Espresso beans: Italian and European blends

Espresso beans: what you are choosing

Espresso is a way of brewing rather than a type of bean. Hot water is pushed through finely ground coffee under high pressure, giving a small, concentrated shot with an intense flavour and a layer of crema on top. In principle any bean will do, but beans sold for espresso are usually blended and roasted to taste rounded at that concentration, with enough body to stand up to milk in a cappuccino or latte.

Nearly everything in this category comes as whole beans. That keeps the aroma in the bean until you grind, which matters with espresso: the fine grind exposes a lot of coffee to the air at once.

How to choose espresso beans

• Arabica or blend. Pure arabica, such as illy and its Arabica Selection single origins, gives a smoother, more aromatic shot; see arabica coffee beans. Blends with robusta add body, crema and caffeine; see arabica and robusta blends.
• Strength. Each product page shows the strength on our scale out of 13. Prefer something bold? Look at strong coffee beans. For a softer shot, see mild coffee beans.
• Pack size. Most espresso beans here come in 1 kg bags, handy if you drink several cups a day. illy comes in 250 g, which stays fresher if you only make espresso now and then.
• Decaf. Espresso in the evening? illy Decaf is available as beans; see all decaffeinated coffee beans.
• Try before you commit. The Italian Espresso Selection (4 x 1 kg), the Julius Meinl Sample Pack (3 x 1 kg) and the illy Espresso Tasting Pack let you compare several coffees. You will find more in our sample packs.

Brands in this category

For Italian espresso, the biggest choice comes from Lavazza, Kimbo, Segafredo and illy, followed by Pellini, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Gimoka, Lucaffé, Hausbrandt, Passalacqua and Caffè Mauro. The range goes beyond Italy too: you will find German and Austrian coffee houses such as Dallmayr and Julius Meinl, plus Café Intención, Costa Coffee and L'OR.

Which machine, which grind?

• Bean-to-cup machine: fill the hopper with whole beans and the machine grinds for each cup. Avoid flavoured or very oily beans, which can clog the grinder. More in coffee beans for bean-to-cup machines.
• Espresso machine with a portafilter: you need a grinder that goes fine enough for espresso, and a little patience to dial it in. If the shot runs too fast and tastes sour, grind finer; if it drips slowly and tastes bitter, grind coarser. See our coffee grinders.
• Moka pot: espresso beans work well here, ground slightly coarser than for a machine.

Two small things help every shot: water just off the boil, up to about 95 °C, and a preheated cup, because a small espresso cools quickly in a cold one.