fast rule is that no roaster can appear on the list more than twice each year.
An aerial view of the Zou Zhu Yuan Coffee Estate (#47) run by Aaron (Fang Zheng-Lun, known as the “Coffee Prince” and his wife Rainy. Photo courtesy of Caesar Tu.
Origins: A Broad and Expanding Geography
The Top 50 Coffees of 2025 showcase broad global representation, with both established origins and emerging regions earning top honors.
- Colombia – 10
- Hawai’i – 5
- Ethiopia – 5
- Panama – 4
- Guatemala – 3
- Taiwan – 2
- Costa Rica – 2
- El Salvador – 2
- Honduras – 2
- Other Single-Origin (1 each) – 15
Colombia continues to dominate through a combination of variety innovation (from Pink Bourbon to regional hybrids), processing experimentation, and consistently high quality. Taiwan is an emerging origin that is demonstrating high quality out of the gate, likely explained by the country’s robust population of coffee drinkers who seek the kinds of sensory characteristics we’re finding in this origin. And Hawai’i had a strong showing with five placements, reinforcing its positioning in the premium specialty market.
Ratings & Pricing Trends
As in previous years, tariff chaos notwithstanding, higher-scoring coffees tended to command higher prices, and 2025 was no exception. Across the entire Top 50, the average price was $123.77 per pound, but the list is skewed by its Geisha-heaviness. The pricing story deepens when we look at variety. If we consider just the 16 Geishas and Geisha blends, the average is a whopping $240.52 per pound, but if we look at the 34 non-Geisha coffees on the list, the average is $68.82 per pound. Geisha coffees were nearly four times more expensive than non-Geishas. The four 97-point Panama Geishas did elevate the Geisha average, but because all four were legitimately expensive to begin with, they functioned more as the norm than as distorting outliers.
The Monarch Farm, the Island of Hawai’i, the source for Hawai’i Monarch Kona Pacamara Natural Maceration (#49) from Oliver’s Custom Coffee. Photo courtesy of Oliver Stormshak.
Value Standouts
Despite continued upward pressure on prices for the world’s best coffees, 8 coffees on our Top 50 list were priced at $30 or less per pound. This confirms that excellent coffee remains accessible to consumers — even within a field dominated by elite microlots.
- #44 Mystic Monk Coffee, Fair-Trade Ethiopian, 94 points – $15.95/12 ounces
- #16 Speedwell Coffee, Kenya Gondo Peaberry, 96 points – $19.00/12 ounces
- #25 El Gran Cafe, Finca San Ramon Maragogype, 94 points – $20.00/12 ounces
- #31 Bear Lake Coffee, Kenya Baragwi Guama AA Washed, 95 points – $21.00/12 ounces
- #42 Intuition Coffee, Brazil Vinhal Grape Starfruit, 94 points – $21.00/12 ounces
- #36 Durango Coffee Company, Costa Rica Las Lajas Perla Negra, 95 points – $21.95/12 ounces
- #20 City Boy Coffee, Zambia Katheshi Estate Anaerobic Natural, 94 points – $22.00/12 ounces
- #50 Branch Street Coffee Roasters, Honduras Bryan Bautista, 94 points – $22.00/12 ounces
Varieties: Geisha Still Leads, but Diversity Wins the Day
Sixteen of the Top 50 coffees were Geisha or Geisha blends, continuing the variety’s reign as the specialty world’s most prestigious cultivar. Other notable varieties that made our Top 50 include Pink Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Java and Pacamara. The range beyond Geisha highlights a continued interest in specialty cultivars and origin-specific landraces, as well as the creativity of producers working with traditional varieties. There’s even a non-Arabica species on the list, a Malaysian Liberica that scored 92.
Caear Tu’s son at the Guji Eithiopian farm where they sourced the beans for KakaLove’s Ethiopia Washed Guji Bishala G1 25/02 (#3). Photo courtesy of Caesar Tu.
