Changing your coffee costs 15 € and improves the cup more than changing your machine for 400 €. Even so, most people buy whichever bag is nearest in the supermarket without checking two details that change everything: if it contains torrefacto and when it was roasted.
This comparison covers what you can actually buy in Spain in 2026, ordered by which machine suits whom, with the cost per cup calculated and an explanation of how to read a label without being taken in by the words "gourmet", "premium" and "selection".
In this guide
- How to read the label
- Arabica vs robusta
- Comparison by machine
- The best coffee beans of 2026
- Real cost per cup
- How to store coffee
If the ingredients list says "torrefacto coffee" or “sugar”, put the bag down. Torrefacto is coffee roasted with added sugar: it became popular in the post-war years to cut costs and mask poor beans. It brings burnt bitterness and gums up any machine with a grinder.
How to read a coffee label
- Roast date, not best-before date. Coffee is at its best between 7 and 30 days after roasting. If the bag only carries a "best before" date, it has probably been sitting in a warehouse for months.
- Composition. "100% arabica" is information; "gourmet", "selection" or "premium" mean nothing legally.
- Origin. A specific country (Colombia, Ethiopia, Brazil) indicates traceability. "A blend of coffees from various origins" indicates the opposite.
- Degassing valve. That little button on the bag lets CO₂ out without letting oxygen in. Its presence indicates reasonably fresh coffee.
- Roast level. Light for filter and fruity notes; medium for everything; dark for espresso with milk and a chocolatey profile.
Arabica and robusta: which to choose
| Arabica | Robusta | |
|---|---|---|
| Caffeine | 1,2-1,5% | 2,2-2,7% |
| Flavour | Sweet, acidic, aromatic | Bitter, earthy, nutty |
| Crema | Fine and clear | Dense and long-lasting |
| Price | Higher | Lower |
| Ideal for | Filter, black coffee | Espresso with milk, body |
A 10-20% of robusta in an espresso blend is not a defect: it brings the crema and body many people are after. The problem appears when the robusta is the majority and of low quality.
Which coffee to buy for your machine
| Coffee machine | Roast | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Bean-to-cup | Medium | Low-oil beans: very dark roasts clog the grinder |
| Manual espresso | Medium-dark | Espresso blends with some robusta for crema |
| Italian / moka | Medium-dark | Natural roast; torrefacto turns very bitter here |
| V60 / Chemex | Light | African or Central American single origin |
| French press | Medium | Any medium-bodied arabica |
| Cold brew | Medium | Brazil or Colombia, chocolate notes |
The best coffee beans of 2026
Lavazza Qualità Oro 1 kg
100% medium-roast arabica, with notes of honey and ripe fruit. It is the bean that behaves best in bean-to-cup machines: it is not as oily as dark roasts, so it does not grease up the grinder, and it works just as well in espresso as with milk. At ~15 €/kg it works out at about 0,11 € per cup.
- Very forgiving: hard to get wrong
- Does not clog up a bean-to-cup grinder
- Available everywhere
- Little character for anyone after speciality coffee
Illy Classico beans 1 kg
Illy works with a single blend of nine origins and obsessive quality control: the beans are visually uniform, something you notice in the consistency of the extraction. Balanced profile with chocolate and caramel, dense crema. It is expensive per kilo, but it still works out at 0,23 € per cup.
- Extraordinary consistency between batches
- Dense, long-lasting crema
- Pressurised tin: keeps for months
- Twice the price of Lavazza Oro
Segafredo Selezione Crema 1 kg
An arabica and robusta blend designed to give body and crema in espresso. It stands up very well to milk, which is what you want in an everyday coffee for the whole family. At 13 €/kg it is among the best euros per cup on the market without dropping into torrefacto.
- Very competitive price per kilo
- Plenty of crema, ideal with milk
- Robusta adds a bitter edge to black coffee
Organic speciality coffee beans 1 kg
The first step beyond supermarket brands: natural roast (no sugar added during roasting), a roast date printed on the bag and an identified origin. The difference against an industrial coffee is immediate in the aroma and in the aftertaste, which stops being bitter and turns sweet.
- Visible roast date, not just a best-before
- No torrefacto: real sweetness
- Less forgiving: it demands the right grind and dose
Real cost per cup
A kilo of coffee beans gives roughly 140 espressos (7 g each) or 60 filter cups (16 g). With that:
| Coffee | Price/kg | €/espresso | 2 a day · year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segafredo Selezione | 13 € | 0,09 € | 68 € |
| Lavazza Qualità Oro | 15 € | 0,11 € | 78 € |
| Organic speciality | 19 € | 0,14 € | 99 € |
| Illy Classico | 32 € | 0,23 € | 167 € |
| Official Nespresso capsule | — | 0,45 € | 329 € |
Even the priciest coffee on the list costs half as much as the cheapest branded capsule. It is the economic argument that underpins the whole capsules vs bean-to-cup comparison.
How to store coffee beans
- Opaque airtight container, in a cupboard. Light and oxygen are the enemies.
- Never in the fridge. Coffee absorbs odours and moisture condenses on cold beans.
- Freezer only for stock. In vacuum-sealed portions and never refreeze what you have thawed.
- Buy kilos if you get through it fast; if it takes you more than a month to get through it, better 250 g bags and fresher.
- Grind it fresh. Ground coffee loses most of its aroma within 15-20 minutes. That is the reason why a a decent grinder improves the cup more than almost any other purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which whole bean coffee is best for a bean-to-cup machine?
A medium roast, 100% Arabica, such as Lavazza Qualità Oro. Very dark roasts are oily, and those oils end up coating and clogging the machine's built-in grinder.
What is torrefacto coffee and why avoid it?
It is coffee roasted with added sugar, which caramelises and burns onto the bean. It adds a burnt bitterness, hides defects in the bean and fouls grinders and brew groups.
How long do coffee beans keep once opened?
At its best, between 2 and 4 weeks in an airtight, opaque container. It stays drinkable for far longer, but the aroma falls off a cliff after the first month.
Is it better to buy beans or ground?
Whole beans, without question. Ground coffee loses most of its aromatic compounds in the first 15-20 minutes after grinding. Grinding on the spot is the cheapest upgrade there is.
How many cups come out of a kilo of coffee beans?
Around 140 espressos at 7 g per cup, or about 60 cups of filter coffee at 16 g. That is why the cost per cup lands between 0,09 € and 0,23 € depending on the coffee.