I used to be a die-hard Starbucks fan—every morning meant a venti iced coffee from the drive-thru. When I tried making coffee at home with store-bought Starbucks iced coffee, it never hit the same, and I’d end up back in line, spending more money.
Over the past few years, I’ve learned a lot about coffee and discovered some great coffee options outside of the Starbucks brand for making delicious drinks at home. If you’re looking to start making more coffee at home but aren’t sure what to buy, this post is for you!
ESPRESSO
no such thing as “espresso beans”
First things first—there’s actually no such thing as “espresso beans.”
You might see labels like espresso roast or espresso blend, but all that means is the roaster thinks those beans taste great when brewed as espresso. You can still use those same beans for pour over, cold brew, drip—any brewing method you want.
Espresso isn’t a type of bean—it’s a brewing method.
It’s a small, highly concentrated shot of coffee that’s used in drinks like lattes, macchiatos, mochas, shaken espressos, americanos, and more.
And here’s the important part:
You can use any coffee beans you like to make espresso at home, even if they don’t say “espresso” on the bag.
So rather than looking for the word “espresso” on a bag of coffee, look for:
- The roast level you prefer (light, medium, dark)
- A roast date within the past 1-4 weeks (the fresher the better)
- Flavor notes you like best: sweet, nutty, chocolate, fruity, graham cracker, etc
If you love milk-based drinks like lattes (same 🙋🏽♀️), a medium roast is usually a great place to start!
BEANS:
Press Coffee Twitch Espresso Blend– medium roast
These are my absolute favorite beans for espresso! They’re a medium roast, so a little darker than the Spitball below, but they have beautiful sweet cherry and dark chocolate notes. These beans have a very pleasant distinct taste, and my husband and I have loved these for years. You can buy them online at Presscoffee.com at any Press Coffee shop location, or some Sprouts Farmer’s Market grocery stores carry them too!
FLAVOR NOTES: CHERRY, DARK CHOCOLATE, SWEET
ROAST LEVEL: MEDIUM
ORIGIN: 66%NICARAGUA / 34% MEXICO
Press Coffee Spitball Espresso Blend – light roast
My husband and bounce between these and the Press Twitch Blend above and we have them on subscription because they are THAT GOOD! I very much recommend giving these a try if you love a light or blonde roast espresso!
FLAVOR NOTES: STRAWBERRY, CHOCOLATE CREAMY
ROAST LEVEL: LIGHT
ORIGIN: 60% COLUMBIA / 40% ETHIOPIA
I used to only get blonde roast espresso from Starbucks, but my whole world changed when I tried these beans. I cannot recommend them enough for light roast espresso coffee lovers.
Sight Glass Coffee Organic Owl’s Howl– medium roast
I tried these for the first time in at a coffee shop (shoutout to The Coffee Berry) in San Francisco and I fell in love. They’re a medium roast coffee with Cacao Nib, Stone Fruit, Candied Orange Peel notes. You can buy online on the Sight Class Coffee website or at The Coffee Berry coffee shop in San Francisco, CA.
FLAVOR NOTES: CACAO NIB, STONE FRUIT, CANDIED ORANGE PEEL
ROAST LEVEL: MEDIUM
ORIGIN: CENTRAL AMERICA/ EAST AFRICA
Cartel Coffee Blend Forty-Eight – medium roast
One of my favorite local coffee shops here in Arizona is Cartel Coffee Lab. These beans are the same ones they use in store for all their espresso drinks. It’s a smooth, balanced, medium-light roast that I really like for lattes, shaken espressos, and mochas. You can buy in-store at any Cartel location or online!
FLAVOR NOTES: MANDARIN ORANGE, DARK CHOCOLATE, AGAVE
ROAST LEVEL: MEDIUM
ORIGIN: BRAZIL/ COLUMBIA
COMETEER COFFEE CAPSULES:
Cometeer coffee is drip coffee that has been brewed 10 times the strength as regular drip coffee and then flash frozen. So it is perfect for using like espresso in espresso based drinks. Simply melt the coffee by placing in the fridge overnight, or run the capsule under warm water for a couple minutes until fully thawed.
Note this coffee is DIFFERENT THAN NESPRESSO AND KEURIG because it’s already brewed coffee, not ground coffee that still needs to be brewed. You just melt and it’s ready to drink.
