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I remember preparing the family cafetière for my parents and loving the aromas of the ground coffee as I opened the bag.
Using ground coffee is a different ball game to instant and the quality of the coffee is so much better.
Ground coffee however can be a bit of a minefield as a consumer.
There are heaps of choices, all with slight variations and flavour profiles on top of an exploding amount of coffee roasters in the UK
We receive coffee from various roasters to taste and review for our coffee club boxes, so I’ve sampled many of the UK’s finest ground coffees over the years.
Whether you’re brewing ground coffee in an espresso machine or a cafetière, there’s sure to be a coffee I’ve tried that will suit your taste.
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Ground coffee can be found in pretty much every supermarket in the UK. Often marketed with a strength from 1 to 5.
Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy supermarket coffee, some of the ground coffee that you can buy in supermarkets today isn’t too bad.
I also get that people have been drinking the same coffee for years and have acquired a taste for Asda’s own brand ground coffee.
But…
If you’re willing to part with a few extra pennies.
The world of specialty coffee offers the very best ground coffee in the world alongside sustainable supply chains so you can be sure farmers are happy too.
So, if you are in the market for some of the most delicious ground coffee in the world read on…
10 Best Ground Coffees 2024
I’m Tom, and I’ve been working in the coffee industry for over a decade. My journey began as a barista in Australia, followed by working on coffee farms in South America, and roasting coffee in the UK.
Today, I review and write about specialty coffee beans (and ground coffee). I am the founder of Batch Coffee Club, which features the finest coffees from around the UK.
1. Batch Coffee Club
Leave it to the Pros..
Coffee Menu – 2 World Beating Coffees In Each Box
Volume – 2x200g.
Grind Size – Cafetiere, Filter, Aeropress, Moka Pot or Espresso
Shipping – UK
Batch Coffee is all about showcasing some of the best coffee in the world.
From the UK’s most talented coffee roasters through to pioneering coffee growers at origin.
We champion independents and celebrate speciality coffee in a non-intimidating way.
We want to not only introduce speciality coffee to people that have never tried it before but also appeal to all of those self confessed coffee snobs out there. All at the same time as being real and fun.
We don’t take life too seriously but you can trust us to send you two banging coffees in each box.
Use code ‘GROUNDCOFFEE25’ for 25% off your first coffee taster pack.
2. Volcano Coffee Works
Coffee Menu – 6 Blends, 4 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 200g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Filter or Espresso
Shipping – Worldwide
Rating – ★★★★★★★★★☆
Kurt Stewart is the visionary behind Volcano Coffee Works, founded in 2010.
Growing up in coffee-obsessed New Zealand, Kurt created Volcano Coffee Works to bring the exceptional coffee he knew from home to the UK, while also supporting the livelihoods of the communities who grow and produce it.
Volcano began as a coffee cart on the streets of West Norwood and has since expanded into a team of 30 passionate coffee enthusiasts operating out of a state-of-the-art roastery in Brixton.
Kurt, who remains the heart of the business, always roasts the first batch of the day.
Volcano consistently produces some of the best ground coffee I have tasted in the UK at a high volume.
Volcano Coffee Works is committed to complete supply transparency, ensuring they know the origins of their coffee and visiting many of their farmers annually.
Does Volcano Coffee Works sound like the ground coffee for you?
Read the full Batch review of Volcano Coffee here.
3. Assembly
Coffee Menu – 2 Blends, 6 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 200g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Specify Upon Purchase
Shipping – Worldwide
Rating – ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Assembly is a quality and customer-focused coffee roaster based in Brixton, London.
They are among the few UK coffee roasters pushing the boundaries in every aspect of their business.
The Assembly roastery is located in a 19th-century fire station in the heart of London.
Their use of a Loring roaster, a state-of-the-art coffee sensory lab, and event spaces for cuppings demonstrates their commitment to specialty coffee.
Launched in 2015 during the annual London Coffee Festival, Assembly now showcases their coffee on a global scale.
What sets Assembly apart is their emphasis on collaboration.
When I spoke with their business manager, Ed, he explained that the team maintains constant communication with their customers, whether it’s a retail customer buying a 250g bag every other week or a wholesale cafe ordering dozens of kilos per week.
This conversation enables Assembly not only to build strong long lasting relationships and understand their customers wants and needs but also keeps their finger on the pulse of the specialty coffee industry.
These guys ship whole beans as standard but will grind the coffee for you if you specify in the comments box at checkout.
Check out the full Batch coffee review of Assembly Roasters.
