How to Find Good Coffee to Make at Home

Here's everything you need to make a cup that's truly worth waking up for

By Sharon Liao

August 11, 2025

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A top-down view of a cup of coffee, an espresso, a creamer pitcher, and a jar of brown sugar cubes on a purple surface. — People in the U.S. drink 516 million cups of coffee each day.

There’s nothing quite like that first cup of coffee—deliciously hot (or refreshingly cold), rich, a little bitter, and somehow energizing and relaxing at the same time. In the U.S., many people seem to agree: We drink 516 million cups per day, according to the National Coffee Association.

But lately this simple daily pleasure has become a little more complicated—what is a flat white, anyway?—and expensive. The price of a pound of ground coffee has nearly doubled in the past five years. It’s not uncommon to pay $15 or $20 per bag at the grocery store, and specialty coffees can cost even more.

To help you make every pricey bean count and still find a brew that suits your palate, we turned to the experts for advice on choosing and ordering coffee.

In this article

First, Some Good Health News
Shopping Tips
Best Coffee Blends
Coffee Shop Menus Explained
Best Coffee Makers

First, Some Good Health News

Before we get into how to find a coffee you’ll love, let’s talk about a big payoff from a daily coffee habit: It may help you live longer. “Coffee is high in antioxidants, especially chlorogenic acids, that may protect against harmful inflammation and help with blood sugar regulation,” says Marilyn Cornelis, PhD, a coffee researcher and an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Multiple studies show that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and certain cancers.

How you take your coffee and the amount you drink make a difference. Recently, Tufts University researchers found that people who drank one to three cups a day, black or with just a little sugar and/or a bit of milk or cream, were 14 percent less likely to have died from any cause during the study’s nine- to 11-year follow-up than those who didn’t drink coffee. But adding more than a half-teaspoon of sugar, 5 tablespoons of 2 percent milk, or 1 tablespoon of light cream or half-and-half per 8 ounces of coffee cancels the protective effects.

You often hear about the downsides of caffeine—it keeps you awake and makes you jittery or anxious—but not all of its effects are negative. It can increase focus, reduce fatigue, boost your mood, and may even improve memory. But how much is too much? In general, the Food and Drug Administration says that 400 mg a day is fine for most people. Keep in mind that different types of coffee can have different caffeine counts. It depends on the type of bean, the roast (light roasts tend to have more), the brewing method, and other factors. For example, a 12-ounce cup of drip-brewed coffee has 144 mg of caffeine, according to the Department of Agriculture. At Starbucks, 12 ounces has 236 to 293 mg. Either way, that means you shouldn’t drink more than two to three cups per day (assuming coffee is your only source of caffeine), and less if you feel jittery afterward. If you have trouble sleeping, have your cup early in the day.

Coffee Shopping Tips

Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover—but you should judge coffee by its bag. Here’s how to identify high-quality beans with a flavor you’ll love.

Know your beans. There are two main kinds of coffee beans. Robusta is stronger and more bitter, with a bigger caffeine punch. Arabica has a smoother, sweeter, and more balanced flavor, though those beans are harder to grow and are usually pricier. People usually prefer to sip arabica coffees, while robusta beans are often used for instant coffee and espresso.

Consider the origin. Where the beans are grown is known as the “origin.” Coffees can be single-origin—meaning the beans are all from one country, like Ethiopia or Colombia, or one region (or even a single farm)—or a blend of beans from different places. Both have their charms.

“The flavors of single-origin coffees are defined by the places they originated,” says William Murray, CEO and president of the National Coffee Association. In general, Ethiopian coffee is delicate and aromatic, Kenyan is full-bodied and acidic, and Brazilian has nutty, chocolate notes. Colombia and Costa Rica have different growing regions with distinct flavors, but Colombian beans tend to be fruity and citrusy, while Costa Rican beans are known for their bright acidity. But altitude, weather, and other conditions affect the flavor of the beans, so not every coffee from a particular country will taste the same. You might even find that the same single-origin beans from the same company can taste different from time to time.

Blends are crafted to produce a specific flavor. The taste varies depending on who’s doing the blending, but they’re more similar from batch to batch. “The great thing about blends is that they can be both unique and consistent flavor profiles,” Murray says.

Whole bean or ground? Preground coffee is convenient and tends to brew a consistent-tasting cup. But buying whole beans and grinding them right before brewing will intensify the coffee’s flavor and aroma, says Scott Rao, a coffee consultant and author of “The Professional Barista’s Handbook.” That’s because you’re limiting its exposure to air. This is especially key for espresso because the beans are ground more finely.

