Amazon's Labor Day Sale Is Live We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Find your perfect cup with our favorite online coffee retailers. In This Article In This Article Factors to Consider A morning cup of coffee is a daily pleasure for some and an absolute necessity for others. There are countless varieties of beans to choose from, and if you’re reading this, you probably don’t want to settle for just any old bag at the supermarket. Maybe you have a very specific preference for light roasts, or want the right beans for your favorite drip coffee machine , French press , or cold brew coffee maker . The best online coffee retailers will provide the variety, roast levels, and bean types for total customization to your preferred brew type, as well as your taste preferences. Regardless of what kind of coffee drinker you are, here’s our list of the best places to buy coffee online — including a few coffee subscriptions we love. Best Overall Coffee Intelligentsia Coffee Chicago’s Intelligentsia has been finding and roasting delicious beans from 14 countries, divided into northern and southern seasons, for over 30 years. Its selection includes a rotating assortment of single-origin beans, including an exclusive Intelligentsia’s Choice coffee available only via monthly subscription, along with year-round blends, canned lattes, and even high-end instant coffee . We like all of Intelligentsia’s subscription options , which include adventurous rotations of blends, single-origin, and espresso-roasted coffees, or regular deliveries of any of the roaster’s classics. Everything is available as whole beans or in 12 different grind sizes, each customized for a specific brewing method. Tried-and-true Intelligentsia makes an excellent gift for coffee lovers of all kinds. Best for Single-Origin Coffee Atlas Coffee Club Single-origin coffees — one season’s crop of beans, all grown in the same location — are special. Each one has unique flavor notes influenced by climate, soil conditions, altitude, sun exposure, and countless other factors. If you appreciate terroir in wine , you’ll also love single-origin coffee, and Atlas Coffee Club promises a unique curation of some of the world’s best. It offers a subscription service and samplers that include coffee from a new country with every box, along with many customization options. You can choose from whole beans, Keurig K-Cups, Nespresso pods , or any of seven grind textures, including AeroPress and espresso. There are five subscription amounts (including half-bags for smaller households), the option for light or dark roasts (or a combination), and delivery every 2 or 4 weeks. You can even customize based on flavor notes. Some of Atlas’ more recent coffee journeys include trips to Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and India, and each delivery also includes pamphlets with tasting information, cultural and geographical notes, and more. Best for Coffee Connoisseurs JBC Coffee Roasters For the coffee lover who has strong opinions about washed versus natural process and would get excited to see the name of celebrity farmer Wilton Benitez on a bag, JBC is a nerd’s paradise. Its microlot coffees are labeled with extensive details about who grew them and how, and most are beans you can’t find anywhere else. There are nearly 20 varieties to choose from, covering the entire range of growing regions and processing styles, as well as unique flavors like the like the Pedro Nel Salazar Mango Coconut Co-Ferment , a pina colada-flavored coffee with additional flavors of mango, vanilla custard, and tropical florals. Best Coffee Variety Seattle Coffee Gear Seattle Coffee Gear may not roast in-house, but it offers an astounding range of more than 350 coffees from dozens of brands around the world. Do you want fruity coffee from Ethiopia, lightly roasted in Washington State? How about a dark-roast espresso blend from Italy? Decaf made in Pennsylvania? All can be found in Seattle Coffee Gear’s extensive stock list. Unsure what you’re looking for? No problem. Just sort the library based on brew type, roast, origin, and even flavor profile. Once you settle on a few faves, be sure to sign up for a recurring delivery to save 5 percent on each order. Seattle Coffee Gear also offers lots of, well, gear, including high-end super-automatic espresso machines , coffee grinders , and other accessories. Need to know how to use your fancy new Chemex or the superior method for a barista-quality iced latte? Seattle Coffee Gear has you covered on that front, too — check out its blog posts and YouTube channel for endless expert advice. Best Coffee Subscription Many online coffee retailers have subscription options, but Trade Coffee is our favorite for its customizability. A quick quiz on the website helps you pick out a roast style (there’s even an option especially for lovers of cold brew other specific brewing methods) and level of adventurousness, then customize the amount, grind, and frequency of each delivery. There’s also the option for gift subscriptions in 