Hello,

I've been into third wave coffee for a while - you know, all that v60, hand grinding, espresso, fruity beans, local roasters type of stuff. That all said, i've always enjoyed darker roasts and experimenting with more budget friendly options. Also my local roasters have been becoming crazy expensive with some pretty hit-or-miss results.
This all lead me to experiment with 1kg bags of super market stores - freezing a portion of them and using the rest. So far i've bought some beans by the local wholesale market - Metro Cash and Carry. They sell a pretty cheap 1kg bag of some own brand - Rioba. Turns out to be pretty decent tbh. I'm not done with the whole bag so I will see how the frozen bags progress. Of course the beans were roasted liek 5 months ago but still work pretty good for an espresso or moka pot. Would even give them a chance in the v60.
So, I know that supermarket coffee is usually not liked in forums like this but I wonder - what are some easy to find big brand coffee in Europe that has surprised, excluding the Italian blends, since there is a separate thread for them?
I've often see Tchibo, Dallmay and Julius Meinl around here. I also see that DM and Lidl have their own brands of coffee that might be decent.
Interested to hear some experience.

Been going down the list of Lavazza blends that sounded good to me. Not freshest beans, but nitrogen package or something and taste rather nice. Can pick out listed notes. 1 kg (2.2 lbs) bags. I get them from Amazon. Once done with Lavazza, probably try Kimbo brand. Didn't like local beans, and I enjoy too acidic stuff.

off supermaket coffee until further notice (been that road before)!

nevertheless I can suggest:
Mövenpick
Dallmayr

from coffeerista

my personal favourites before specialty coffee!

bullet08 wrote:Been going down the list of Lavazza blends that sounded good to me. Not freshest beans, but nitrogen package or something and taste rather nice. Can pick out listed notes. 1 kg (2.2 lbs) bags. I get them from Amazon. Once done with Lavazza, probably try Kimbo brand. Didn't like local beans, and I enjoy too acidic stuff.

Which ones did you like? I've tried a lot of Lavazza when I had a Moka Pot but not with my espresso machine. I remember liking Qualità Oro beans.
Currently i'm drinking the Aroma Gold Kimbo and it is good but a bit too dark. Easy to pull but you have to find a recipe that doesn't taste too bitter.

OpenSource wrote:off supermaket coffee until further notice (been that road before)!

nevertheless I can suggest:
Mövenpick
Dallmayr

from coffeerista

my personal favourites before specialty coffee!

With the prices of specialty coffee i've been trying to get into more generic beans, especially since I also love a more simple and traiditional, not too sweet or acidic cshot. WIth v60 it's much different.
It's my first time hearing about Mövenpick - will definitely check it out.
I remember trying some Dallmayr smaller bags randomly, when I was really really into specialty coffee only and really liking them.

So far, Gran Crema, Super Crema, Gold Selection, and Top Class. They were all good. Gran Crema had very nice honey note. Top Class is very well balanced.