Choose your roast. Coffee beans are roasted in different ways to produce specific flavors. You’ll see terms like “light,” “dark,” “French,” and “Italian” on coffee packages.

Light roasts tend to produce a bright-tasting, light-bodied cup, Rao says, and often have citrusy or floral undertones.

Dark roasts may be for you if you like dark chocolate, hoppy beer, or licorice. The longer roasting time brings out the beans’ bitterness (in a good way). Dark-roast coffee is strong, rich, and full-bodied, and you’ll often get chocolate, toasty, nutty, or plummy, deep berry flavors. Some may taste smoky. Tip: French roast and Italian roast are just other ways of saying dark roast. French tends to be subtly sweeter, while Italian can be more intense and smoky.

Medium roasts, as the name suggests, are between light and dark. They’re very popular in the U.S., Murray says, but the flavors can be the hardest to generalize about. We saw this in our own tasting. Although the coffees were all labeled medium-roast, our tasters found they ranged from light to very dark.

While knowing the basic differences between roasting styles can help direct you to a flavor you’ll enjoy, these terms aren’t standardized. “For instance, I think Starbucks light [‘Blonde’] roast tastes kind of dark compared to other brands,” Rao says. So you may have to experiment with brands and roasts to find coffee you’ll love.

It’s also worth reading the taste descriptions on the packages. Look for the flavors that appeal most to you, whether that’s nutty, fruity, chocolatey, or a combo. But don’t pay much attention to phrases like “morning blend,” “private reserve,” or “winter warmer,” because those are marketing jargon.

Check for freshness. Oxygen, heat, light, and moisture can degrade a coffee’s flavor. Dark roasts tend to age poorly because their oils oxidize quickly and can taste rancid, Rao says. Light roasts can last longer. Most packages have a “sell by” date. Some will also display the date the beans were roasted, and the closer you are to that date, the better. For bags with valves, squeeze them to get a whiff of the air inside. Avoid anything that smells musty or rancid.

Store it right. Buying a big bag of coffee can save you money—but it can also become stale before you finish it. The solution: Split the coffee into smaller weekly portion packets. Keep one in an airtight container; wrap the others tightly in zip-top bags, and freeze them separately. “They’ll last for three or four months,” Rao says. Defrost a packet each week, then transfer it to the airtight container.

Best Coffee Blends

CR’s professional tasters rated 27 preground coffee blends, assessing their quality and flavor. The results? We found some delicious options at reasonable prices. Here are some of our top picks.

Coffee Shop Menus Explained

Standing at the coffee shop counter can come with a flash of anxiety: What’s the difference between a macchiato and an Americano? And what does “nitro brew” mean? Here’s a cheat sheet.

Espresso
Italian for “expressed” or “pressed out,” it’s made in a machine that forces hot water through tightly packed grounds. Strong and a bit bitter, espresso has a layer of crema, a brown froth from coffee’s natural oils and carbon dioxide.

Ristretto
This is an espresso made with about half as much water (thus the word “restricted” in Italian). A ristretto has a concentrated flavor, but because the water goes through the grounds faster, it’s smoother and less bitter.

Caffè Macchiato
Italian for “stained,” a macchiato is an espresso with just a spot of steamed-milk foam on top. It’s a good choice if you want a little sweetness to soften the bitterness of an espresso.

Cappuccino
Italians drink this espresso topped with an equal amount of steamed milk and foam only in the morning. The custom stems from the belief that milk is harder to digest later in the day. But you can have one anytime.

Latte
A creamier, larger version of a cappuccino, lattes have one part espresso, two parts steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam on top. It’s common for baristas to create patterns in the foam as they pour.

Flat White
Invented in Australia or New Zealand, flat whites are made with a single or double shot of espresso topped with a thick layer of steamed milk. The name refers to the fact that there’s no foam (or very little).

Americano
A nod to America’s love of brewed coffee, Americanos are watered-down espressos (1 to 3 parts hot water to 1 part espresso). It’s meant to be enjoyed black or sometimes with a splash of milk.

Cold Brew
Cold brew is made by steeping grounds in room-temperature or cold water. It’s smoother and less bitter than drip coffee. It can be served iced or heated. Nitro brews are infused with nitrogen gas for a frothier texture.