4. Origin Coffee Roasters
Coffee Menu – 4 Blends, 9 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 250g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Cafetière, Filter or Espresso
Shipping – Worldwide
Rating – ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Origin coffee was founded over 15 years ago by Tom Sobey and roast their coffee in Cornwall.
Having worked closely with his fathers coffee business growing up, he has always been involved in the industry.
After a trip to Australia in the early 2000’s where coffee culture reigns, Origin was born.
Since then Origin coffee has evolved into a full team of industry professionals, a world class coffee program, 6 coffee shops and an ever evolving product range.
Read the full Origin Coffee Review.
5. Balance
Coffee Menu – 3 Blends, 2 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 250g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Cafetière, Filter, Aeropress, Stovetop or Espresso
Shipping – UK and Ireland
Rating – ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Balance Coffee a vibrant roastery based in London.
Founder James has worked in the coffee industry for 8 years and wanted to create a coffee brand with a mission to inspire people to drink better quality coffee at home.
The coffee that they roast is focused on selling to people who are looking at becoming more of a home barista and create that coffee shop experience in their own home.
With really clean and slick branding their eye-catching watercolour design is a clue about the style of coffee that they offer.
They are not afraid to showcase an unusual origin and may provide that unique bag of speciality coffee you are looking for.
As is now demanded as the norm in the speciality coffee world, Balance wants to ensure they create a positive impact by supporting the livelihoods of coffee farmers at origin which in turn, helps create a sustainable supply of coffee for the future.
All of their green beans are ethically sourced from some of the highest quality coffee farmers from around the world.
Check out our Balance Coffee Review for more info.
6. Horsham Coffee Roasters
Coffee Menu – 3 Blends, 9 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 200g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Cafetière, Filter or Espresso
Shipping – Worldwide
Rating – ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Horsham coffee roasters have come a considerable way from the garage they initially began roasting back in 2012.
They are still a small team and their drive and focus is still the same but they now supply their coffee on a national scale.
Horsham showcase what they call ‘Relationship coffees’. These are coffees sourced by the team through direct links with farmers and producers alongside their import partners. Currently, they have established partnerships in Rwanda, Kenya and Costa Rica.
Horsham’s coffee club options are a choice between the same coffee (if you know what you like) on a repeat order or the roasters choice. The latter then has three different options: subscription coffee beans of the month, organic certified or the single origin selection (a range of 4 x 250g bags).
If Horsham light your ground coffee candle Visit Horshams’ Website Here.
7. Carnival
Coffee Menu – 15 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 230g, 500g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Cafetière, Filter, Aeropress, Stovetop or Espresso
Shipping – UK Wide
Rating – ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Carnival Coffee Roasters, are an eco-friendly, speciality coffee roaster based in the heart of Penge, South East London.
Their love for life resonates through their bright and bold branding that always brings a smile on our faces each time they pop up on our Instagram feed.
Carnival are an inspirational team. Their focus on providing an eco-friendly product is a great example for future roasters to follow.
Their ethics transcend all the way from Colombia where they support sustainable coffee projects all the way to South East London where they offer local delivery on a bicycle.
Their story started in Medellin, Colombia where they grow and produce coffee on their family farm. The farm has been in the family for generations ever since Juan’s Grandfather won a mountainside on the outskirts of the city in a very lucky game of cards.
Even more luckily the conditions were ideal for growing coffee.
Read the full Carnival Coffee Review.
If Carnival Coffee sound like the ground coffee for you Visit Carnival’s Online Shop Here.
8. Pelicano
Coffee Menu – 2 Blends, 4 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 300g, 1kg or 2kg
Grind Size – Cafetiere or Filter
Shipping – Worldwide
Rating – ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Pelicano Coffee Co. are the pioneering coffee roasters based in Brighton.
The sweet spot between great design and superb coffee has well and truly being tickled in Pelicanos case.
Opening their doors to the progressive folk of Brighton in 2014, Pelicano have always kept their customer on their toes and are constantly evolving in the everchanging world of speciality coffee.
If you are an ‘Instagram scroller’ and you happen to follow various coffee roasters then there’s half a chance you have already come across their unique design with each roast depicting a badass coffee drinking character.
The coffee that Pelicano roast is on point with their branding. At the time of writing, they were showcasing 7 single origins including a geisha.
Read our Review of Pelicano.
If Pelicano flip your ground coffee switch Visit the Pelicano Online Shop Here.
9. Caravan
Caravan Coffee Roasters are the laid back pioneering coffee roasters based in London.
After chatting to Fletcher at Caravan coffee roasters for 30 seconds I could already tell that these guys have such a great culture.
Caravan have been around for over ten years now and in speciality coffee that’s quite a long time.
