Vancouver is a coffee crazy city and coffee sales are on the rise. But which brews come out on top?
Most people buy blended coffees that are a combination of two or more varieties of beans. To find the best-tasting brews, Consumer Reports prepared more than a hundred pots of coffee in its labs. Then it brought in a pair of professional “cuppers” or highly trained coffee experts.
The testers blind-tasted 37 kinds of blended coffees. The test included ground, whole-bean, and single-serve coffees.
None of the single-serve products got high marks from taste testers.
But when it came to whole-bean and ground coffees some of the big names, like Folgers and Maxwell House, were outdone by coffees that cost a little more, but really ruled the roast.
The best ground coffee according to testers was Allegro Organic Continental Blend from Whole Foods for $12 a pound. Tasters found it to be complex, with chocolate and smoky flavors.
Another great grind is Starbucks House Blend, a dark roast with hints of chocolate and fruit, for about $11 per pound.
Those prices may sound steep, but that Starbucks works out to 25 cents for a six-ounce cup, far less than buying a cup of its brewed coffee.
If you’re heading south of the border, Blue Bottle Company’s beans, Three Africans, also came out on top. It has a complex flavor with citrus, floral and berry notes and sells for $19 per pound.
