Are you new to coffee and trying to figure out where to begin? How about you take a safe route with these 7 top-rated options for the best coffee for beginners? Coffee can be enjoyed in various ways, depending on your preference.
You can always find these options whether you love bold, intense, lighter floral, or fruitier flavor varieties. Further, you can enjoy your coffee by embracing its authentic flavors, with dairy or added nutty flavors.
Even people who love coffee's intense and bold flavors without the effects of anxiety-inducing caffeine can find what works for them. To get you on the right path, here are the best coffee drink options to begin your coffee-drinking journey.
1. Cappuccino
Cappuccino is a popular option recommended for beginners in coffee drinking. While boasting hints of the coffee base, this drink makes parts of the coffee a newbie might find unpleasant. These include bold and intense espresso flavors or any acidity.
The milk and foam added to the cappuccino do an incredible job of easing the taste of coffee. So, you can still enjoy the good parts of the espresso as it is allowed to shine without being overwhelming. Moreover, a cup of cappuccino isn’t challenging to make yourself at home.
It’s not easy for anyone to use a barista-style espresso machine. But you can always opt for a home espresso machine with a pre-tuned frother. The mechanical design of the home espresso machine means you do very little to brew the coffee. Clicking on a few buttons on the machine is enough to prepare your perfect cappuccino cup.
The best coffee beans for making cappuccino are usually dark roast, typically labeled espresso blend or Italian roast. While you can use just about any beans or fine ground coffee, the dark roast produces an exquisite cup.
Lavazza Espresso Italiano Whole Bean Coffee Blend
Our favorite coffee beans for cappuccino are the Lavazza Espresso Italiano Whole Bean Coffee Blend. The medium roast, 100% Arabica coffee comes in a 2.2 lb bag and is made using premium quality, zero GMO beans. This rich-bodied coffee bean blend combines a blend of 100% Arabica beans sourced from central and South America.
As a result, you get a highly aromatic blend with intoxicating fruity and floral notes. The best part of using these beans is that they are great for espresso machines and other coffee makers. You only need to focus on the correct grind level when grinding the beans.
2. Latte
If you love and tolerate milk, you can choose a latte instead of a cappuccino. Now, the difference between latte and cappuccino is their mixture volume. While a cappuccino has a balanced volume of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam, this is not the same for a latte. a latte has more steamed milk with less foam. The espresso and milk are mixed in a latte, as opposed to a cappuccino, which is layered.
Lavazza Super Crema Whole Bean Coffee Blend
To achieve that creamy, coffee shop-quality latte at home, we recommend the Lavazza Super Crema Whole Bean Coffee Blend. The coffee blend combines rich crema and an aromatic profile to complement its full body. The blend offers a mix of floral and fruity notes with hints of roasted hazelnut and brown sugar.
Due to its aromatic Arabica and robusta beans and balanced roasting, it produces a beautifully soft texture and compact crema when used for espresso. Housed in a 2.2 lb bag, the Super Crema blend combines 60% Arabica and 40% robusta to produce a mild and creamy taste profile.
3. Espresso
Espresso is the best option if you don’t want any dairy or added flavor to your coffee. A good cup of espresso lets you capture and appreciate the true essence of coffee. Espresso is so easy to craft that even a beginner can quickly churn out an enjoyable cup.
Unlike regular coffee, espresso has bolder, has less acidity, and has a well-rounded and full-bodied finish. Further, the more robust coffee gives you more richness making it the best coffee drink to introduce you to the world of coffee.
illy Classico Ground Espresso Coffee
One of the best coffee beans to sample espresso includes the illy Classico Ground Espresso Coffee. Pre-ground to the perfect consistency, the medium roast coffee offers the perfect blend for the best cup of espresso. The coffee is made by blending 9 of the finest Arabica coffee beans from different regions of the world.
As a result, you get a rich and balanced coffee blend with exquisite notes of caramel, chocolate, orange blossom, and jasmine. Further, the coffee gives you an excellent bang for your buck, coming with a 6-piece 8.8-ounce can package.
Lavazza Top Class Whole Bean Coffee
If you prefer to grind your beans fresh for an even fresher cup of espresso, go for the Lavazza Top Class Whole Bean Coffee. Housed in a 2.2 lb bag, the whole beans give you ample supply to make many espressos. You can find excellent grinders at home to produce the finest espresso grounds.
