The Best USA 🇺🇸 Grocery Store Coffee

Today, we are looking for the best American grocery store coffee. Which of these big brands should you buy if you're stuck in the supermarket and you don't know which one to choose? The way it's gonna work is this. We're gonna run a giant head-to-head tournament. We've got 32 coffees here, so across five rounds, we will get to an ultimate winner, and I have no idea what it's gonna be. Now, when you're watching me taste these, I won't know what I'm tasting. You might see these little alphanumeric codes on the glasses. That's kind of a process of a kind of blind taste testing, so I have no idea what it is, but we'll make sure you can see what it is I'm tasting. I've got to tell you, I'm incredibly excited. I have wanted to taste a bunch of these brands for years. I've never had Folgers. I've never had Chocfalo Nuts. I've never had Eight O'Clock Coffee. There's loads here I've yet to try, so I'm excited to try them, and I don't really know what to expect. So I guess we should get on with it, get on with round one, and begin the tasting. Now, if I don't like the coffee that you like, and you've bought that coffee for ages, please don't think that's me saying you've got bad taste in coffee. The only takeaway I would say is like, maybe there's a coffee here or elsewhere that you could enjoy more of that kind of a style, but I'm not out to offend people who like the coffee brands that I really don't, even if I have very strong negative reactions to them. Now, before we dive in, I should probably tell you what I think good coffee is. I will tend to prefer coffees that have a natural sweetness to them, that are complex tasting, that have very limited negative flavors. Again, the other way, I probably won't enjoy things that are harsh or very bitter, that have kind of rubbery, earthy, kind of woody flavors to them. I just don't enjoy those as much. Now, at the end of this, you'll work out my favorite coffee, but I'll also, at the end of it, give you some recommendations from everything we tasted across different roast levels. So it's not just maybe what I think is the best light tasting coffee, but also the best medium, the best dark roasted coffee here too. But it's time to begin, and I've no idea where we're beginning. Wish me luck. A difficult first round. This one, more bitter, kind of rougher tasting, but this one kind of weirdly papery and not really that enjoyable. So, surprisingly, I might push through the darker roast. Yeah, something about this is just kind of weird and empty. This one, just way darker, way harsher. This one, much more pleasant in comparison. An easy win. Vegetables. Also vegetables. Probably this is the winner for just being a little bit less harsh, that tiny fraction sweeter, but the taste actually very similar. Super harsh, really no sweetness. Much, much, much better than this. Just like more sweetness, a little bit more complexity. Kind of okay. A little chocolate. A little roasty, but a little chocolate. Oh, no. I know what you are. You, you're the one with chicory. You're the chicory one. Not for me. If you really enjoy this coffee, that's okay. I just really don't like this taste profile. Personally, I much prefer something with a bit more sweetness. This is really kind of weird. I can imagine maybe with a lot of cream it would be okay, but as black coffee, I'm not having a nice time. Heavily bitter. Okay, it's a lighter roast. It's kind of vegetably though, like peas, green peas, but I think I'd rather drink this than that. So this is the winner. Okay, a little bit of sweet, kind of nice. Slightly darker. This one is the sweeter of the two, and for me, a little bit more complex. It's the winner. Pretty harsh, pretty bitter. Very roasty. Very, very, very bitter. This one also dark and roasty, but not as dark and roasty. Not loving either one, to be honest. Really not having a great time with either one, but grudgingly, I will put this one through as the winner. Like a nice vegetable soup with a twist of lemon. No, no, I was a little harsh to this one. This one is lighter. It's got more complexity. It's quite sweet. It's got a little acidity going on here. This is the more interesting of the two. I feel a bit mean kicking this one out this early because it's actually not that bad compared to a lot of other stuff that might've made it through so far, but this is the winner. Acidity. This is a lighter roast. This is kind of interesting. It's weird. I don't know how light it really is, but in the spectrum of things today, so far, it's pretty light. This one, weird. Super bitter for not super dark roasted. It feels dark roasted, but it has this additional bitterness that is quite surprising. This is just a much more interesting cup of coffee all around, the winner. Little dark, little diesely, like upper end of medium to me. Not fully dark roasted, but pretty dark. Super woody, like super, super woody. Nothing else, like slightly burnt wood, and that's kind of it. This, I don't really enjoy it, but it's definitely the better of the two. It's burnt and it's woody. It's burnt and it's woody and it's nutty and it's slightly musty tasting too. So again, worse coffees have been knocked out than this winner, but this is the one that's gonna progress to the next round. Little acid, little acidity in there. Little complexity. Not necessarily the favorite flavors of mine, but okay. We're back to kind of peanut shells. Harsh, bitter. This is kind of weird, but it's definitely a more interesting cup of coffee than this one here. So for that reason, I will put it through. It's that classic, classic dark roast profile. Just all roast flavor. That's kind of it, that's the problem for me. This is really interesting. This feels like a very similar cup of coffee, but fractionally lighter roasted. So this is the one that's gonna go through this time. Okay. Lighter roast. Little bit of caramel in there. Little bit of vegetables. No, it