You don’t have to be a coffee nerd to understand it.

The best ground coffee is the coffee you grind yourself. Whole beans retain their flavor and aroma much longer than pre-ground coffee, and they stay fresh longer.  When you spend the extra minute to grind your own beans, you’ll wind up with a better cup of coffee. 

However, many of us don’t want to bother with beans, measurements and grinders. Even more of us don’t have the time to grind our own beans. When you’re rushing to get ready for work or school, needless to say, every minute counts.

If using ground coffee lets you brew coffee that’s “almost as good,” while saving a little time, that’s usually “good enough.”

That only works if you start with high-quality ground coffee, though. And when you shop at your local grocery store or on Amazon, you’re confronted with hundreds and hundreds of choices. How do you know which brands of ground coffee will produce a cup that’s “almost as good” as freshly ground beans?

We’ve got you covered. Let’s start with buying tips; after that, we’ll list our top choices.

• When you’re buying high-quality produce, there are usually just two choices: organic or non-organic.
• When you’re buying high-quality steaks for a weekend barbeque, there are only a couple of grades (prime or choice) and a few cuts (ribeye, strip, porterhouse, tenderloin) to choose from.
• But when you’re shopping for high-quality ground coffee, the possibilities are endless.

Arabica, Robusta or blends. Five (or more) different grinds. Four (or more) different roasts. Any number of countries (or regions) of origin. Decaf. Organic. Flavored. Fair trade. Sustainable.

How do you make sense of it all?

First, you take a deep breath. Narrowing down the choices isn’t as hard as it first appears. You just have to learn a little more about each of the different types of ground coffee you can select. After that, it’s a breeze.

Arabica or Robusta

We’re starting with an easy one; these are the two varieties of beans that are easy to find in the Western Hemisphere. You probably want 100% Arabica coffee, which is universally believed to taste better than robusta. It’s sweeter and smoother, with complex and delicious flavor notes, and it usually has more acidity. Most of the coffee you’ve tasted, whether it’s at a restaurant or a Starbucks, is made from Arabica beans.

The biggest argument for robusta coffee is that it contains a lot more caffeine. However, it’s usually bitter and harsh with a less-pleasant taste profile (the nicest description you’ll hear is “earthy”). Robusta is most often used to produce instant coffee because the beans are less expensive, but it’s also commonly found in coffee blends, particularly espresso blends. Some people do like to use 100% robusta coffee to make espresso, because it produces a richer crema than Arabica.

Bottom line: Arabica will be more a little more expensive but will taste better. Robusta will be bitter-tasting, but cheaper and more caffeinated.

Coffee Grinds

Coffee drinkers often underestimate the importance of grind size, but it’s one of the most important factors in determining the right coffee to purchase.

Let’s pause briefly to talk about why the grind matters.

Coffee is brewed by pouring hot water through coffee grounds; the water extracts flavor and aroma from the grounds. The longer it takes for water to pass through the grounds, the more flavor and aroma it will absorb.

Coarse grounds are larger, so there is more space between each coffee particle and water flows through them quickly. By contrast, fine grounds are packed closely together, so the water sits in them longer and extracts more flavor. You can get too much of a good thing, though. If the water sits in the grounds for too long, it can get bitter. Not long enough, and it can be sour, too acidic or too weak.

That might make you think that a medium grind would always make the most sense. That’s not always the case, because different brewing methods require different grinds in order to make the best coffee.

Here’s a guide to help you match common brewing methods to the grind you should use.

• Coarse Grind: French Press, Cold Brew, Percolator
• Medium-Coarse Grind: Pour-Over
• Medium Grind: Standard Drip Coffee Makers, Siphon Coffee Makers
• Medium-Fine Grind: Aeropress
• Fine Grind: Espresso Machines, Moka Pots

Those are just guidelines, of course. If you find your coffee doesn’t taste right, you can either change the brewing time or change the type of grind you purchase.

Coffee Roasts

Arabica vs. robusta is a black-or-white between two taste preferences, and most people have no trouble choosing Arabica ground coffee.

Deciding on a roast profile is also a matter of preference, but there’s no “right” choice. Making the decision even more difficult: coffee roasters often use confusing names for their products. Don’t panic, though. Names like “Cinnamon Roast,” “Breakfast Roast” or “Espresso Roast” are really just marketing terms. We’ll deal with those after we discuss coffee roasting and why it matters.