The dark roast coffee blend is made entirely of Arabica coffee. Combining the 100% Arabica coffee and dark roasting gives the whole beans a rich aroma with velvety crema. After grinding and brewing, you will also get beautiful soft notes of maple syrup and walnuts.
When brewing espresso, dark roast coffee is always the best. However, you may also find other roasters who sell medium roast coffee specially curated for espresso. You can also look out for coffee labeled as espresso blend or Italian toast.
4. Regular Coffee
If you want to enjoy the authentic coffee taste, regular coffee is the next best thing to espresso. It is an excellent option because it is less concentrated than espresso. This means it is more palatable to a beginner, avoiding any intense and sometimes high acidity of an espresso. The best part of trying regular coffee is exploring various flavor profiles.
After all, this type of coffee doesn’t come with many rules compared to coffee like espresso. Further, you can brew regular coffee using a variety of different methods. You can use an espresso machine, drip coffee maker, or even French press, to name a few.
Starbucks Ground Coffee French Roast
A French roast coffee blend is excellent if you love a lighter roast with hints of fruits and nuts. The Starbucks Ground Coffee French Roast is one of the best coffee to drink black for beginners. This 100% French roast blend lets you enjoy coffee shop quality coffee from the comfort of your home or office.
However, this blend has a more sophisticated and elevated flavor profile. Its dark roast gives the ground beans hints of caramel and smoke. The dark roast also gives the coffee unmatched richness.
You can enjoy 100% Arabica coffee using a range of brewers, including drip, coffee press, pour-over, and moka pot. The coffee also comes with tremendous value, giving you 6 bags measuring 12 ounces each.
San Francisco Bay Coffee DECAF French Roast
Whether you can’t tolerate caffeine or don’t want to experience its effects, you can still embark on a coffee-drinking experience. You can drink coffee with zero caffeine, also known as decaf. The San Francisco Bay Coffee DECAF French Roast Whole Beans are great for brewing regular coffee.
The dark roast beans also do well when brewed as espresso. The decaf whole beans are blended using Arabica coffee beans sourced from central and South America. The beans are dark roasted to produce a bold, full-bodied profile with a striking smoky finish.
On the other hand, the beans are decaffeinated using the Swiss water process that uses and contains zero chemicals. Their sustainable and eco-friendly farming process makes these whole beans an excellent purchase. The kosher dark roast decaf beans come packed in a 2-lb bag.
5. Coffee Pods
Coffee pods are popular options for people who want to enjoy more convenience in brewing coffee. After all, most pods simply require you to load them into a brewer, press some buttons and let them do the rest. Further, these pods come in various flavors and coffee types, whether you want espresso, regular coffee, or specialty coffee drinks.
The only downside to these pods is you must cross-check when purchasing them to ensure they are compatible with your machine. For example, some coffee pods produced by the Nespresso brand may not be compatible with pod machines produced by another famous brand, the VertuoLine machines – or vice versa.
Additionally, some coffee drinkers don’t necessarily like pods, stating that the coffee doesn’t produce authentic flavors or a strong coffee aroma. Ultimately, you can only draw your own conclusions by actually tasting coffee. After all, many coffee drinkers love pods not only for their convenience and the zero-brewing skills they need. They also love them for their flavors and aromas.
Nespresso Capsules OriginalLine Ispirazione Variety Pack
Give coffee pods a try by investing in the Nespresso Capsules OriginalLine Ispirazione Variety Pack. With up to 50 pods, this value pack lets you try different espresso blends in medium and dark roast options.
The variety pack contains Nespresso’s best-selling pods, each in 10s, including Capriccio (intensity 5), Ispirazione Genova Livanto (Intensity 6), Ispirazione Roma (Intensity 8), Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio (Intensity 9), and Ispirazione Ristretto (Intensity 10). Each capsule's names simply represent the coffee's intensities, ranging from intensity 5(Capriccio) to intensity 10 (Ristretto).
Each pod brews about 1.35 ounces of coffee, enough for a complete espresso. On the other hand, each capsule is made using 100% recyclable aluminum, so you can contribute to protecting the environment.
The Two Rivers Coffee Flavored Coffee Pods are a better option to explore more coffee flavors. Compatible with Keurig K Cup Brewers, the assortment of flavored coffee contains 40 pods. Flavors include chocolate, maple, chocolate vanilla, and hazelnut, to name a few. This assorted pack is an excellent sampler for people starting, allowing you to pinpoint your favorite flavors.