tastes like straw and jute. Tastes a little old and agey in terms of the sort of the raw coffee was a little bit old. This is a better cup of coffee, but this is more complex. Some acidity, some sweet. This just tastes like the green coffee's had better days. I don't know how to say this, but it reminds me of burnt ice cream in the worst way. Really like a creamy texture, but very harsh and bitter. Kind of the same. This is a tough one. Tough decision. I'm gonna put this one through for just being a bit weird. There's something about its texture. It's got a slight sort of spiciness to it and the creaminess, and that's really unusual and confusing in a cup of coffee, which brings us to the end of round one. And I'm feeling a little bit weird, but we're doing okay. I've probably offended most people at this point who buy coffee from the grocery store. That isn't really the intention, but now we're gonna get into more interesting head-to-heads, more competitive. Let's see what happens. Let's say, let's hope everything gets better from here on up. Okay, you're still pretty roasty. Little bit kind of like peas, little bit vegetably, but much sweeter, much more enjoyable, much less bitter cup of coffee. You proceed. Okay, a little developed. Caramel-y, though. Ooh, now. Very similar cups of coffee. Surprisingly similar cups of coffee. I wonder what they are. I don't know what the brands involved here are, but these are staggeringly similar cups of coffee. Shockingly similar cups of coffee. I'm really kind of struggling to pick them apart. Okay, this is the winner. It's fractionally sweeter. That is less bitter. It is more sweet. It's a little bit more enjoyable and complex, but they're really quite close. Okay, a little bit of vegetables. Little bit more bitter. Difficult call. I'm gonna go with the one that's a little less bitter, a little bit sweeter, which is you. I'm not a huge fan of either, if I'm honest, but this is probably the better of the two. Ooh. Surprisingly, you made it through. Really super dark. Not a lot else going on there. Vanilla. Caramel. Interesting. Friendly. An easy, easy win for this cup here. Okay, that's the one that had some acidity to it. Also some acidity, but less. This one is a light roast or light-er in the great scheme of things. This one is also light, but it's got a bit more brightness, acidity, complexity there. This one is not unpleasant, but actually lacks a little bit of character in comparison to this one here. So, my winner. Back to more developed roasts again. Ooh. Surprising that both of these made it through. This one is less dark, bit sweeter, bit more kind of soft and enjoyable in comparison. Winner. So, this decision I just need to talk about because I got it wrong, and I think it's the only one that I got wrong, but I do think I got this wrong, and I don't really understand why. I don't really understand what happened, but of all the judgments I make in this whole video, this one I think I messed up, and I just wanted to interject and say that. I think I was definitely struggling with tasting so many coffees of such different roast levels. That was surprisingly tricky, but yeah, I just couldn't let this one mishap go free. Little dark, but not too harsh, actually. Kind of developed. Much harsher. No, no, no. Yes, this is for a medium, fully developed medium roast. A little acidity. It's got some stuff going on. This is definitely my preference. Okay, friendly. Weird. Okay, I know it did well, because it was weird last time. This is the better cup of the two for me. Bit more acidity, bit more complexity, and frankly, just kind of less weird. If you have made it this far, and you want to know more about how we're brewing these coffees, how we're tasting them, the process of tasting coffee, I'll leave you a playlist on how to taste coffee, how to develop that skill down below, so you can learn more. That's the end of this round. On next to the quarterfinals. Still like a little presence of roast there, but not too dark, nicely developed. Softer, spicier. Is it better? Difficult matchup. You know, they're kind of at a level, I would say. There's not a lot between them. I'll give the edge to this one here, but know that it wasn't a big victory. This one's lighter, brighter, bit more acidity, but it's not truly better in terms of flavor and complexity. There's something I like about this in comparison. It's caramellier, it's kind of sweeter. This has a little bit more zing, but I'm not sure I like it. I'm going to put this one through. Controversial decision, perhaps. That's just a more approachable, enjoyable cup of coffee. Bit friendlier. Okay, little peanutty, little harsh. Much more interesting as a cup of coffee. It's a much lighter roast, but I think it's just a cleaner, sweeter cup of coffee. This one, I kind of have some issues with still. So this is a pretty easy win. Light, bright, clean, sweet. Similar. Interesting these matchups are still happening. This has a slightly kind of grassy, a straw-like quality to it that makes it just slightly less enjoyable than this one here. It's just a bit more kind of put together and enjoyable and balanced. That's the winner. It's semifinal time, and now I'm kind of curious whether this semifinal might be the actual final or not, but I'm probably more curious which coffee I've said nice things about that I'll be kind of shocked I said nice things about. I still don't know what I've tasted yet. This has been so interesting and a journey, a journey. Anyway, semifinal time. Nice, sweet, kind of chocolate. A little fruit, suddenly. I don't think I've noticed that before, but it's got a little bit of black fruit in there that this one does not have. This is so interesting. This now tastes kind of roasty in comparison to this, and this tastes fruity and juicy and enjoyable, so that's my winner. It's just amazing how these have changed by having different coffees to compare them to. Comparative