Buy a coffee the roaster roasted for espresso. 1,824 in-stock coffees on Bean Clarity from 353 UK and Irish roasters state it, with a median price of £36.00 a kilo across the 1,610 of them priced in pounds. Only 34% of in-stock coffees state a roast target at all, so the label is worth looking for.
This post covers one brewer. For the choice as a whole, from how you brew to what the label leaves out, start with how to choose coffee beans.
Why the roaster’s own label matters
An espresso roast is developed for pressure and milk: roasted a little further, so the coffee gives up its body in a short pull under pressure and stands up to milk. The same bean roasted for filter pulls differently in a machine. Bean Clarity records only what the roaster states. Where nothing is stated, the site says Not stated rather than guessing, and what Not stated means explains why.
What espresso roasts cost
Stated espresso roasts have a median of £36.00 a kilo, against £42.00 a kilo for the 507 stated filter roasts and £38.00 a kilo across every coffee priced in pounds. Espresso roasts come out cheaper at the median, and bag size is the main reason. 1,476 of the priced espresso roasts come in a 1 kg bag or larger, with a median of £35.75 a kilo, and why a bigger bag costs less shows where that saving comes from. The whole price picture is in what speciality coffee should cost.
Choosing without a score
Start with the taste words on the label. A roaster who writes chocolate and nuts is describing a different cup from one who writes blackcurrant and florals, and the flavour hubs gather the coffees by what their roasters wrote.
Origin is a starting point rather than a rule. Counting the countries named on the in-stock espresso roasts, the most common are Brazil (439), Colombia (351) and Ethiopia (178). Those are counts of listings, not a verdict on any origin, and the roaster’s stated target comes first. The origin hubs list every country with its counts.
Decaf for espresso exists too: 223 in-stock coffees state both an espresso roast and decaf. The decaf hub lists every decaf we hold, and which UK roasters sell Swiss Water decaf covers the most common method.
Where to start on the catalogue
The quiz’s “For espresso” filter shows every priced, in-stock coffee whose roaster states an espresso roast: all espresso roasts in stock, with a price. Nothing in that list is ordered by quality, because Bean Clarity holds no tasting data.
No roaster can pay to change a figure or the order of a list; any paid placement is labelled Sponsored.