In this article we talk about the best tasting espresso beans and the best tasting espresso drinks. To us at Latte Love Brew, to produce the most delicious espresso you need the best tasting beans, the best equipment and, of course, make the best espresso drinks that bring out their flavors.
Keep reading as we dig down into this topic.
What Constitutes The Best Tasting Espresso Bean?
It is not the coffee beans that define what an espresso is. It is the brewing method and the roasting of the beans that do. The grind size, water pressure, water temperature and equipment used have everything to do with it.
To make the best tasting shot of espresso, your espresso beans must be very finely ground to a powder like grind size of 200 to 250 microns and compact so that they can sufficiently resist, but not resist too much or too little. The 9 bars (130 PSI) of pressure that forces the hot water past the coffee grounds while being in contact with them for long enough to produce rich, thick crema on top.
The water temperature must be in the 195F to 205F (92C-96C). The extraction of the flavors should take 25 seconds to 30 seconds. Strictly speaking, to produce a great shot of espresso you need to use an espresso machine.
Other brewing methods, like a pour over, drip coffee machine, moka pot or an Aeropress cannot produce the pressure that you need to make an espresso shot.
The origin, notes, aroma play a role in how an espresso will end up tasting when it is perfectly brewed.
Espresso beans are roasted at a higher temperature and slightly longer than regular coffee beans to produce a darker color, more prominent coffee oils, and stronger flavors.
The actual coffee beans used in an espresso are not different from other, regular coffee beans. The only difference is their roast profile and how they have been roasted. All coffee beans started out the same.
Read: Strongest espresso beans
What Are The Top 10 Best Tasting Espresso Beans?
The following coffee beans are what I consider to be the top 10 best tasting Espresso beans and, to put it mildly, they all make an amazing shot of espresso.
#1 The Dharma Espresso Blend By Temple
Roast Profile: Medium Roast.
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Both whole beans and pre-ground are available.
Flavor Profile: Expect notes of sweet berries, caramel and cocoa.
Origin(s): Brazil, Ethiopia and Costa Rica.
This is a very well, sorry, amazingly well roasted blend of 3 different coffee beans from countries and 2 very different parts of the world. Expect notes of nuts, chocolate, caramel and sweet berries.
It’s a very, very tasty blend as all 3 beans are processed differently with the Costa Rican beans being honey processed bringing out notes of almonds and hazelnuts. The Brazilian beans are wet processed and washed, are heavier in body and have a chocolate sweetness.
Ethiopian beans are naturally processed and bring out a fruity taste.
Overall, the Dharma is absolutely amazing for pulling espresso drinks of all kinds, be it a macchiato, latte or a ristretto.
#2 Lifeboost Coffee Espresso Beans
Roast Level: Dark Roast
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Beans Only.
Tasting Notes:This is a rich and lightly sweet coffee that has some very bold tones of caramel and chocolate. Subtle and low in acidity.
Origin: Nicaragua
This company is focused on organic healthy coffee that is mycotoxin free. Their coffee is fair trade certified and organic. These Nicaraguan coffee beans are wash processed with spring water and sun dried and are 100% Arabica coffee beans.
These are bold, rich and have tones of chocolate, caramel and have a subtle fruitiness. There is a very nice, intense, attractive aroma. A low acidity coffee. If you are not a fan of single origin, I do encourage you to try this one. Absolutely perfect for shots.
#3 Coffee Bros. Espresso Roast
Roast Profile: Medium roast
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Both. You can buy whole bean or pre-ground.
Aroma: Caramel
Flavor Profile: Strawberry, Vanilla and sugar cane.
Origin(s): Colombia And Ethiopia.
Coffee Bros makes an excellent medium roast here. It is a blend of only 2 beans, but two great beans. These beans in an espresso roast bring out a peculiar hint of strawberry, sugar cane and tones of vanilla and caramel.
#4 Tanzania Peaberry By Volcanica Coffee
Roast Level: Medium Roast.
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean Coffee
Flavor Profile: A sweet coffee with fruity with tones of lemongrass, plums and nougat.
Origin: Tanzania.
I’ll put it lightly. These beans are amazing and there is very little between all in the top 10, especially on the top 5. If you want to push the boat out and get your hands on expensive beans and fancy and change from Lavazza Super Crema then Tanzania Peaberry is a fabulous choice.