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month increments for the coffee lover in your life. Trade sources beans from more than 50 roasters, so you’ll be trying something new and delicious all the time, and you’re free to adjust your preferences whenever you want. Find something you like? You can purchase individual bags at any time. Best Coffee That Gives Back Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. There are lots of excellent coffee roasters you can buy from online, but what makes Grounds & Hounds special is that every purchase helps dogs in need. The brand donates 20 percent of its profits to no-kill animal shelters across the country (and one in South Korea), helping provide food and medical care for pups large and small. And Grounds & Hounds’ actual coffees are worth howling about, too. There are more than 70 varieties, including all growing regions and roast levels, single-serving coffee pods, and subscriptions. Don’t forget to check out the matcha powder and hot chocolate offerings, too. If you’re an adventurous coffee drinker, you can find some truly unique flavored coffees like chocolate-covered pretzel and blueberry crumble . Food & Wine photo editor Doan Nguyen recommends the single-origin coffees most, especially the Mexican Chiapas , whose light roast marries bitter and sweet flavors. Best for Coffee Brewing Equipment Onyx Coffee Lab Arkansas-based Onyx Coffee Lab stands out for its expertise in brewing machinery as much as its actual coffee. Most online coffee retailers sell some accessories, but few have an inventory as well-curated as Onyx. Its selection of stylish espresso machines (including two of our favorites, the Breville Oracle Jet and Breville Dual Boiler), scales, grinders, kettles, AeroPress coffee makers , and more can’t be beat. (Don’t miss the adorable pour-over dog toys !) If your expensive espresso machine breaks, Onyx is also a good place to turn for advice on parts and repair, and if you’re within 65 miles of Rogers, Arkansas, they’ll even come to you. Of course, Onyx also roasts its own coffees and sources a variety of excellent teas . “I couldn’t consume caffeine for a few years, and the Onyx decaf helped me survive those times,” Nguyen says. You should also check out the Doyenne series , coffees from woman-owned farms selected by Onyx co-founder Andrea Allen. Best for Coffee Education Driftaway Coffee

If you aspire to get deep into coffee, Driftaway is an excellent choice. The brand specializes in roasting small batches from small farms that rotate every 4 weeks, so you can be sure you’re always getting fresh stock. You can of course buy any of the beans in individual bags. But for those looking to dig a little deeper, Driftaway also offers a self-directed Coffee Explorer Box with five coffees, tasting notes, and a grind sample to help calibrate your grinder. There are live online tastings guided by a pro twice a month, so you can appreciate all the nuances of the latest brews. (These are available afterward in recorded form, too.) Best Coffee for Travel French Truck Coffee Coffee on the Go Ever stayed at a hotel with a...questionable in-room coffee situation? Not been able to fit your drip coffee maker in your camping backpack? Worked at an office that has a microwave but no coffee machine? This is your solution. French Truck’s tea bag–style Coffee on the Go bags are filled with ground coffee and sealed in their individual packages with nitrogen gas, which prevents oxidation and keeps the flavor fresher longer. All you need is hot water and a few minutes for a quality brew, and the bags are fully compostable afterward. French Truck is one of many New Orleans -based roasters that produce a lot of delicious coffee. (What can we say? The city brews a mean cup.) In addition to two varieties in on-the-go form, it sells more than a dozen coffee blends, K-Cup pods, cold brew pouches, canned lattes, and eight different teas. Best Cold Brew Coffee Grady's Cold Brew Coffee It makes sense that sweltering New Orleans would also inspire a delicious cold brew. Grady’s uses a mix of coffee and chicory root for a dose of the Big Easy’s signature flavor, which works beautifully over ice. You can buy pre-brewed liquid cold brew concentrate by the bottle (each bottle makes 5 to 8 servings), or you can choose “Bean Bags” to brew at home. Either way, you’ll be cool and caffeinated. Factors to Consider Coffee grows in many places around the world, and different altitudes, weather, and soil conditions create different flavors in the final beans. In general, coffee from Central and South America is mildest, with nutty and caramel flavors; coffee from Africa is more acidic, with notable fruity notes; and coffee from South and Southeast Asia has earthy, chocolatey flavors good for espresso. Single-origin coffees are each grown in a singular location. Depending on the producer, this can mean one region of a country or even one individual farm. Single-origin coffee is traceable and reflects the distinct flavor of a specific place, which can be excellent