tasting is so, so interesting. Okay, sweet, caramels, friendly, nice. More acidity, a bit lighter, a bit brighter. This is tricky. This is lighter, and I'm drawn to lighter roasts, but it just feels a little bit empty in comparison to this. I would say maybe 85, 90 people out of 100 would probably prefer this one to this one, and that is in the back of my head. Yeah, I'm gonna put it through. I'm gonna put this one through. This one has some nice fruit. It's interesting, but I think this one's probably just a little bit more complete and balanced in comparison. Gotta tell you, I'm curious and stressed. I honestly don't know what's gonna be a winner here. I don't know which one I'm gonna say is the best of the grocery store coffees. Anyway, let's taste the last two. Some acidity, friendly, caramelly. Not a bad cup of coffee. Doing kind of black fruit kind of nicely. It's a bit darker as a roast. I'd call that a medium, and I'd probably call that a light, actually, in the scheme of this whole tasting anyway. I'm torn. Now it's like this. It's really hard to pick. There's issues I have with both of them. This one feels a little underdeveloped. This one feels a little overdeveloped, a little dark. I would say, though, as like a paper-filtered brew, this would probably clean this up a little bit. Before I tell you the result, telling my favorite, don't forget I'm gonna tell you the best, which I think are the light, medium, and dark roasts that we have disqualified and knocked out, so there'll be a few recommendations after this one. I'm gonna go with it. I'm gonna go, this one has the most character. It has the most fruit. It's not a perfect cup of coffee, but I think it's kind of interesting. It tastes of somewhere, and that, for me, is a win. So I'm gonna say, of the coffees we've tasted today, this is gonna be my pick. I don't know what it is. Can I have this one, please? Can you let me know what the disqualified coffee was? Oh, oh. Destroying the place. Tim Hortons? No way! Okay, that's genuinely astonishing. That's shocking to me. I feel like that's genuinely surprising. I had a cup of Tim Hortons coffee some years ago, and I did not have a very good time. That's astonishing. I'm shocked. Let me find out what the winner is now. Oh, Silken Splendor. Fills. Interesting. Is there any information on what I've tasted here? As you can hear, this is the one exception, and this is interesting, the one exception to everything, which is we could buy almost everything pre-ground. This, however, came as beans, so it was ground at an appropriate level. Did this give an advantage? I don't know, but it definitely tastes like there's some interesting coffee in here. I am stunned by the result. I really want to know how everything else kind of came out. I don't know what this means, but you can watch back, I guess, and know what tasted like what. Let me now go and taste everything one more time and give you some recommendations for the best dark, the best medium, and the best light. So it turns out I needed a little bit more time and a haircut to think about these coffees, taste them again, and come back to you with some good advice, but before that, I can't help but mention we have new weird coffee person merch. We have this design by Telene Oka, which I think is wonderful if you need a brain, taking a bath in delicious coffee, and I think that's what we all do every day. There's a Loveromics mug, there's a T-shirt, there's a print, those are available now. There's a link down below. These are, of course, limited edition, so be quick. Let's talk about the coffees. Now, going back and tasting these again was definitely, definitely interesting. The Caribou, this was the lightest, I think, coffee here, and I think it kind of was made to feel a bit empty in comparison to everything else, but if you like light roast, if you don't like any roast in your coffee, then I think this is probably the lightest thing we tasted. I feel it was just maybe missing a bit of sweetness, a bit of complexity, but if you want light, light, light roasted coffee, this would be it. In the medium roasted category, it was kind of interesting. I think Dunkin's showed really well. I'm genuinely impressed by this. Tim Horton's also a little bit of a surprise. Both much more complex coffees in these bags than I've perhaps experienced in the stores over the years, but I haven't been to either one recently, so maybe I'm missing out. Starbucks, just kind of solid, dependable, very medium, medium roast. You know, I don't think I disliked anything about it, particularly, you know, they buy good coffees, generally speaking, so, you know, this was a decent showing. The controversial final recommendation would be for a dark roast, I ended up thinking this was probably the best thing there. I think in the head-to-heads, it lost out by being fractionally darker than the stuff it was up against, but I think the raw coffees in this are probably better, and so if you really like dark roasted coffee, this might be the better recommendation of the dark roasts that I tasted. Even though I kicked it out a little bit early, I think perhaps unfairly, which I think I mentioned in the video. But as for our winner, congratulations to Phil's. A surprise, to me, I don't really know their coffee. This was probably the most kind of specialty tasting of everything that we tasted. It had the most kind of character. What do you think, though? Am I way off? Do you totally disagree with my assessments? Do you have a very different opinion? Should I do this again? Should this be a kind of a regular thing to check in on the state of grocery store coffee in the US? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Did I miss anything out, too? Is there a coffee that absolutely should have been here, but somehow was not? Let me know down in the comments below, but for now, I'll say thank you so much for watching, and I hope you have a great day.