Your taste buds will thank you for it!
It is a single bean coffee and fruity tones with a rich, butter like body with hints and notes of lemongrass and nougat coming through.
Expect a very tasty espresso.
#5 Hair Bender By Stumptown
Roast Level: Dark
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean Coffee
Flavor Profile: Balanced and sweet.
Origin(s): Indonesia, Africa and Latin America.
Sumptown, I am a big fan of their beans, their quality is outstanding. There is a reason why they are the leading coffee company in the third wave of coffee. Their attention is on cultivation, origin and sustainability.
The name, Hair Bender, is in dedication to the beauty parlor that occupied their first roastery before them.
Hair Bender has a earthy and fruity notes with hints of citrus and dark chocolate tones. A bright and full-bodied coffee with a rich texture.
#6 Sightglass Organic Crown Point.
Roast Level: Medium
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean
Flavor Profile: Butterscotch, chocolate and raspberry.
Origin(s): Ethiopia, South America and Central America.
Sightglass and their organic crown point is ideal for you if you love strong and sweet coffee. This goes great with milk based coffee drinks like a macchiato, mocha, latte, flat whites and cortados. Expect tones of chocolate, raspberry and butterscotch.
The blend of 3 beans rotates seasonally throughout the year with two Latin American beans and Ethiopian beans. The two Latin beans are the ones that change seasonally.
#7 Penrose Blend By Blueprint Coffee
Roast Level: Medium
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean
Flavor Profile: Smooth And Syrupy with tones of roasted marshmallow with chocolate and nougat hints.
Origin(s): Brazil, Colombia.
This is an excellent espresso blend that tastes great all year round. It is a seasonal two bean blend with the coffee beans changing depending on the season. This is good, it ensures year round high quality. Their Brazil and Colombian blend has a nougat, chocolate tones and can be described as smooth and syrupy.
This is perfect for espresso that requires only a splash of milk, like a cortado, macchiato or mocha.
#8 Cuvee Coffee Karmadillo Dark Blend.
Roast Level: Dark
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean
Flavor Profile: Caramelized sugar and Milk chocolate.
Origin(s): Indonesian, Ethiopian with Central American and Latin American beans.
These beans from Central America and South America are unknown. They mix well with the Ethiopian beans to produce a dark, rich, complex flavors that coffee connoisseurs love with notes of milk chocolate and caramelized sugar.
A shot of well brewed espresso on its own tastes lovely, delightful on its own and goes well with the espresso drinks that need steamed milk.
#9 Red Bay Brazilian Cake Lady.
Roast Level: Medium Roast
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean
Flavor Profile: A cake like aroma with a citrus zest and hints of golden raisins with a mild acidity and touches of chocolate
Origin(s): Bahia Brazil
This is a unique espresso blend with a cake like aroma. It’s sweet, yet has a zesty citrus taste with full body and hints of nougat and golden raisins with tones of chocolate. A single origin coffee bean that is somewhat of a peanut butter meets Nutella blend.
It makes for a very addictive espresso that you can’t get enough of.
#10 Blue Horse 100% Kona Coffee
Roast Level: Medium Roast
Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean
Flavor Profile: Spicy, vanilla with almond and honey sweetness.
Origin(s): Hawaii, America.
These beans are pesticide and herbicide free but are not USDA certified as organic. Available in both dark roast and medium roast. With the medium roast, you get more of the flavors from the beans into your cup of coffee. These are the best Kona beans you will find, and are certainly worth it.
Expect tones of vanilla, almond and hints of spice.
What Are The Top 10 Best Tasting Espresso Drinks?
Espresso is the most versatile of coffees. In fact, 2 out of 3 coffee drinks brewed are an espresso and are often the base for other coffee drinks and not just as an espresso shot.
These drinks below are based on taste, aroma and full coffee flavor and the ability for the flavor to come through the milk.
Here is the list of the best tasting espresso based drinks.
#1 Ristretto.
A Ristretto is the most focused and concentrated espresso drink. It is what I call a focused espresso shot. It’s smaller and has a stronger coffee to water ratio of 1:1 compared to 1:1.5 that an espresso has. The result is a shot that has the full flavor and full aroma from the beans. It is also the strongest coffee per ounce – more than an espresso.