for learning more about a particular bean and its region. If you’re looking to break out of traditional flavors, consider a blend. Mixing beans from different locations allows producers to be a bit more creative in crafting a specific flavor profile. Of course, it’s not just where coffee is grown that determines its final flavor. After harvest, the plant’s seeds are fermented and then roasted to create what we call coffee beans. More heavily roasted coffee — dark roast — has toasted, earthy flavors, and it’s popular for espresso. In comparison, light roast shows more acidity and fruitiness in drip coffee. Dark roast coffees feature more flavors of the roasting process, while lighter roasts focus more on the plant. The darker the roast, the more moisture has been removed from the beans, making dark roast coffee effectively more “concentrated” than light roast. You’ll need less grounds to brew the same amount. Different grind textures work best with different coffee brewing methods. A fine grind allows the most interaction between coffee and water; it’s great for intensely flavored espresso, but the tiny bits are likely to pass through filters in other brewing methods, giving you a gritty cup. Coarse grinds are perfect for methods with longer brew times, such as the French press or cold brew. To keep coffee fresh as long as possible, we recommend buying whole beans and grinding them just before brewing. A sophisticated burr grinder is a must; it lets you adjust the texture to your liking. But if you can’t grind at home, many retailers offer pre-ground coffee or can grind it fresh before shipping, tailored to your favorite brewing method. If you’re going to buy pre-ground coffee, we highly recommend a vacuum-sealing coffee canister . Frequently Asked Questions How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee? That’s a complicated question whose answer depends on the type of coffee you’re using, how you brew it, and the size of your cup. But as a rough estimate, a 1-ounce shot of espresso contains about 50 milligrams of caffeine, and an 8-ounce serving of drip-brewed coffee contains 80 to 100 milligrams. For perspective, there are around 50 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of black tea, 30 to 40 in a can of soda, and 70 to 100 in an energy drink. The FDA recommends limiting your total daily caffeine intake to less than 400 milligrams to avoid side effects such as insomnia, nausea, headaches, and jitters. Decaffeinated coffee has significantly less caffeine than regular coffee, but it’s not entirely caffeine-free . A cup of decaf can potentially contain 5 to 10 milligrams of caffeine. That’s a complicated question whose answer depends on the type of coffee you’re using, how you brew it, and the size of your cup. But as a rough estimate, a 1-ounce shot of espresso contains about 50 milligrams of caffeine, and an 8-ounce serving of drip-brewed coffee contains 80 to 100 milligrams. For perspective, there are around 50 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of black tea, 30 to 40 in a can of soda, and 70 to 100 in an energy drink. The FDA recommends limiting your total daily caffeine intake to less than 400 milligrams to avoid side effects such as insomnia, nausea, headaches, and jitters. Decaffeinated coffee has significantly less caffeine than regular coffee, but it’s not entirely caffeine-free . A cup of decaf can potentially contain 5 to 10 milligrams of caffeine. What’s the difference between types of coffee? Despite the worldwide assortment of growers and roasts, nearly all coffee comes in one of two varietals: arabica or robusta. Arabica is the most popular, accounting for more than half of coffee grown worldwide, thanks to its delicate, sweet flavor. If you’re buying whole beans to grind yourself, they’re very likely to be arabica. Robusta coffee is generally more bitter and higher in caffeine, and is often used in instant coffee. It’s had a poor reputation in the past, but higher-end robusta has started to catch on with experts as a good choice for espresso. There are two other coffee varietals called excelsa and liberica, but both are grown in much smaller quantities and are very hard to find compared to arabica and robusta. Despite the worldwide assortment of growers and roasts, nearly all coffee comes in one of two varietals: arabica or robusta. Arabica is the most popular, accounting for more than half of coffee grown worldwide, thanks to its delicate, sweet flavor. If you’re buying whole beans to grind yourself, they’re very likely to be arabica. Robusta coffee is generally more bitter and higher in caffeine, and is often used in instant coffee. It’s had a poor reputation in the past, but higher-end robusta has started to catch on with experts as a good choice for espresso. There are two other coffee varietals called excelsa and liberica, but both are grown in much smaller quantities and are very hard to find compared to arabica and robusta. How many cups can a bag of coffee make? That depends on how big of a bag you’re talking about! The