6. Coffee Powder
Coffee powder offers another excellent way to enjoy coffee. Also known as instant coffee, coffee powder refers to re-brewed ground roasted coffee beans. Because it is usually brewed, you can instantly turn the powder into a coffee drink by adding hot water.
So, coffee powder is an excellent option if you want to enjoy coffee with even more convenience. But, it has limitations; you can only enjoy it as black coffee or café au lait (coffee with milk). You can’t make specialty drinks, like cappuccino or latte.
Nespresso Capsules OriginalLine Ispirazione Variety Pack
But, you can find pre-made coffee powder in these specialty drinks. Our personal favorite is the Hills Bros Instant Decadent Classic Cappuccino Mix. Like genuine, freshly made cappuccino, the mix offers balanced sweetness and the characteristic frothiness and decadence.
The mix also produces a rich and creamy, delicious cappuccino. To enjoy it, all you do is add hot water and let the mix (with pre-added sugar and cream) do the rest. The gluten-free cappuccino mix is also pretty versatile, letting you use it as a base for a range of other cappuccino-based drinks.
For example, instead of hot water, you can add cold water, mix it, and add ice for a cold drink. Each mix sachet contains 14 ounces of powder, enough for a full cup or glass of cappuccino.
Nescafe Clasico Dark Roast Instant Coffee
For classic coffee, choose Nescafe Clasico Dark Roast Instant Coffee. The value package comes in 12 84-sachet boxes, giving you enough coffee to make up to 84 cups. The instant coffee offers a rich and bold flavor made with premium coffee beans. But, since it comes in instant powder, the acidity is well-tuned for a balanced taste with no bitter aftertaste.
This makes this instant coffee great for discovering new coffee flavors. Living up to its name, the Nescafe brand uses dark roasted, 100% Arabica coffee to deliver exceptional full flavors with distinct crema and aroma to this instant coffee. To enjoy the premium coffee, pour the contents of one sachet into your coffee cup, add piping hot water, and enjoy.
7. Iced coffee
A less traditional coffee drink, iced coffee is the best way to make coffee for beginners during warm weather. The most straightforward iced coffee contains regular coffee added with ice. You can also find other varieties of milk, too. However, iced coffee comes in countless variations.
You can even find specialty iced drinks like an iced vanilla latte or the unique affogato. While it sounds complex, affogato is pretty easy to make at home. You only need three key ingredients, i.e., a shot of espresso, ice cream, and dark chocolate sauce.
You can also spike it a little by adding amaretto. To make it, layer a scoop of ice cream in a clear coffee or cappuccino cup, add the espresso shot and drizzle chocolate sauce and amaretto (optional). You can also enjoy more mainstream specialty iced drinks in coffee shops like Starbucks and Tim Horton’s.
Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee Drink
The Starbucks frappuccino is the best coffee from Starbucks for beginners to try. You can also find it bottled and available to go. The pre-bottled Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee Drink comes in a 13-ounce bottle and comes in a 12-piece carton to enjoy anywhere you are.
The coffee drink has a buttery caramel flavor and uses real Starbucks coffee with creamy milk. A coffee shop classic, the drink uses 100% of the finest Arabica coffee beans for an explosion of pleasant flavors.
Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew Drink
Alternatively, you can opt for the canned Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew Drink. Who said coffee for beginners has to be boring? You can also delve into the coffee-drinking experience by trying a less conventional and more fun coffee drink.
Housed in a 9.6-ounce can, the flavored coffee drink comes in an 8-pack carton. This value pack also gives you an assortment of two flavors to pick your favorite. You will get 4 cans of the dark cocoa sweet cream and 4 cans of vanilla sweet cream flavors.
This cold brew drink uses real coffee infused with nitrogen. This, in turn, produces an exciting explosion of creamy texture and smooth velvety taste when you pop open the can. On the other hand, using the finest Arabica coffee beans for the drink pairs well with the different flavors.
The combination helps to produce one of the brand's best cold coffee drinks. To enjoy its refreshing and smooth flavors, take the coffee drink chilled.
Meet the expert
Donaldina is a coffee lover and freelance writer from Tanzania. Coffee runs deep in her family - tracing its roots to her grandmother’s running of their first coffee farm in the mid-70s. She enjoys spending her time writing and co-running her grandmother's small robusta coffee farm with her sister in northwest Tanzania during the summer seasons.