Use 1 melted cometeer capsule + 6-8 ounces of milk or water
My favorite Cometeer capsules:
- Proud Mary Humbler
- Winslow Coffee Co. The Companion
- Onyx Southern Weather
- Counter Culture Fast Forward
- George Howell Santa Lúcia
- Go Get Em Tiger Luz Divia Fierro
My favorite decaf capsules:
NESPRESSO ESPRESSO PODS:
Nespresso has single espresso pods, double espresso pods, and coffee pods. Make sure if you want espresso for espresso based beverages (not just a large 7.77 ounce cup of coffee), you get single or double espressp pods. These are categorized as:
- espresso 1.35 ounces
- double espresso 2.7 ounces
My favorite Nespresso espresso pods are:
- Double Espresso Dolce (double shot pods-great for blonde roast espresso lovers)
- Starbucks by Nespresso Vertuo Line Iced Double Espresso Blonde (double shot blonde roast espresso pods)
- Orafio (single shot pods-these are a medium roast with lovely caramel notes)
- Double Espresso Chairo(double shot pods-these are a medium dark roast with woody cereal notes)
- Bianco Doppio(double shot pods-these are very light, very mild in taste with nutty flavor notes)
- Peru Organic (single shot pods-these are a medium roast espresso with fruity flavor notes)
- Cafecito de Puerto Rico (double shot pods- these are very dark roast and bold tasting, representative of traditional Puerto Rican coffee)
For a 16 ounce latte:
- use 2 single espresso pods
- OR use 1 double espresso pod
For a 24 ounce latte:
- Use 3-4 single espresso pods
- OR 2 double espresso shot pods
If you’re not sure how many shots of espresso are in your typical Starbucks drink, just check the Starbucks/Dutch Bros/Dunkin apps. They should tell you exactly how many shots they add to each drink depending on the size!
Instant Espresso
If you don’t own a machine, no worries! You can still make great espresso based drinks using instant espresso! My favorite options for instant espresso include:
- Nescafe Gold Instant Espresso (light/blonde roast)
- Cafe Bustelo Instant Espresso Coffee Powder Jar (dark roast)
Instant espresso is essentially espresso that has been brewed and then dried to be in powder or crystallized form. You rehydrate it by adding a small amount of warm water, to make espresso shots to use in lattes, macchiatos, mochas, and more!
I recommend NOT following the measurement instructions on the jar or the box, but rather using:
1 teaspoon of powder + 1 ounce hot water for every espresso shot
- Single shot: 1 teaspoon instant espresso + 1 ounce warm water
- Double shot: 2 teaspoons instant espresso + 2 ounces warm water
- Triple shot: 3 teaspoons instant espresso + 3 ounces warm water
- Quad shot: 4 teaspoons instant espresso + 4 ounces warm water
For more intense flavor, use less water. For less intense flavor, use less of the espresso.
COLD BREW
Cold brew is a different type of coffee than espresso because it’s brewed differently.
To make cold brew, you steep coarse ground coffee in cold water for a long period of time to extract the coffee deposits. This method uses a cold brewing process rather than a hot brewing process like you’d see in pour over, drip coffee makers, or french press coffee.
The result is a very bold and smooth, low acidity coffee product! If you often order cold brew from coffee shops, these are some of my favorite recommendations for at home cold brew:
See this post for 3 Ways to Make Cold Brew at Home!
I recently discovered the Bizzy Cold Brew Smooth & Sweet Medium Roast Grounds and I am IN LOVE! The cold brew doesn’t come out bitter at all; it’s smooth, sweet, and has just the right amount of boldness and coffee flavor!
Stok Unsweet Bold Cold Brew
My favorite bottled cold brew is the Stok Unsweet Bold Cold Brew bottles. You can find these at almost any grocery store in the milk or juice aisles. Stok has various cold brew options, some that are sweetened, unsweetened, more bold, and less bold, so you absolutely have options depending on your preference.
I like to buy the unsweetened cold brew so I can add my own syrups for flavor and sweetness. The green label bottle is my top favorite, but I also really like the brown label bottle which is their Espresso Blend. Even though that one has the word espresso on it, it is still cold brew and you use it to make cold brew drinks, not espresso drinks.
ICED COFFEE
Iced coffee is a third type of coffee-different from espresso and different from cold brew, again, because it is brewed differently.
Iced coffee is made by brewing hot coffee and then adding ice. There are tons of different iced coffee brewing methods such as brewing a pot of coffee and adding ice, brewing a 7.77 ounce Nespresso coffee pod and adding ice, brewing coffee using a pour over or french press and adding ice, or using instant coffee powder with water and adding ice.
