[Top 3] Best Coffee Beans for Putting Some Pep in Your Step

Grinding your coffee grounds from whole beans is the tastiest way to ensure a fabulous cup of coffee.

With all the coffee beans out there, how are you supposed to know which beans are the best?

We happily tested numerous brands to find the best coffee beans of 2024 that you can grind up and brew right now.

Our parameters for the best-tasting coffee beans were based on:

• Taste of the coffee
• Quality of the beans
• Origin

With over 100 million bags exported annually, it’s safe to say that coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world.

It can be a downright delicious way to start your day, but can also be healthy in various ways, including reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.

We know every coffee connoisseur out there would like to find the greatest beans—the beans make the coffee, after all.

This is why we’ve picked out the three best options available in the market today, with a full guide on what to look for in your beans.

Our research brings us to these great coffee beans:

1. Death Wish Whole Bean Coffee—Best Overall
2. Koffee Kult Dark Roasted Coffee Beans—Best Arabica
3. Eight O’Clock Whole Bean Coffee—Best Medium Roasted

How to Pick the Best Coffee Beans

Here are some useful pointers to help you secure those perfect coffee beans.

Type

There are three major types to consider here:

• Robusta: These are highly caffeinated seeds that compromise on flavor to give you a boost of strong coffee. They’re also fairly cheap and easy to cultivate.
• Arabica: These are premium flavor-rich coffee seeds that are priced to match the quality. They also require a very specific set of conditions to thrive under, which is why growing these seeds takes some time, planning, and effort. 
• Arabica and robusta: As both seeds have their inherent strengths and weaknesses, some brands like to combine the two types of seeds to create a unique flavor that’s equal parts strong and delicious.

Origin

There are two major categories to consider:

Single Origin

Seeds that are grown in a single region, such as Brazil or Colombia, are known as single-origin beans.

They tend to have a signature taste and are more valuable than blends.

Some common associations between countries and seeds are that Ethiopian coffee is known to be sweeter and fruitier, while Brazilian java is roasted to be heavy and dark.

Blended

These have been specifically combined to give you a complex mix of flavors. 

This is especially true when picking up artisan blends as the creators of the brews here are well-versed in picking the right seeds to mix and match with one another.

Note that some brands opt for blends to cut costs.

Method of Preparation

Securing the right seeds means only half the battle is won.

The other half involves picking one of the following methods to brew your coffee:

• Drip method: This is the most common method of making coffee, and it requires placing the beans into a paper filter and pouring hot water over it to let the juice drip into a container. Make sure to grind the beans before using this method.
• Cold brews: In this method, you need to allow your beans to sit in cold water for about a day before you begin the roasting. The cold water helps reduce the bitterness of the beans and also reduces the acids and oils in the brew. Low-acid coffee brews are made using this special method.
• French press: This popular method involves pressing the coffee beans to the bottom of a container instead of relying on a filter to extract the liquid. When combined with the right roasts, this method has the potential of creating some truly exquisite brews. 

Acidity

The pH levels of coffee seeds dictate their acidic levels.

While some people are perfectly fine drinking coffee that has high levels of acidity, it can negatively impact others by causing acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome.

If you’re one of those, make sure to look for coffee with a lower pH balance.

A good rule of thumb to judge the acidic levels would be based on the type of beans.

Arabica coffee is known to be far less acidic than Robusta seeds.

Thus, 100% Arabica java is known to have the lowest acidic levels in coffee.

Organic and Fair Trade

Make sure to look for the United States Department of Agriculture—USDA—certifications or other standard certifications to confirm that the beans are grown organically, and the growers use fair trade measures.

Coffee Beans FAQs

Where Are the Best Coffee Beans From?

Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and Brazil have the perfect conditions to create some of the finest coffee beans in the world.

What Brand Is the Best-Tasting Coffee?

We believe the Death Wish Whole Bean Coffee offers you an incredible taste thanks to the grower’s brilliant use of arabica and robusta coffee seeds to give you a rich, dark roast.

What Makes Good Coffee Beans?

The three major factors that help make good coffee beans are the origin of the seeds, the harvesting method used, and the roasting that follows the harvesting period.

Each of these factors is tied to one another, and they influence the final quality of the coffee beans.

What Factors Drove Our Ratings?

The following factors helped us pick the top products on our list.

• Taste: We went with products that offer a uniquely distinct taste that left us wanting more.
• Quality: Only picked brands that provide high-quality beans that are fair-trade certified.
• Origin: We went with a mix of locally and internationally grown seeds for maximum variety and flavor. 

Product reviews were also a large part of our research, to ensure verified buyers were happy with their purchases, and to compare our findings with the reviews.

Here at The Healthy Treehouse, we value quality over quantity. If we felt that the cost was greater than the value of what the item included, that product would be excluded from the list.

Top-Rated Best Coffee Beans—Best Overall

The Death Wish Whole Bean Coffee offers the best dark roast coffee that’s created using a special blend of arabica and robusta beans to give you a great start to your day.

