The World's Leading Coffee Guide
The coffees and espressos that appear below demonstrate exceptional value relative to other coffees of similar quality and distinctiveness as reflected in their overall score. These best value coffees often sell out quickly and may no longer be available. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee.
Evaluated as espresso. Bright, richly sweet, fruit- and cocoa-toned. Pomegranate, dark chocolate, narcissus, hazelnut, vanilla in aroma and small cup. Plush, creamy mouthfeel; sweetly tart finish with notes of pomegranate and hazelnut. Resonant and flavor-saturated in three parts milk; chocolate and tart fruit lead, with narcissus-like flowers ringing into the long finish.
Evaluated as espresso. Deeply rich, crisply sweet, fruit- and chocolate-toned. Dried mango, chocolate fudge, narcissus-like flowers, roasted almond, fresh-cut cedar in aroma and small cup. Lively, silky smooth mouthfeel; resonant, flavor-saturated finish. The chocolate-forward presentation in three parts milk is nuanced by notes of mango and fresh-cut cedar.
Sweetly roast-rounded, richly savory. Dark caramel, pipe tobacco, date, almond, hops in aroma and cup. Sweet-savory in structure with rounded acidity; plump, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish leads with notes of date and pipe tobacco in the short, with almond and hops returning in the long.
Rich-toned, deeply and sweetly earthy. Chocolate fudge, white sage, blackberry, perique pipe tobacco, plumeria-like flowers in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweet-savory structure with vibrant, juicy acidity; delicate, satiny mouthfeel. The resonant, flavor-saturated finish displays notes of blackberry and tobacco in the short, plumeria and sage in the long, and deep chocolate throughout.
Richly sweet, roast-toned. Dried black cherry, vanilla, singed mesquite, baker’s chocolate, nutmeg in aroma and cup. Bittersweet structure with round, gentle acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The resonant finish leads with notes of black cherry and nutmeg in the short, rounding to vanilla-toned chocolate in the long, all supported by an inviting undercurrent of smoky aromatic wood notes.
Evaluated as espresso. Crisp, aromatic, chocolate-toned. Baker’s chocolate, fresh-cut cedar, lilac-like flowers, hints of tangerine zest and fresh-turned earth in aroma and small cup. Fat, full mouthfeel. Chocolate and flowers survive in the short finish, though fade in the long. Quiet and and crisply cocoa-toned in three-parts milk, with quiet complications of flowers and nut, perhaps pistachio.
Balanced, sweetly savory. Lime zest, toffee, fresh-cut fir, cashew, lilac-like flowers in aroma and cup. Quietly sweet-tart structure; full, velvety mouthfeel. Lime zest and toffee carry the finish.
Crisply sweet-toned. Caramel, fig, oak, narcissus-like flowers, almond in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweet structure with brisk acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. The short finish resonates with sweet floral and rich fruit notes, while the long consolidates to almond and oak.
Crisp, bright, richly sweet-savory. Wild honey, black cherry, lemon verbena, hazelnut, rhododendron-like flowers in aroma and cup. Balanced, vivid structure with sweetly tart, juicy acidity; buoyant, silky mouthfeel. Resonant and rich in the finish, where cocoa also surfaces, alongside notes of wild honey and black cherry in the short and vanilla-like florals in the long.
Richly savory, deeply sweet. Ginger blossom, almond brittle, pear, fresh, moist forest notes, wildflower honey in aroma and cup. Structured balance among sweet, tart and savory tastes; crisp, velvety mouthfeel. The honey-toned finish leads with ginger blossom in the short and notes of pear and almond in the long.
Evaluated as espresso. Rich, fruit-toned, balanced. Baker’s chocolate, pomegranate, gardenia, grapefruit zest, fresh-cut fir in aroma and small cup. Lean, smooth mouthfeel; gently drying, cocoa-toned finish, with hints of grapefruit zest. In cappuccino-scaled milk, baker’s chocolate is center stage, supported by notes of sweet-tart fruit.
Evaluated as espresso. Intensely pungent, richly sweet. Dark chocolate, black cherry, almond, myrrh, star jasmine in aroma and small cup. Buoyant, silky mouthfeel; long, lingering finish characterized by dark chocolate and stone fruit. In three parts milk, suggestions of myrrh and star jasmine support the throughline of fudge-like chocolate notes.
Delicate, sweetly bright and gently lemony. Ripe lemon zest, fresh-cut cedar, carnation, roasted cashew, cocoa in aroma and cup. Roundly and lightly sweet-tart in structure; satiny in mouthfeel. Quietly resonant in the finish: flowers and cedar.
Resonant, sweet-savory, original. Baker’s chocolate, fragrant fresh-cut cedar, green grape, almond, wisteria in aroma and cup. Roundly tart, sweetly savory in structure; plushly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor, particularly green grape and flowers, carries into a drying finish.
Quietly and delicately crisp. Candied walnut, peach, honeysuckle, cedar, ripe banana in aroma and cup. Gently and sweetly brisk in structure; light, very silky in mouthfeel. Walnut, peach and cedar in particular carry into a sweet though drying finish.
Deeply rich, sweetly roast-toned. Dark chocolate, raisin, molasses, cedar, a hint of cinnamon in aroma and cup. Sweet in structure with gentle, rounded acidity. The finish is chocolate through and through, with raisin in the short and aromatic wood notes resurfacing in the long.
Richly sweet, spice-toned. Mango, clove, lime zest, dark chocolate, fragrant pipe tobacco in aroma and cup. Crisply sweet in structure with bright acidity; lightly creamy mouthfeel. The rich-toned finish leads with notes of lime zest and clove in the short; both mango and pipe tobacco return in the long.
Evaluated as espresso. Roundly and sweetly tart/pungent. Baker’s chocolate, almond, cedar, tangerine zest, wisteria-like flowers in aroma and small cup. Syrupy, full mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a rather dry though pleasingly chocolate- and cedar-toned finish. Crisp in three-parts milk: dry chocolate and rich floral hints.
Elegant, bright, very sweetly pungent. Starfruit, frankincense, lime zest, roasted cacao nib, narcissus in aroma and cup. Richly sweet in structure with balanced, vivacious acidity. Delicate, silky mouthfeel. The floral-toned finish starts and ends with notes of narcissus, punctuated by starfruit, cacao nib and bittersweet citrus suggesting lime zest, all enveloped in perfumy aromatic wood redolent of frankincense.
Evaluated as espresso. Crisp, richly sweet. Dark chocolate, lily, caramelized walnut, grapefruit zest, fresh-cut fir in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy body; richly drying, citrus-toned finish. Chocolaty and floral-toned in three parts milk.
