Coffee Beans for Espresso: Roast Date First, Then Blend

Once you weigh your shots, a new bag can move them as much as a new tool. So this page puts the buying rules first and the brands second. We don't taste-test coffees, so there's no ranking here. We read what roasters and makers publish, and say where it runs out.

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Lavazza

Lavazza Super Crema

A medium roast arabica and robusta blend, with notes of roasted hazelnut and brown sugar per Lavazza.

Why here: Lavazza's page lists a medium roast arabica and robusta blend. It's a fine starting point, though Lavazza's page gives no roast date, so read the bag.

Best for: An easy bag to reorder while you learn to dial in

• +Medium roast, arabica and robusta (Lavazza)
• +Sold in 10.5 oz, 22 oz and 2.2 lb bags (Lavazza)

• –Lavazza's page gives no roast date, so check the bag
• –A 2.2 lb bag takes a while to finish

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Type

Whole bean, medium roast

Price class

Budget

Which bag fits you?

Your order

• If you have a good local roaster

  Buy a dated bag there, then dial it in

• If you want an easy bag to reorder while you learn → Lavazza Super Crema

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• If you want a second blend to compare → Lavazza Gran Crema

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• If you are unsure about the word espresso on the bag

  Espresso vs coffee beans

The two Lavazza bags, side by side

Comparison: Lavazza Super Crema, Lavazza Gran Crema

Comparison	Lavazza Super Crema	Lavazza Gran Crema
Type	Whole bean, medium roast	Whole bean, roast level differs by source
Price class	Budget	–
Best for	An easy bag to reorder while you learn to dial in	Comparing a second blend once your routine is steady
	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon

Both are sold in large bags, and Lavazza's page lists 2.2 lb for each. That's a lot of coffee to finish inside a freshness window, so buy the size you can use. The roast level disagreement on the Gran Crema is worth noting, because the label on your bag is the one to believe. Packaging may vary, as the listing itself says.

Lavazza Super Crema

The Super Crema^* is the bag we'd suggest if you want something you can reorder and compare against. It won't tell you much about single origins, and it isn't trying to. Treat its taste as a baseline: if a shot from a new dated bag runs differently, you'll know what changed.

Lavazza Espresso Barista Gran Crema

The Gran Crema^* is the one Lavazza itself calls “Ideal for espresso”, with an intensity of 7 of 10. Pick it up as a second bag, once your routine is steady enough that you can taste the difference between the two.

Read the date on the bag before the word on the front.

What to look for

A roast date. This is the rule we'd keep if we could only keep one. Breville asks for beans with a “Roasted On” date stamped on the bag, and not a “Best Before” or “Use By” date, and it suggests 5 to 20 days after roasting. It adds that stale coffee may pour too quickly from the spouts and taste bitter and watery. That's why a shelf bag with only a use-by date can run fast at a grind that worked last month: you can't tell how old it is. Treat the window as one maker's guide and not a rule.

A roast you like. Espresso on a bag is a suggestion from the roaster. Any roasted bean can be brewed as espresso. We found no standard that defines an espresso roast, so a light or a dark bag can both work. Roast does change the job, though. Breville's Dual Boiler manual says the best temperature depends on origin, freshness and degree of roast, and its dial-in guide lists roast date and age among the things that move your dose and grind.

Blend or single origin. That's a matter of taste. Blends and single origins can both make good espresso, and we found no evidence that either is better. If you want to learn, a stable blend keeps one variable fixed. If you want to explore, buy small bags.

Arabica or robusta. Breville's manual recommends quality 100% arabica. Lavazza's two bags here are blends with robusta. That's a difference in taste and style, and neither side has a document that settles it.

Don't buy for crema alone

Crema shows CO2, so freshness and roast. It says little about flavor. You'll see retail copy claim that robusta gives more crema, but the Illy and Navarini review from 2011 calls robusta's supposed role substantially contradicted by more recent data. So a thick top layer tells you more about how fresh the coffee is than how good it tastes. Our crema page has the sources.

Read what crema shows

Whole beans, ground on the day. A separate or built-in grinder gives you the control a single wall basket needs. Pre-ground coffee belongs in a dual wall basket, which Breville says regulates the pressure whatever the grind, dose, tamp or freshness.

Storage. Perfect Daily Grind points out that hoppers aren't airtight, and that keeping beans in their original packaging until you dose them means fewer go stale. If you buy a big bag, leave most of it sealed in its own packaging.

Common mistakes

• Trusting the word espresso. It's a suggestion. Check the date and the flavor notes.
• Judging a bag on its first shot. A new coffee needs a new grind setting. Follow our dial-in steps before you decide you don't like it.
• Blaming the bean for a sour shot. Sour espresso usually calls for a finer grind first. If you are already very fine and it stays sour, go coarser.
• Changing bean and dose together. Keep your dose fixed, so you can taste the coffee.
• Buying too much. A big bag only saves you something if you finish it while it still tastes good.

Still choosing the machine?

Beans matter on any machine, but a single wall basket will show you more of them. The start page begins with what you drink, and these questions end in one machine:

Our recommendation

Buy a bag with a roast date from a roaster you trust, and use it within Breville's suggested window. If nothing like that is close by, the Lavazza Super Crema^* is a sensible bag to learn on, with the caveat that you should read the bag before you judge the coffee. We compare by what roasters and makers publish, and don't taste-test coffees ourselves. How we compare explains our method, and espresso beans vs coffee beans explains the word on the bag.