Despite its name, the brand claims to be the world’s strongest coffee!

This blend is made using one of the best-tasting coffee beans around and is packed with double the caffeine in your normal cup—recommended for those who really love their strong cup of joe in the morning.

Its flavor contains subtle hints of chocolate and cherry to balance the strong roast.

Note that this is a completely organic and fair trade product as certified by the USDA.

The beans are also locally grown in the US and are created in a completely natural way without the use of artificial additives.

Taste

If you are a fan of strong coffee, this will likely be your new favorite brand. The flavor and extra caffeine maximize the appeal of your morning coffee routine with chocolate and cherry notes.

Quality

These locally grown beans are grown organically without any additives, which is reflected in the quality of the beans.

Origin

Since the beans are grown in the USA, they are fresher than internationally shipped coffee beans. These are some of the freshest coffee beans we have ever had!

User Reviews

Joe (verified customer) had this to say about these coffee beans: “This is the smoothest cup of coffee I have ever had. Pot after pot – bag after bag, it continuously impresses me and my family.”

Why Buy This Coffee

Medium roast to dark roast lovers will love this whole bean coffee.

Buy this coffee if you are a little bit strong, a little bit dark, and a little bit rock and roll.

Learn more about The World’s Strongest Coffee in this video.

Top-Rated Best Coffee Beans—Best Arabica

Koffee Kult has become a local favorite in the US, thanks to its small batch-roasting method, and then packaging and shipping the product to local sellers to make fresh coffee available to the market.

It’s been making fine artisan roasted coffee for over a decade now, using nothing but high-quality Arabica java.

This Koffee Kult Dark Roasted Coffee Beans boast an incredibly smooth, strong coffee without a hint of bitterness.

This can be attributed to the seeds being sourced from some of the best regions, such as Colombia, Sumatra, Brazil, and Guatemala. 

For taste, some of the notes found in the dark coffee blend include cocoa and cinnamon.

Taste

The imported whole bean coffee of Koffee Kult is strong without being bitter at all. The chocolatey notes give this coffee a luxurious feel.

Quality

By roasting the best beans in small batches, that maximizes the quality of the coffee and provides a delicious, ultra-high-quality cup of joe.

Origin

The seeds are sourced from South America but are grown in the US, so you get the best of both worlds.

User Reviews

Rose (verified customer) said this about her coffee experience: “This whole bean coffee is simply fantastic. It’s almost like drinking dark chocolate. It is better than any coffee I have found at the grocery store.”

Why Buy This Coffee

This coffee produced some of the best coffee grounds; they smelled absolutely delicious before brewing.

If you love a great coffee aroma with locally grown beans, this is the coffee for you.

Top-Rated Best Coffee Beans—Best Medium Roasted

The Eight O’Clock brand has been making some great coffee blends since 1859, all of which have been locally grown and produced in the US.

The brand uses only high-quality arabica seeds to ensure a great taste without compromising on the flavor.

You can pick one of three types of blends in this brand, including mild, medium, and dark.

The flavor in this Eight O’Clock Whole Bean Coffee is sweet and fruity, and it has a truly well-balanced after-taste.

It’s made using Eight O’Clock’s original recipe, which also happens to be its oldest and most famous blend.

Taste

This brand is well-established with a very familiar taste. If you are a regular coffee drinker, you have likely had these types of coffee beans.

Quality

Locally grown in the US, this brand of coffee bean is already established as a high-quality option found in most grocery stores.

Origin

These Arabica beans are fresh, made in the USA, and are certified Kosher.

User Reviews

Nathan (verified customer) wrote this about his coffee purchase: “This is my first coffee review. The price of it is phenomenal – at five dollars a pound, you can’t beat that deal. This is one of the best coffee bean types I have ever had.”

Why Buy This Coffee

For affordable, yet quality coffee, this is the coffee for you.

We love a deal, and these coffee beans are a steal for the taste a quality you receive.

Related Helpful Information

If you are looking for a coffee maker that grinds and brews your coffee for you, check out our list of the best grind and brew coffee makers.

Fan of espresso over coffee?

Check our list of best coffee beans for espresso brewing!

If you are on the go, you may require a coffee machine that keeps your coffee hot all morning.

Read all about the best thermal coffee makers here.

To learn about each type of coffee out there, check out this article to deep dive into the wonderful world of coffee types.

That Perfect Cup of Joe!

The perfect tasting cup of coffee is a purely subjective experience, varying greatly based on our taste buds. 

The Death Wish Whole Bean Coffee, however, can satisfy the most ardent of coffee connoisseurs thanks to its perfect blend of arabica and robusta beans.

This dark brew is specially made with double the regular caffeine content.

It’s also peppered with fascinating flavor notes, such as cherry and chocolate, to give you the perfect cup of joe.

Your Monday morning self will definitely thank you for this!