If you want to discover the 10 best coffees for espresso and espresso-based drinks, you are in the right spot!

Like all specialty coffee lovers, you have many options, from light roast coffees to dark roast, but you might not know where to start when picking a coffee for espresso. We wanted to shed some light on our favorite coffees for espresso and why there is a difference between coffee roasted for drip versus coffee roasted for espresso.

First, we would like to settle some confusion we often run into when talking to customers; there is no difference between coffee beans and espresso beans. Espresso is just a brewing method, but often, customers perceive espresso to be something wildly different than coffee. As specialty coffee roasters, we can tell you that we roast and source coffee specifically for specific brewing methods, including espresso. The difference consumers perceive it is more around roasting and sourcing versus espresso being something completely different than coffee.

Before we kick off our favorite coffees for espresso, we would love to introduce ourselves. We are Coffee Bros., a specialty coffee roaster based out of NYC founded in 2019. We pride ourselves on what we deem as the four pillars of running a coffee company: sustainability, quality, consistency, and freshness. You can read more about our company and mission here.

As coffee roasters, we are constantly sampling coffees for our business and trying everything on the market. As roasters, we sample and cup thousands of coffees a year between what is sent to us from our partners and through the quality control of our own coffee. We also love to see what else is on the market and explore what amazing things other coffee companies are up to.

The list below showcases some of our personal favorite espresso-roasted coffee and a few tips on how to brew it best.

Our most popular selling coffee, our Espresso Roast, is also one of our personal favorites from our lineup.

From the very beginning in early 2018, before launching our Coffee Bros. brand, we decided to craft a roast that would be the ideal coffee for espresso and espresso-based drinks. Our goal was to create an espresso blend that was different from others on the market yet still aligned with our personal preferences. Our Espresso Roast will produce an espresso shot that is bold and smooth, with hints of red fruit and a coffee that can easily cut through milk.

We chose two of our favorite origins to craft this espresso, Ethiopia and Colombia. We also decided early on that just because we are blending coffees doesn’t mean we should hold back on quality. You often find roasters using lower-quality coffee in their espresso blend, but we planned to do the exact opposite. We have been sourcing 87 – 88pt+ coffees for our Espresso Blend, which is unheard of across most of the industry. Though expensive, the exceptionally high quality of coffee allows us to craft the perfect espresso, one free of any imperfections when brewed, and results in a sweet and smooth espresso.

Don’t just take our word for it; read the countless reviews of customers who love brewing with this coffee!

“So I purchased the Espresso roast a few months back to try it out on my new espresso machine. When I received the package, the first thing I noticed was how the aroma of strawberries was literally bursting through the bag. I loved that part. The bag itself was tightly sealed and its quality seemed superior than most coffee brands. The flavor profile was spot on with the coffees taste. If you like strawberry/vanilla then you must give this a try. Not bitter at all (unlike most). I also want make special note that this is a small company run by two brothers and customer service is seriously on point! I've sent them a couple of emails and they respond the same day. That shows someone who cares about the product they are selling as well as their customers satisfaction. I cannot say enough good things about this company. Give them a try and see for yourself.”

– Gloria (Customer)

Founded in 2003 in NYC’s Greenwich Village with the vision of brewing high-quality, unique coffees and espresso, and creating a welcoming space for the community, Joe’s coffee has since expanded to 21 cafes in New York.

Dubbed after their first café, this signature espresso blend touts flavor notes of fig, dark chocolate, and orange. Making the best espresso beans isn't east which is why Joe Coffee blends natural and washed seasonally driven beans from Brazil and Peru, for a balanced espresso that is perfect as a straight shot or in milk drinks. With the best of both worlds, this espresso roast is a blend with an expansive flavor profile.

" Excellent Coffee! I think I can speak for most ...

I think I can speak for most people when I say that all I want is good cups of coffee. High-pressure marketing tries to separate you from your money with claims of 'ten times the normal amount of caffeine because OUR coffee is grown in hydroponic vats under optimum conditions of light and nutrients PLUS our research scientists have cracked the coffee plant's DNA code!' or 'Only the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Board has the right to sell genuine Jamaican Blue Coffee. Look for the label, and if the price seemed reasonable, then you know that it's not genuine JBM coffee. I like Joe coffee. It's unpretentious and while there's a bit of marketing with a nod toward NYC, it's not overbearing. It is what it is: good coffee. It comes as advertised, and I'll drink to that. I've got a thermos full of Joe right next to me on my desk and am enjoying it.

