Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

No matter which Green Mountain variety you choose, whether it’s single-origin, a blend, a flavored coffee or a decaf, you can count on good coffee. We happen to love their medium-roast Nantucket Blend, which is a flavorful and complex full-bodied blend of African and Indonesian Arabica beans, with a hint of French roast. We also like the fact that you can buy this coffee in single-serve Keurig K-Cup pods as well.

Café Don Pablo

Café Don Pablo’s Subtle Earth Organic Coffee is on the darker side of medium roast, but don’t be put off by that. It’s an artisanal roast made from organic (and holistically-grown) Honduran Arabica beans, medium-bodied with a rich yet mild flavor and low-acid content. There’s a wealth of grinds to choose from, too: drip ground, French press, pour over, cold brew and espresso, in addition to their Subtle Earth whole bean coffee. We’d particularly recommend this one if you’re normally a fan of medium roasts, but want to put a manageable bit of variety into your coffee diet.

Dunkin

If you didn’t expect Dunkin’ Original Blend to make our list, you probably didn’t grow up in the Northeast where there was a Dunkin’ Donuts on every street corner. There’s a reason this company has grown nationally in such a big way, though, and it’s not because of their bagels or even their donuts. Let’s be clear: this smooth, mild medium-roast isn’t going to be celebrated by aficionados who can sip a cup of coffee and tell you everything about the beans’ sourcing. It’s simply and predictably delicious, not too acidic and not too strong – and it tastes just like the coffee you buy in their stores. Available in K-Cups, too.

Honorable Mention: Seattle’s Best Coffee Medium Roast

Big Island Coffee Roasters

Many coffee lovers swear by the Arabica beans grown on the slopes of the Big Island’s Kona Districts in Hawaii. And one of the very best is the Kona Moon dark roast produced by Big Island Coffee Roasters. Smooth and chocolate-y, this is a balanced dark roast which isn’t overly powerful, just completely enjoyable. Available grinds are drip and French press (or, of course, whole beans.)

Hawaii Coffee Company

Is it a coincidence that so many great dark roasts come from Hawaii? We’re not sure, but this company’s Lion Coffee brand produces an outstanding dark French roast which is one of the most intense we’ve found. Have you ever had a cup of coffee and thought “this would have been great, but I think the beans were a little burnt?” Lion’s 100% Arabica dark roast is on just the right side of that equation – incredibly dark and powerful, but never over the line.

Kicking Horse Coffee

The aptly-named Kick Ass Dark Roast didn’t earn its moniker from being certified organic, fair trade or roasted with sustainably-grown Arabica beans from Indonesia and South America, although those are all great qualities. Kick Ass got its name from being bold, smoky and earthy, sweeter than you’d expect and low-acid to boot. They also make a really good Grizzly Claw dark roast that’s slightly less powerful with more chocolate-y decadence.

Super Coffee

This one isn’t quite as intense, but it has some extra added benefits. Super Coffee’s dark roast ground coffee is enhanced with B, D and E vitamins and antioxidants for immune support, focus and clarity. They’ve also added the amino acid L-theanine, which also supports clarity and focus as well as calmness and better sleep. The coffee itself? It’s dark and delicious. Super Coffee doesn’t sell beans, but does offer ground medium roast with mocha, hazelnut and vanilla flavorings added – and of course, their trademark ready-to-drink coffee (reviewed below).

Honorable Mention: Community Coffee Signature Blend Dark Roast

Death Wish Coffee Company

This company grew from a small shop in upstate New York into a nationally-known coffee brand, thanks to its “world’s strongest coffee” marketing and its “money back if it’s not the strongest coffee you’ve ever had” guarantee. That’s part marketing, but largely truth; Death Wish is made from a slow-roasted blend of fair-trade Robusta and Arabica beans (all USDA certified organic) to have twice the caffeine as other dark roasts, but with a surprisingly-smooth flavor.

Biohazard Coffee

And in this corner…Biohazard Ground Coffee, which also bills itself as the world’s strongest coffee and has the 100% Robusta pedigree to back it up. This dark roast contains 928mg of caffeine per eight-ounce cup (there’s about 100mg in the average cup of coffee), so it’s as powerful as you’d expect. It’s also relatively smooth and definitely not as bitter as you’d think. Just know what you’re getting yourself into first; that caffeine number is not a joke.