When coffee beans are harvested, they’re green. They also don’t have their telltale aroma, and they won’t produce much flavor if they are just ground and brewed. Roasting the whole beans brings out their flavor and aroma, and the length of the roasting process determines how flavorful the coffee they produce will be. The name of each roast describes the final color of the coffee bean; the darker the roast, the longer it spends in the roasting process.

There are four common types of coffee roasts, each creating a different flavor profile.

• Light Roast: Mild, acidic, smooth, often fruity, not oily. Ground coffees labeled Cinnamon Roast or Light City are light roasts.
• Medium Roast: Less acidic with more body and balance, slightly sweet, not oily. Ground coffees labeled Breakfast Roast or American Roast are medium roasts.
• Medium-Dark Roast: Little acidity, aromatic and strong, full-bodied, bittersweet aftertaste, slightly oily. Ground coffees labeled Full City Roast or After Dinner Roast are medium-dark roasts.
• Dark Roast: Very full-bodied with a very strong roasted taste, no acidity, bitter, often somewhat-spicy, oily. Ground coffees labeled Espresso Roast, French Roast, Italian Roast or Continental Roast are dark roasts.

One thing to remember when choosing a roast: dark roasts usually do not contain more caffeine, despite common wisdom. It’s really light roasts that are generally highest in caffeine content, because longer roasting “burns off” caffeine contained in the beans.

Coffee Origins

You hear a lot about Colombian coffee, and deservedly so. You may also have heard about Ethiopian coffee, Kona coffee, and other coffees from various parts of the world. Truthfully, though, most ground coffee is made from a blend of beans, often from different countries or regions.

Single-origin coffees (with all beans originating in a single country, often a single farm) will usually have the most predictable flavor profiles, and are likely to be bolder with a stronger body. By comparison, blends have been designed to balance out some of the “rough edges” of one region’s signature flavor without muddling or destroying its taste.

If you are considering single-origin ground coffee, or a blend in which one type of bean predominates, here’s a brief look at what you can expect.

South and Central America

These coffees are generally clean and balanced, with a light-to-medium body and medium acidity and sweetness. Coffee from Colombia is known for its smoothness, its citrus flavors and its chocolate aroma. Brazilian coffee will often be heavier, with notes of chocolate, nuts or spice.

Central American varieties are likely to be more acidic and sweeter, with Guatemalan coffee likely to be the best of the bunch.

Africa

Most coffee from Africa comes from two nations, and their beans are quite different.

Ethiopian coffee is usually fairly light in body, with high acidity and complex flavors, if the beans have been “washed.” That means the beans are immediately taken from the coffee plant’s cherry (its fruit). If the beans are “natural” (allowed to dry inside the cherry) the coffee they produce will be heavier, with more body and a fruity flavor.

Kenyan coffee is typically savory, bold and complex – and much less commonly found on the American market.

Asia

Asian coffees are likely to be dark and savory, for two reasons. One is that robusta beans are popular crops in several Asian nations (particularly Vietnam). The other is that much of the non-robusta crop produces varieties rare in the West, Liberica and Excelsa.

The Indonesian ground coffee that you’re more likely to see here is smoky and earthy; you’ll also see Sumatran coffee that is somewhat similar, but with a toasted taste.

Other Considerations When Buying Ground Coffee

Packages of ground coffee often carry other labels, which may factor into your buying decision.

• Organic: You obviously know this one. The beans have been grown with organic farming techniques, meaning no pesticides or chemical fertilizers have been used. If the coffee is labeled “certified organic,” that simply means the producers have paid for expensive USDA certification of their organic techniques.
• Shade Grown: Basically what the name says; being grown under the shade of protective trees gives the beans more time to develop their trademark flavors and aromas.
• Fair Trade: This essentially means that farmers and workers are paid fairly for their crops and work. “Certified fair trade” means the process has been verified by one of several groups that monitor the process. This classification is controversial; some say it still doesn’t assure fair treatment for growers.
• Rainforest Alliance or CAFE certified: Both groups certify sustainable growing practices.

That’s a lot of information, and you’ve probably worked up quite a thirst.

Let’s make some coffee and take care of that.