Processing Methods: Continued Innovation
Processing diversity remains one of the defining features of contemporary specialty coffee. Among the Top 50, our list contains:
- Washed – 20
- Natural – 14
- Thermal shock – 4
- Anaerobic / Hybrid Anaerobic – 4
- Carbonic maceration – 2
- Honey – 2
- Co-fermented – 1
While washed coffees remain the most common among top scorers, 17 coffees employed fermentation-led techniques (anaerobic, CM, thermal shock, co-fermented), confirming our experience that producers continue to refine experimental processing into ever-more predictable and successful results.
Geisha saplings at Hacienda La Papaya Farm in Ecuador (Utopian Coffee #8). Courtesy of Adam Walsh, Utupian Coffee.
Roasters: 2025 Highlights
JBC Coffee Roasters took the #1 spot — again. This marks JBC’s second time earning the top position, having previously won in 2023. Their continued presence at the front of the list underscores JBC’s consistent excellence in sourcing, roasting, and profiling competition-grade coffees.
Along with JBC, roasters in spots #2-10 were the most exciting coffees we tasted in 2025. Given the thousands of coffees we cup each year for standalone reviews and tasting reports, it’s an unparalleled distinction in the coffee industry. Learn about these special coffees by following the links below:
- #2 Red Rooster Coffee Roaster
- #3 and Kakalove Café (Two spots; #3 and #7)
- #4 Hula Daddy Kona Coffee
- #5 Heady Cup Coffee Roasters
- #6 Big Island Coffee Roasters
- #8 Utopian Coffee
- #9 Coffee Cycle Roasting
- #10 Magnolia Coffee
Roasters by location:
- United States – 36
- Taiwan – 10
- England – 1
- Guatemala – 1
- Malaysia – 1
- Japan – 1
Taiwan’s strong representation (10 appearances) reflects its flourishing specialty roasting culture and a consumer base increasingly interested in high-end microlots.
Aaron Fang Zheng-Lunoffee examing beans drying on the Zou Zhu Yuan Coffee Estate (#47) at Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. Photo courtesy of Aaron and Caesar Tu.
Roasters That Appear Twice in the 2025 Top 50
Multiple appearances signal both roasting excellence and the ability to consistently identify exceptional lots across origins and processing methods.
- JBC Coffee Roasters
- Kakalove Café
- Utopian Coffee
- Red Rooster Coffee Roasters
- Heady Cup Coffee Roasters
- GK Coffee
- Paradise Roasters
- Big Island Coffee Roasters
- Euphora Coffee
Roasters to Watch: Newcomers to the 2025 Top 50 List
Fifteen of the coffees on the list come from roasters that have never before appeared on the Top 50 Coffees list:
- Heady Cup Coffee Roasters
- Coffee Cycle Roasting
- Press Coffee
- Drink Coffee Do Stuff
- Bear Lake Coffee Roasters
- Old World Coffee Roasters
- 1980 CAFE (Taiwan)
- Ghost Bird Coffee (Malaysia)
- Sea Island Coffee (England)
- Intuition Coffee
- Mystic Monk Coffee
- Jaunt Coffee Roasters
- Zouzhouyuan Coffee Estate (Taiwan)
- Lin Jen-Wei’s Black Jar Coffee (Taiwan)
- Branch Street Coffee Roasters
What Surprised Us Most?
Balance. Harmony. Elegance. Scroll the Top 50 list, and these are the descriptors that come up time and again. Many of this year’s standouts weren’t the loudest coffees — they were the most holistically composed.
Women sorting coffee in Guji, Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Tony Greatorex.
A Year of Excellence and Expanding Possibility
Coffee Review’s Top 50 Coffees of 2025 celebrates another year of remarkable coffees that span a wide range of styles, price points, and origins. From ultra-premium Panama Geishas to accessible everyday-value coffees, from classic washed Ethiopias to complex anaerobics and thermal shock microlots, this year’s list reflects a market that is both maturing and diversifying.
Quality remains high, innovation remains exciting, and roasters across the world continue to push boundaries — ensuring that the landscape of specialty coffee will remain dynamic, expressive, and full of surprises in the years ahead.
Coffee Review’s Top 50 Coffees of 2025 isn’t just a list. It’s a reflection of the global community — farmers, processors, exporters, importers, roasters, and readers who drink the stuff religiously every day — who believe deeply in the craft. Thank you for being part of this evolving story.
