Are you just starting out as a coffee drinker, or do you simply not like the taste of very bitter coffee?
You’re not alone, and there are many options out there for you to try. You might just like the energy coffee gives you but haven’t found one to taste. So what is the least bitter coffee to try?
The best overall coffee for you to try is Segafredo Zanetti Brillante Ground Coffee. It is an affordable light-roasted coffee. The taste is more on the sweet side, with notes of butterscotch and citrus fruits. It is ideal for beginners and those who don’t like bitter-tasting coffee.
In this article, I will list the coffee types that might be the perfect fit for you non-bitter coffee drinkers.
I’ll also explain some things that make coffee more or less bitter than other coffee brands.
Best overall: Segafredo Zanetti Brillante Ground Coffee
The Segafredo Zanetti Brillante Ground Coffee has the overall best score out of all the coffee brands on this list for its light roast and sweeter notes.
This would be the best one for you to start out with and most likely the one you will like best.
- For those who prefer to stay grounded, get a bold start to your morning—no matter where your morning starts.
- Our Brillante blend features smooth chocolate in a mild roast with butterscotch and citrus.
Pros
- Arabica beans: In contrast with the Robusta coffee beans, Arabica beans are known for their mild taste, so they are a better option for people who don’t like bitter coffee. On top of that, Arabica beans have a sweeter taste, contrasting with the bitterness of coffee.
- Light roast: Light-roasted beans are not as bitter as their medium-roasted and dark-roasted counterparts. If you want to learn more about the differences between light-roasted coffee and dark-roasted coffee, you can read this article.
- Affordable: Despite its high quality and popularity, the Brillante coffee is not as expensive as you might’ve expected. In fact, this is one of the cheaper options in its range. It is easily affordable for beginners who just want to try coffee and see if they might enjoy the taste.
- Perfect for cold brews: For those who enjoy the occasional cold coffee and like a coffee with a rich, smooth taste, the Segafredo coffee is ideal.
- Rainforest Alliance seal: The Alliance encourages a more environmentally-friendly farming process by conserving nature and its inhabitants, with human rights in mind.
Cons
- Fast loss of flavor: The coffee quickly loses its flavor, so it’s very important to consume it within a short period of time and store it in an air-tight container in the meantime.
Best bang for your buck: Gevalia Special Reserve Ground Coffee
Some coffee brands can be very expensive, which might become an issue if you drink a lot of coffee.
High-quality coffee doesn’t have to be expensive, and you often pay more for well-known brands because they know that people will continue buying nonetheless.
This coffee is inexpensive but still has great taste.
- Single-origin Costa Rica coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified
- Our coffee has a roast on the darker side of medium, which allows delicate fruit and citrus undertones to shine through
Pros
- Budget-friendly: The Gevalia Special Reserve Ground Coffee is cheap without compromising product quality. Arabica beans are more expensive than Robusta beans, but as mentioned before, they are more bitter and generally don’t taste as good as Arabica beans.
- Costa Rican: These beans from Costa Rica naturally have a subtle fruit and citrus taste. This Arabica coffee has a well-rounded, rich taste and is perfect for beginners.
- More flavors: Gevalia has three additional medium-roast special reserve coffee flavors from different origins, of which two are available in pods. The coffee from Guatemala has a sweet cocoa taste. The one from Kenya has a ‘floral and deep berry undertone.’ Lastly, the coffee from Papua New Guinea has a sweet and balanced flavor.
Cons
- Medium roast: This coffee is medium-roasted, which means it is more bitter than light-roasted coffee. However, it’s still a good option for those who don’t love a strong bitter taste, as it’s been described as never-bitter coffee by its manufacturer.
- Easily softened flavor: The coffee’s flavors are easily lost if you prepare your coffee with too much water and add other substances, like milk, cream, sugar, chocolate, etc. You might have to attempt different trials with this product to find out the best way to prepare it to your taste.
The sweetest: Costa Rica Paraiso Ground Coffee
If you don’t just want to avoid a bitter-tasting coffee and actually want to find a coffee that has a particularly sweet taste, the Paraiso coffee is the coffee for you.