– Syntheto (Customer)

When looking for a high-quality Espresso Roast Coffee, search for coffee roasters who label their coffee or list the optimal brewing method as espresso. Roasters who create “espresso blends” or call out that a particular coffee should be used for espresso is a good sign and means that they specifically roasted and sourced that coffee to make an outstanding espresso.

When searching for the best espresso beans, another thing to look out for is preference. If you are a straight espresso drinker who doesn’t add any milk to your drinks, you have a few more options than those that add milk. As mentioned earlier, lighter roasted coffees can make outstanding and sweet espresso, but its flavors may get lost when any milk is added. We enjoy our espresso with and without milk and often look for something objectively roasted as “medium.”

Know what you want out of your espresso. If you are looking for a bold espresso that can easily cut through 6 – 8 ounces of milk, look for an espresso on the medium to the dark side and one that hits on tastes notes of chocolate, nuts, brown sugar, or maple.

Finally, always buy freshly roasted beans - the further out an espresso is from the roast date the sooner it will begin to lose its lovely aroma, flavor, and even crema.

Brewing the perfect espresso takes time to understand the machine you are working with and the coffee.

Here are some general brewing guidelines, tips, and tricks, to move you toward that perfect espresso.

The three most important factors across any brewing method are time, temperature, and ratio (coffee to water). Without understanding each one of these pieces, you will be playing a guessing game on why your espresso is not coming out the way you want it to.

Time: Time corresponds to the time it takes to reach your recipe’s end weight (the time also includes any preinfusion on your machine). For example, if our recipe calls for a 1:2 ratio, that is, one gram of coffee for every two grams of brewed espresso (18g of coffee to 36g of brewed espresso), the time it takes to reach the 36g is what we are measuring. Ideally, the average time to hit a 1:2 ratio coffee can range between 30 – 40 seconds. Brewing an espresso too long or too short has a significant impact on the final taste; test the extremes and then adjust your grind size to achieve an espresso brewed faster or slower.

*Note, the above assumes your espresso tamping is equal pressure for each shot. We suggest using a spring-loaded tamper like Normcore’s V4 to ensure consistency.

Temperature: Temperature refers to the temperature of the water leaving the espresso group head and into the portafilter. Machine temperature readings can vary quite a bit once the water starts to leave the group head (the longer the machine is on or ambient temperature can also affect this number). We suggest starting at 198 – 202 degrees and varying the temperature based on your end goal for the espresso. If brewing a dark espresso, consider lowering the temperature below 200 to offset any bitterness. A lighter roast coffee will do well at higher temperatures.

As always, and with the above suggestions for time, make one change at a time, record what works and what doesn’t, and then move on to the next factor.

Brew Ratio or Recipe: Your brew ratio or recipe significantly affects how well your espresso shot will turn out. First, understand the basket size of your machine and how much coffee it can handle. Shoving 20g of coffee into a basket size that can only handle 18g will slow or choke your shot and make it quite hard to hit optimal brewing ratios.

Once you know the amount of ground espresso your basket size can hold, apply your brew ration 1:2 or other to determine how much coffee you should use. As mentioned above in the time section, your brew ratio and or incorrectly loading your basket can make your shot turn out poorly.

While this is not a full tutorial on how to brew the perfect espresso, we wanted to provide a few tips to help you on your way. We didn’t cover the importance of an even consistent grind or topics like distributing your coffee using tools like the WDT. Keep an eye out for future more robust brewing guidelines for espresso!

When it comes to the best espresso beans, these ten highly skilled roasters are a great place to start! As mentioned earlier, look for roasters that have coffees specifically for espresso. Some roasters, like ourselves, have an Espresso Roast, while others might say that a particular coffee was roasted with espresso in mind.

Finally, we would love to hear from you and some of your favorite espresso roast coffee experiences. It doesn’t have to be a coffee you purchased but maybe a cafe where you had an outstanding espresso. Do you have a favorite espresso roast that we don’t have listed here, shoot us an email, and we’ll give it a try and potentially add it to the list!