What's a decently fancy coffee that's still affordable and will be well received even by non-coffee snobs?

I have been making the occasional coworker a cup of aeropressed coffee with good reviews thus far. Being that it is shift work, most of my coworkers are used to drinking the reduced syrup of a pot that’s been left on the burner too long (one coworker thanked me for leaving it for her!). Many don’t even know coffee doesn’t have to be bitter, although some are hardcore enough caffeine addicts that they know what good coffee is, they just get what they can day-to-day.

For Christmas I’m going to make one good cup of coffee for each employee working each shift. I’ll normally take whatever light roast grounds I can get day-to-day (see above), but I wanna jazz this up a little extra.

My wishlist is:

  • Decent
  • Cheap enough to distribute among around 20-30 people
  • No super niche flavors that would be off-putting to a “layperson.”

Any ideas?

HidingCat,

I'm late to this, but really, for questions like these, you really need to state two things:

  1. Roughly where you live. If I recommend something from Indonesia, and you live in the UK, that's not going to cut it, is it?
  2. A hard number for a budget, cheap has different meanings to different people across income groups. Cheap to me as broke student in my 20s is different from me as a working adult in my 40s.
CCMan1701A,

If your in the US, check out whole foods, they have some local roasters in the coffee section. I found paper plane coffee this way which is in NJ.

fritobugger2017,

Possibly something from Counter Culture, Stumptown, or Peet’s.

TheDoctorDonna,

I use Melitta espresso in my aeropress- makes a great latte on the weekends, but also makes a great, bold cup of coffee in the morning too.

Hereforpron2,

Colectivo from Milwaukee. Best prices for really well sourced coffee. They are really a 3rd wave roaster with a starbucks-like cafe setup that allows them to sell much cheaper than others even though they are still sourcing really great single origins and small session roasting. I’ve tried em all and Colectivo takes the price:quality ratio hands down.

Their Brazil is super chocolatey and not bitter at all for folks who don’t necessarily love coffee, but people who really do will still find interesting notes and appreciate how well it’s roasted. a bit of acidity but no bitterness, full body but subtle notes, total crowd pleaser.

oakey66,

I actually prefer stone creek coffee but collectivo is definitely good.

Hereforpron2,

I’ll have to try it!

oakey66,

Their specialty coffees are awesome. Those are a bit on the expensive side but it’s really good.

steinbring,
steinbring avatar

Colectivo is good but I wouldn't sleep on Stone Creek from Milwaukee. They retooled their cafes a decade ago to be less like Starbucks or Caribou and more of a geekier experience. Their selection is pretty baller, their educational programs are neat (https://www.stonecreekcoffee.com/public-classes/), and their devotion to sustainability is admirable, IMHO.

Hereforpron2,

That’s great to know. I’m definitely excited to pick up a bag

OldWoodFrame,

I would look up local roasters and see who sells 5lb bags (if I was making for 30 people it would be 2lbs of coffee so if they have 2lbs get that but no one near me sells that, so get a bean you like and use it for yourself for a while) just get their flagship bean.

Local gets you no shipping costs and no shipping time.

But if I was in the middle of nowhere I’d get this: www.stumptowncoffee.com/products/hair-bender?vari…

tartan,

This is sage advice. Over the years I’ve come to realise that even a mediocre local roaster is always much, much better than anything from Starcunts or any of the other shitty retail beans.

Infraggable,

Rio Grande Roasters Pinon 3 Lb. Bag Ground Coffee a.co/d/cQAtOI6 is phenomenal. It’s super smooth, has a naturally light and subtle dark chocolate background note. This coffee has ruined bad coffee for so many people once they try it. I get “never knew coffee could be like this.” Pretty often from people that try it.

dream_weasel,

I’m gonna try it with the whole bean and see what happens. Thanks for the rec!

Infraggable,

Oh, good catch. Didn’t realize I linked the pre ground and not the whole bean. Enjoy!

GONADS125,

I don’t know if it’s available where you are, but a decent but more entry level brand IMO is Cameron’s Best organic, shade-grown.

I like their breakfast blend and Columbian. If you didn’t know, lighter roasts have a little more caffeine. Source I always go for the light roasts.

tankplanker,

I cannot suggest a widely recommended brand as I don’t have experience of anything I would recommend, however have you considered a medium to dark roast? Most people drinking coffee outside the speciality scene will be expecting a traditional Italian style coffee. This might not be what you are trying to go for but you might get some mileage out of it.

While this is local to the UK and not supermarket cheap it is cheaper than a mid to high end light roast, single origin bean: ravecoffee.co.uk/products/the-italian-job-blend?v… I have had it for group holidays where I am making the coffee and it has gone down well.

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