Honorable Mention: Cannonball Coffee Maximum Charge

Lavazza

Direct from Italy, where the Arabica and Robusta beans are blended and roasted, we present Lavazza’s Gran Espresso and Super Crema brands. Each is designed for preparation in espresso machines, by a company with four generations of expertise. The Super Crema is 60% Arabica and a balanced medium-light roast, creamy and sweetly aromatic. The Gran Espresso is 60% Robusto and a rich, full-bodied medium roast. Both are absolutely terrific. (If you prefer an even darker espresso, their Espresso Barista Gran Crema is also excellent.)

Café Bustelo

We’re sure we don’t have to spend much time singing the praises of rich Cuban-style coffee. Café Bustelo is the go-to brand there, with their dark-roast El Original Espresso Ground Coffee among the most bold and flavorful you’ll find. Bonus points: it’s not as expensive as most Latin-style coffees, and it’s also now available in K-cups.

Here’s an option you may never have considered to be “coffee.” You’ve certainly seen Starbucks Cold Brew sold just about everywhere, and brands like Nitro have grown in popularity – but most people think of them as energy drinks rather than “coffee.” Let’s change that.

Super Coffee

No sugar, just one gram of carbs, 10 grams of protein, a full 200 milligrams of caffeine – and terrific coffee taste. Super Coffee is made with organic Colombian Arabica beans, MCT coconut oil for health benefits, zero-carb monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar, and lactose-free whey protein to supply a creamy consistency. It’s healthy, potent, comes in four flavors (black, vanilla bean, mocha and maple hazelnut) – and it’s delicious. It’s also a perfect drink for keto dieters.

Chameleon Cold Brew

It’s not as “good for you” as Super Coffee, but it’s organic, low-calorie and zero fat (the vanilla and mocha flavors do contain about ten grams of sugar). This brand’s ready-to-drink coffees taste clean and fresh, largely because of the distinctive Texas hill country water used to brew them.

If you’re more of an instant coffee type of person, whether it’s because of time-constraints, lifestyle or allergies to kitchen appliances, you don’t have to settle for the Maxwell House, Folgers or Nescafé that fill grocery store shelves. These days, there are a number of instant coffee brands which come pretty close to the taste of freshly-brewed. Among the best:

• Mount Hagen Organic Instant Coffee: A great medium roast made from 100% Arabica beans – rich, bold, organic and very tasty.
• Canyon Coffee Instant Coffee: Brewed from hand-picked Ethiopian beans, this is another medium roast which is well-balanced with a complex and yummy flavor.
• Waka Coffee Quality Instant Coffee: The first two are quite expensive; Waka’s instant is much more reasonably priced; it’s a smooth and bright medium roast made from Arabica beans.

A list of the “best coffee brands” wouldn’t be complete without at least a brief nod to the coffee drinkers who don’t brew their own, relying instead on the expertise of baristas at their favorite haunts. For obvious reasons, we can’t list individual – and outstanding – coffee houses in each city, so we’re focusing on the best national chains.

• Starbucks: One of our favorite comedy bits is from curmudgeon Lewis Black, who rails about seeing “a Starbucks across from a Starbucks.” That’s obviously an exaggeration, but not by much; these ubiquitous shops have set the standard for many years in America, not just in number of locations, but also in quality, variety – and doing as much as anyone to popularize high-quality coffee (and needless to say, latte) in the nation’s culture.
• Dunkin’: Love it or hate it, there’s no question that this chain’s immensely-popular brew is one of the top-sellers in the U.S. And the primary reason is that the quality is very good and very consistent.
• Peet’s Tea and Coffee: With 200 locations and growing, this West Coast-based chain is now found in major metropolitan areas all the way to New York and Miami. 

Other regional chains with outstanding coffee and /or coffee blends:

• Midwest: Dunn Brothers Coffee, Coffee Beanery, Caribou Coffee, Biggby Coffee
• West Coast: Dutch Brothers, Blue Bottle Coffee, Seattle’s Best
• South: PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans

Obviously, the field is wide open for the giant chains in the South and other regions – but with the way that high-end coffee chains are proliferating, it probably won’t remain that way for long.