Best ground coffee for your cafetière

Ground coffee is roasted coffee beans that have been ground down to be brewed for coffee, much like flour is ground wheat to be used for baking. There are many ways of brewing your coffee whether you prefer to use a coffee machine or cafetière, but they all require ground coffee beans and water.

For the best flavour, ground coffee should be filtered rather than just pouring hot water over it - as you would to make instant coffee - it's best prepared either in a cafetière or French press, using a coffee filter (whether a traditional paper dripper or a filter coffee machine), or even a dzezva (Turkish coffee pot) or Italian stovetop coffee pot - also known as a Moka pot. You can drink ground coffee without filtering it, but the above methods will help to filter out the worst of the leftover granules, for a much smoother brew.

Best ground coffee at a glance:

Best overall: Taylors Of Harrogate Rich Italian Ground Coffee - view on Waitrose
Best decaf ground coffee: Cafédirect Decaf Machu Picchu Fairtrade Ground Coffee - view on Amazon UK
Best for espresso: Lavazza Qualità Rossa, Ground Coffee Espresso - view on Amazon UK

A key thing to look out for in a good ground coffee is the packaging - how it is packaged matters to the quality of the coffee as the flavour can be directly affected by light and oxygen. Therefore, you should only look for ground coffee that comes in an air-tight container, sealed with foil paper with a valve which allows you to smell the coffee.

If you're looking for a flavourful good-quality cup, ground coffee can help you get close to the taste of your favourite coffee shop from the comfort of your kitchen. We've chosen the best ground coffee on the market, from independent companies to coffee subscriptions and supermarket options.

Best ground coffee UK

Types of ground coffee

When buying ground coffee beans you’ll sometimes see a selection of grind sizes to choose from. The trick is to match up your grind type with how you're making coffee at home. For example, if you're making french press coffee, choose a cafetiere/ French press grind option.

Coffee grind sizes

1). Coarsely ground

A coarse coffee grind setting has larger coffee particle sizes compared to medium and finely ground. This is because the brew methods like the cafetiere require a brewing process called 'immersion brewing'. In other words, the coffee and hot water are infused together for a longer period of time (5-10 minutes), and that is how the flavour is extracted.

By comparison, if you were to use a fine grind setting with the cafetiere brew method, you'd likely experience bitterness as a result of something called 'over extraction'.

2). Medium ground

A medium-ground coffee consists of medium-sized particles. This sits pretty much in the middle between a cafetiere style grind and an espresso grind. These grind type is designed to work for brew methods like filtering, that utilise gravity to extract the coffee via water.

3). Finely ground

A fine grind is designed for espresso coffee. Espresso uses applied force from your espresso machine, Turkish brew or Moka potto push/pump water through the puck of ground coffee.

How to choose the best ground coffee

With coffee being highly subjective, it’s really all down to your personal taste preferences, so that means experimenting until you find a coffee you like. There are other factors to consider, however. For example, taste, quality, price, reliability and support from your roaster.

There are also sustainable and ethical practices to consider.

How long will ground coffee keep?

Unopened ground coffee will stay fresh until its best-by date. Opened or freshly ground coffee should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature away from heat, light, and moisture. For maximum freshness, consume within 1–2 weeks.

Stephanie Anthony is the Deputy Digital Editor of Yours.co.uk. Having worked across a variety of topics, from travel and food to pharmaceuticals, she also has a particular interest in mental health and wellness. She has a house full of pets with two dogs and two cats.