The Shelf, the Post, or the Shop Down the Road: How Britain Buys Coffee
3 sources researched
A birthday present for a boyfriend who owns a moka pot and no grinder turned into 81 comments on r/AskUK, and the answers name 34 bags, roasters and shops. What the thread splits on is not which roaster is best — it is where the coffee comes from. The supermarket shelf, the post and the shop down the road each solve a different half of the question, and the prices people quote show how far apart those answers sit.
Quotes
Quotes“My personal favourites (don't scoff please) are Aldi French roast and Aldi Italian roast. Either will knock your socks off when made in a moka pot.”
“Keep your favourite coffees stocked and in rotation with a Square Mile subscription.”
“I've had great coffee from Pact, Rave, James Gourmet, Square Mile, Horsham Coffee and more.”
“Local coffee roasters will always beat anything you can buy online in my opinion. Any half decent roasters will give the option to grind to any size you want.”
“Freshly ground garbage is still garbage. At least pre-ground from a specialty coffee vendor has a shot at flavour and not tasting like it was roasted in the heart of the sun.”
The advice that repeats most often names no brand at all: walk into a shop, describe what he drinks, and let them grind it. A moka pot wants its own grind, finer than a cafetière and coarser than an espresso machine, which is also why several answers end at a roaster that grinds the bag before posting. One name the thread actively warned off was Chamberlain Coffee, which a commenter called "a celebrity brand, not a proper coffee roaster"; a multi-roaster subscription service, Beans Coffee Club, was offered as the low-effort version of the same idea.
1 mention = 1 comment naming the roaster, brand or shop, replies included; 57 of the thread's 81 comments were read on 3 November 2026; piles follow where the commenter says they buy, not how big the roaster is.
What the supermarket shelf offers
| Supermarket | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Aldi French roast / Italian roast | 1 |
| Sainsbury's own-brand espresso | 2 |
| Waitrose own-brand French | 1 |
| Asda own-brand Colombian | 1 |
| 1 |
Roasters people order from, bag by bag
| Roaster | Mentions |
|---|---|
| 3 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 |
Shops where they grind it before you leave
| Shop | Mentions |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 |
Related beans
The Source Coffee Roasters
el diviso comp natural gesha
orange blossom · cherry · jasmine
150g · 75
The Source Coffee Roasters
thermal shock typica Q-15
violet · strawberry · peach
250g · 39
OZONE
Costa Rica: Granitos - Ortiz 1800
peach · marzipan · sultanas
220g · 18
RAVE Coffee
Rwanda Nyamasheke Hills Nº 354
blackberry · apple · maple syrup
250g · 9.95
The Source Coffee Roasters
lalesa natural ethiopia
papaya · brown sugar · rum
250g · 22
Horsham Coffee Roaster
El Bosque
peach · grape · honeysuckle
250g · 13.5
Facts
Facts£15 to £102 a kilogram — One commenter priced the whole market by the kilo: Sainsbury's own brand at "£15-20/kg", supermarket premium at "£25-35/kg", specialty coffee at "£30-40/kg", and the 250 g bag they actually buy at £102/kg, which they still call "genuinely worth every penny" (
comment).One name on both shelves — Union Coffee prints the roast date on the bag and grinds to the buyer's setting without a subscription, and one commenter notes its Revelation blend is sold in some supermarkets and on Amazon — the only roaster in the thread that reaches the shelf and the post at once (
comment).£11 weekly, £12 a fortnight — Square Mile runs the thread's only standing order, and the prices do not line up: the shop lists 350 g subscriptions from £11.00 a week on weekly, fortnightly or monthly delivery, while one commenter pays "£12ish a fortnight for 350g" (
subscriptions,
comment).Moka pot needs its own grind — With no grinder in the gift, the grind becomes a separate purchase: "finer than you use for a cafetiere, coarser than for espresso machine". That is the practical reason several answers end with a shop or a roaster grinding the bag before it is handed over (
comment).
Voices
VoicesAdvice · Reddit · r/AskUK — The bag should carry a date — The one test that works in all three piles, from a commenter who lists five roasters and then adds the filter: "A good indicator is if the bag lists the date that the coffee was roasted, rather than a best before date" (
comment).Claim · Reddit · r/AskUK — Local beats online — The highest-scoring answer does not name a roaster at all: local roasters "will always beat anything you can buy online", because "any half decent roasters will give the option to grind to any size you want" (
comment).Objection · Reddit · r/AskUK — The aisle has defenders — Against replies that dismiss supermarket coffee outright, one commenter names Aldi's French and Italian roasts as personal favourites — "don't scoff please" — and another writes off the whole aisle in five words: "Never buy the stuff in supermarkets, it's all terrible" (
comment).Verdict · Reddit · r/AskUK — 1000x, with a caveat — One commenter rates The Source as "the best coffee I've ever had and its not even close" while admitting they cannot reproduce it at home, and separately prices their own 250 g bag at £102/kg (
comment).
AI-written from public sources and may contain errors. Check the sources yourself.