most common bag size you’ll find at the supermarket is 12 ounces, which is enough for about 16 cups of coffee or 48 single shots of espresso. Your personal preferences and the type of coffee you have affect the ideal ratio, but the standard is around three-quarters of an ounce of ground coffee per 8-ounce cup of brewed, or a quarter-ounce of grounds per 1-ounce espresso shot. That depends on how big of a bag you’re talking about! The most common bag size you’ll find at the supermarket is 12 ounces, which is enough for about 16 cups of coffee or 48 single shots of espresso. Your personal preferences and the type of coffee you have affect the ideal ratio, but the standard is around three-quarters of an ounce of ground coffee per 8-ounce cup of brewed, or a quarter-ounce of grounds per 1-ounce espresso shot. What are the different brewing methods for coffee? All coffee is made by mixing beans and water, but the exact way you do so affects the final product. These are some of the most common brewing methods: Drip: If you think of a generic coffee maker, you’re probably picturing a drip machine . It drips hot water through grounds held in a filter to make a medium-bodied brew. Pour-over: Pour-over is similar to drip, except that you slowly pour hot water over the grounds by hand, often using a gooseneck kettle . It’s a labor-intensive but meditative process that offers more control and deeper flavor. French press: A French press is a brewing device that infuses hot water and grounds in a large vessel, then separates them using a filter built into a plunger lid. Because the coffee and water sit together for several minutes, a French press yields rich and intense flavor. Espresso: An espresso machine forces water through finely ground coffee at high pressure. This method makes strong, bitter, and concentrated coffee quickly, and the pressure extracts more of the beans’ oils, creating a frothy layer of crema on top that you don’t get with other brewing methods. Cold brew: You can chill any type of coffee to drink cold, but what makes cold brew special is that it’s actually brewed cold. Cold brew steeps grounds in cold water for a long time — 12, 24, even 48 hours. This makes a concentrated, high-caffeine brew that can withstand dilution from ice. It’s also smoother and sweeter than hot-brewed coffee, as cold water doesn’t extract as much bitterness. All coffee is made by mixing beans and water, but the exact way you do so affects the final product. These are some of the most common brewing methods: Drip: If you think of a generic coffee maker, you’re probably picturing a drip machine . It drips hot water through grounds held in a filter to make a medium-bodied brew. Pour-over: Pour-over is similar to drip, except that you slowly pour hot water over the grounds by hand, often using a gooseneck kettle . It’s a labor-intensive but meditative process that offers more control and deeper flavor. French press: A French press is a brewing device that infuses hot water and grounds in a large vessel, then separates them using a filter built into a plunger lid. Because the coffee and water sit together for several minutes, a French press yields rich and intense flavor. Espresso: An espresso machine forces water through finely ground coffee at high pressure. This method makes strong, bitter, and concentrated coffee quickly, and the pressure extracts more of the beans’ oils, creating a frothy layer of crema on top that you don’t get with other brewing methods. Cold brew: You can chill any type of coffee to drink cold, but what makes cold brew special is that it’s actually brewed cold. Cold brew steeps grounds in cold water for a long time — 12, 24, even 48 hours. This makes a concentrated, high-caffeine brew that can withstand dilution from ice. It’s also smoother and sweeter than hot-brewed coffee, as cold water doesn’t extract as much bitterness. What’s the best way to store coffee? Proper coffee storage is important. Like tea, coffee is best kept in an airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture. A specialized coffee canister is the best choice, though coffee often comes in a bag with a one-way valve that lets you squeeze air out after sealing. Cold is also bad for coffee beans’ flavor, so you should keep them at room temperature rather than in the refrigerator or freezer. Proper coffee storage is important. Like tea, coffee is best kept in an airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture. A specialized coffee canister is the best choice, though coffee often comes in a bag with a one-way valve that lets you squeeze air out after sealing. Cold is also bad for coffee beans’ flavor, so you should keep them at room temperature rather than in the refrigerator or freezer. Food & Wine senior writer Jason Horn has been writing about food and drinks for nearly 20 years, for publications including Serious Eats, Liquor.com, and Playboy. He’s not very snobbish about coffee and drinks way too much of it, typically in French press or cold brew form. Coffee, Tea & Espresso Related Articles