#2 Espresso (Double or Single SHOT).
An espresso is the most popular served drink in a coffee shop – be it a single or double shot and serves as the base for flat whites, lattes, cappuccinos, cortados, mochas, macchiatos and many more.
#3 Machiatto.
A macchiato is a shot of espresso with a touch of steamed milk. The milk is usually a very slight dash, a stain. The word macchiato translates to stain or spot, which is why only a spot of milk is used.
#4 Cortado.
It is very popular in Spain with the word meaning “short” which is what this drink is, it is short and has more steamed milk than a macchiato. It is a very balanced mix with more espresso than milk.
#5 Flat White.
A Flat white is very similar to a latte but has less milk. The result is that you have milk based drink that has more of an espresso taste coming through the milk and producing a creamy, sweet finish.
A flat white is bigger than a cortado but smaller than a latte.
#6 Latte.
If you enjoy milk in your coffee, a latte is your best choice. It is made with a double espresso. The Espresso to Milk ratio is normally 1:2, meaning a proper latte is 1/3 espresso and the rest is made up of steamed milk.
#7 Cappuccino.
There are two types of cappuccino, regular wet cappuccino and a bone dry cappuccino. A bone dry cappuccino is made with a shot of espresso and topped up with an equal amount of microfoam.
A wet cappuccino has equal parts of espresso milk and microfoam.
#8 Mocha
A mocha is an espresso double shot with steamed milk, chocolate syrup or cocoa and topped with whipped cream. Often, cocoa is sprinkled on to the whipped cream. If you are on a diet, watch the calories.
#9 Breve
A Breve is another variation of a latte and is 50% Espresso and 50% milk. when I ask for a breve it’s always a double shot due to the stronger espresso content there is a greater flavor of milk coming through.
#10 Espresso Con Panna
Espresso with whipped cream. It’s simple and great tasting.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Best Tasting Espresso
All the questions answered below are commonly asked questions related to the subject of great tasting espresso. Due to our dedication to helping readers and our followers to brew better coffee, we answer all questions that are thrown our way. If you have a question, ask it!
Which Is The Sweetest Espresso?
A mocha is the sweetest espresso, its an espresso made with chocolate, a little steamed milk and whipped cream. Often the whipped cream is replaced with microfoam, more often a dollop of whipped cream is used.
What Coffee Is Best For Espresso?
The best coffee beans to make the best espresso are Arabica beans of a medium-dark roast. They are rich in coffee oils, flavor and produce a great, rich crema and produce a good body that is not too heavy or too light and full of flavor.
What Is The Tastiest Coffee In The World?
The “Seven From Heaven” most tastiest coffee beans in the world are the following 7 coffee beans.
- 1. Tanzania Peaberry Coffee.
- 2. Sumatra Mandheling Coffee.
- 3. Hawaiian Kona Coffee.
- 4. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
- 5. Brazilian Bahia Coffee.
- 6. Nicaraguan Coffee.
- 7. Panamanian Coffee Beans.
What Tastes Better Coffee Or Espresso?
An espresso tastes stronger than regular coffee as it is more concentrated, more focused due to a stronger coffee to water ratio. An espresso roast is darker roasted coffee that is aimed at satisfying the needs of those that are looking for stronger tasting coffee. A dark roast is not essential as many experts consider a medium-dark roast as a better roast profile for an espresso.
Final Thoughts, Frappé-Ing It All Up, Best Tasting Espresso?
Now you know what the best tasting espresso beans are and what the best tasting espresso drinks are, you can go right ahead and brew them with the beans listed in this article.
All that is left is for you to master your barista skills and get to making those drinks and enjoy great espresso shots and espresso-based drinks.
Derek Marshall
Coffee is love, it's more than love — it's a passion of mine. I've had the luck to have travelled and enjoyed the most exotic of coffee's and unique flavors, brewing methods and techniques of making the perfect coffee from Thai hill tribe coffee to Indonesian volcanic coffee, Malaysian coffee that comes in a tea bag and the array of flavors in Vietnam, from Vanilla to Orange to Coconut to Avocado to even salt coffee and the famous egg coffee. The best part of my coffee adventures is getting to mix with the locals over a nice brew and learning how they make it! I'm cited and referenced on Google Scholar for the topic of coffee.