Here are my favorite coffees and recommendations if you love iced coffee:
COMETEER COFFEE CAPSULES:
Like I mentioned above, Cometeer coffee is drip coffee that’s been brewed 10 times the strength as regular drip coffee and then flash frozen. Once thawed/melted, you can add it to ice and cold water to make an iced coffee drink.
Simply melt the coffee by placing in the fridge overnight, or run the capsule under warm water for a couple minutes until fully thawed.
Note this coffee is DIFFERENT THAN NESPRESSO AND KEURIG because it’s already brewed coffee, not ground coffee that still needs to be brewed. You just melt and it’s ready to drink.
Use 1 melted cometeer capsule + 6-8 ounces of water
My favorite Cometeer capsules:
- Proud Mary Humbler
- Winslow Coffee Co. The Companion
- Onyx Southern Weather
- Counter Culture Fast Forward
- George Howell Santa Lúcia
- Go Get Em Tiger Luz Divia Fierro
My favorite decaf capsules:
These are a medium roast pod with smooth and cereal notes. I find them to be lovely as an iced coffee option, especially when paired with my Homemade Brown Sugar Syrup and a splash of heavy cream.
I like this Nescafe Ice Roast instant coffee powder a lot! It’s easy to use, has great flavor, and is super affordable.
My preferred ratios:
1/2-1 tablespoon powder + 8 ounces water
- Combine the Nescafe Ice Roast instant coffee powder with cold water.
- Stir well until the coffee powder is completely dissolved.
- Add your favorite syrup flavor, your choice of milk/cream/creamer, and add ice on top!
Starbucks Pike Place Instant Coffee
Another at home iced coffee option is to buy instant coffee. You can buy individual single serving packets or buy a jar/tin of the instant coffee powder.
Mix 1 packet with 6-8 ounces of cold or room temperature water and then add your syrups, milk and ice.
This option is simple and there’s not much work involved! Personally, I really like the Starbucks VIA Instant packets. You can find these at Starbucks locations, grocery stores, or on Amazon. I prefer the Starbucks Blonde Roast or the Pike Place Roast for iced coffee.
I also use instant coffee to make at home frappes, so I like that they have various uses! See all my at home frappe recipes HERE!
HOT DRIP/FILTER COFFEE
These are my coffee recommendations for any drip or filter coffee brewing method such as:
- AeroPress
- Pour Over
- Moka Pot
- Coffee pot
- French press
This is a single origin coffee from Brazil. It is a medium light roast and has chocolate and hazelnut flavor notes.
This is a washed coffee from Volcan Valley in Panama. These beans have milk chocolate, nougat, and oat flavor notes and are unbelievably delicious and flavorful in a cup of hot coffee. I like to use these especially for Pour Over coffee.
Cometeer Coffee Capsules
Have you noticed how versatile Cometeer coffee is?
Add the frozen coffee puck to a mug, and pour 12-14 ounces of hot water over the top to melt. Add in your favorite creamer and stir to mix.
My favorite Cometeer capsules:
- Proud Mary Humbler
- Winslow Coffee Co. The Companion
- Onyx Southern Weather
- Counter Culture Fast Forward
- George Howell Santa Lúcia
- Go Get Em Tiger Luz Divia Fierro
My favorite decaf capsules:
Nespresso Melozio Coffee Pods
These are a medium roast pod with smooth and cereal notes. I find them to be lovely as an iced or hot brewed coffee option, especially when paired with my Homemade Brown Sugar Syrup and a splash of heavy cream.
DECAF COFFEE
If you didn’t know, my husband drinks decaf coffee everyday! He’s gotten me into drinking decaf a lot more than before, and these are my favorite options:
These are a medium roast pod with smooth and cereal notes. I find them to be lovely as an iced coffee option, especially when paired with my Homemade Brown Sugar Syrup and a splash of heavy cream.
Stok Unsweet Bold Cold Brew Decaf
Get the same smooth and bold taste of Stok cold brew but in a decaf option!
I love this natural process coffee with chocolate, stone fruit, and round body notes. Press Coffee is one of my favorite roast to order specialty coffee company and this decaf coffee is just another one of their many great coffee options.
Decaf Cometeer Capsules
I hope this post was helpful for you in determining which type of coffee you should buy for your at home coffee. Of course there are tons and tons of different brands and companies out there, these are just my favorites that I have come across over the past few years.
If you have a favorite coffee that you buy, drop it down in the comments below so I can try it out! I love exploring new brands and products so I can share even more great options for you and this community of barista homies!
Drop any questions below, and I hope you have the most beautiful coffee filled day friend!
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