They have now grown into a huge multi-venue coffee roaster that supplies coffee to cafes all over the UK.
The Caravan coffee subscription box is delivered in their slender letterbox friendly postal boxes.
You can opt for an espresso or filter coffee subscription, the former selecting which of the blends you prefer while the latter is the roaster’s choice of seasonal filter coffee.
If you are looking for a decaf coffee subscription they offer the choice of espresso or filter roast.
Check out our Caravan Coffee Review for more info.
Otherwise if this is the coffee for you Visit Caravans’ Website Here.
10. St Martins
Coffee Menu – 1 Blends, 5 Single Origins, 1 Decaf
Volume – 250g or 1kg.
Grind Size – Cafetière, Filter or Espresso
Shipping – UK Wide
Rating – ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
St Martins are the Leicester based coffee roaster with big ambitions.
They have been around since 2010, they were the first coffee roaster in Leicester and have been growing with the speciality coffee industry ever since.
When speaking to Ole from St Martins it always feels as though something special is happening in the Midlands.
With a recent rebrand, they are looking at breaking into the top flight of speciality coffee roasters in the UK.
Their journey was perfectly described using the analogy of a certain local football club that have recently started challenging the big clubs of the UK.
Read more about St Martins in our full review.
If St Martins fries your coffee bean box bacon Visit the St Martins Online Shop Here.
What Is Ground Coffee?
Coffee grows all around the world on coffee trees. They produce a small cherry (usually red) that is harvested and stripped of their fruity outer layer. The seeds (which we know as coffee beans) are then dried and then roasted.
Ground coffee is essentially roasted coffee beans that have been passed through a coffee grinder and broken down into tiny fragments.
How Much Ground Coffee Per Cup?
Generally speaking a cup of coffee will normally have between 12g and 20g of ground coffee. This quantity will change depending on preference, brew method and type of ground coffee.
Some people like a rich, full-bodied, bitter tasting coffee and they may achieve those flavours by brewing their coffee grounds with more than the usual amount of coffee. Visa versa when people opt for a weaker tasting coffee.
The brew method also makes a big difference when we talk about how much ground coffee per cup. Some Aeropress recipes call for 10grams of coffee per cup, while a Cafetière may need twice that.
Lastly, the type of ground coffee may influence the amount of coffee you use per cup. Some coffee is more porous than others (usually down to the roast profile), so may taste better with less dosage.
How To Make Ground Coffee?
Ground coffee is made by grinding coffee beans into small fragments, you will need a coffee grinder to make ground coffee, check out our Burr Grinder Buying Guide.
There are many ways to use ground coffee. Although you can just add hot water and let the ground coffee sink to the bottom (see our guide on coffee cupping to see how the pros do it), I would recommend using a brew method.
There are plenty of different coffee brew methods, one of the easiest and classic ones is the cafetiere. Ground coffee is also used in an espresso machine if you have access to one. Other methods include stovetop espresso makers, Pour Over or Aeropress.
How Long Does Ground Coffee Last?
Ground coffee can last up to 2 or 3 weeks after opening the bag and even longer if you store in the freezer.
The coffee shouldn’t go ‘bad’ and start to mould but the coffee’s complex flavour notes will disappear and you’ll end up with a pretty flat tasting coffee.
Ground Coffee Storage/How To Store Ground Coffee?
If your coffee comes in an airtight bag with a seal then storing the coffee with as much air expelled as possible is fine.
If you are using enough coffee for one brew and not using again for a while it’s fine to store in a freezer (as deep as possible and with no air in the bag).
There are also many airtight coffee storage containers on the market today that work brilliantly at keeping oxygen out and your coffee fresh by creating a vacuum in the container.
Instant Coffee vs Ground Coffee?
Instant coffee and ground coffee are two completely different ways to make coffee.
Instant coffee on one hand is manufactured by brewing coffee grounds to make a super strong coffee solution. This is then freeze or spray dried to make completely soluble coffee granules. When mixed with hot water the granules dissolve to make coffee.
Ground coffee is tiny fragments of coffee beans that have passed through a coffee grinder. When mixed with hot water in whichever way you choose to brew your coffee (espresso machine or french press), the coffee grounds release some of their dissolvable compounds into the hot water which then turns the hot water into a cup of coffee.
Ground coffee is far superior to instant coffee. Instant tends to be the lowest quality and cheapest form of raw coffee beans. The coffee is then roasted to a super high level so the end product will taste bitter and strong.
Although you can also find some pretty low quality ground coffee, pretty much all arabica coffee will be used to make ground coffee and brewed through various methods stated above.