Its rich and sweet flavor could be exactly what you’re looking for.
- Rich cocoa and caramel with exotic fruit sweetness
- Medium roast, caffeinated coffee
Pros
- Climate pledge friendly: The Amazon ‘Climate Pledge Friendly’-badge indicates a sustainable product. The product has a smaller carbon footprint, focusing on preserving and improving our climate.
- Complex, intense taste: This coffee is described on Amazon.com by the manufacturer as having ‘notes of smooth cocoa and caramel balance with graham cracker, honey, and white fruit,’ an ‘exotic’ taste.
Cons
- More expensive: Per ounce, this coffee is on the more expensive side when compared to other coffee grounds in the same range. However, it’s not even close to some of the most expensive coffee brands. However, this slightly higher price might make a big difference for you.
- Sweetness: Maybe you expect a subtle sweet taste in this coffee, but it can actually be sweet to the point where it’s too much for some people. Let’s just say that there’s a reason why it’s the sweetest in this ranking. If you have doubts, start by buying the smallest coffee bag, a 10 oz bag, which is naturally the cheapest option available on Amazon.com.
Most ethical: Kicking Horse Coffee
Ethically produced coffee can be more expensive than coffees that don’t put the same importance on being nice to nature and people, which is completely logical.
If that’s something that’s important to you, the kicking horse coffee is ideal.
The brand is kosher, organic and Fairtrade certified, treating everyone involved in the production fair and without causing harm to nature.
- Wild, spirited, awake. This blend knows how to dish up a warm welcome. It's a hot tropical storm, sailing in off the sea. Hullo good mornings
- Juicy red currant acidity paired with a creamy honey body
Pros
- Kosher: After adding flavor additives to natural roasted coffee, that coffee is non-Kosher. For those who don’t know what kosher means, this is the definition in the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “selling or serving food ritually fit according to Jewish law.”
- Organic: The coffee is made without artificial substances that could harm health and the environment. It is safely grown and processed.
- Fairtrade: Fairtrade coffee is certified ethical and sustainable coffee. Everyone involved in producing and processing this coffee is fairly compensated for their hard work.
Cons
- Slightly more expensive: The difference isn’t that significant, but compared to other coffee brands, this coffee is slightly more expensive per ounce. This is the direct result of its fair trade certification, as you pay slightly more for those who made the coffee to be compensated with an acceptable wage.
- Variety in taste: It seems like the different bags of coffee sometimes taste different, which is expected because processing coffee beans is a very delicate process; however, that might be important. If you pay for a particular product, it’s more than fair that you expect a consistent taste.
Most original flavor: Real Good Coffee Company Peppermint Light Roast Coffee
If you like some interesting flavors in your drinks, several brands out there are creative with the coffee they produce, adding original flavors to their products.
Simple coffee isn’t for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine!
This peppermint coffee isn’t the only special flavor in their assortment, so don’t forget to check out the other Real Good Coffee Company coffee products.
- Our coffee is made with premium quality Arabica coffee beans from Central and South America. They are grown, sourced and packaged responsibly after being roasted fresh in Seattle, USA
- Bright, refreshing peppermint dancing along classic coffee flavors to give you a brew made for frosty winter mornings
Pros
- Refreshing taste: The peppermint taste of this ground coffee is refreshing and might give you that extra boost without added bitterness.
- Interesting flavors: Besides the peppermint flavor, the brand offers coffee with more fun flavors like ‘donut shop,’ pistachio, coconut, and pumpkin spice.
- Light-roasted: This is another light-roasted, not too bitter coffee brand, which might be exactly what you’re looking for in a coffee.
Cons
- Price: When it comes to the price, this coffee is in the same range as the Paraiso coffee, which is more on the expensive side.
What makes coffee less bitter?
- Origin: The origin and type of beans are very important and can completely change the taste of your coffee.
- Processing method: Roasting coffee beans makes them more bitter, which means how long you roast them and how bitter they are.
- Additions like milk, cream, and sugar.
- The amount of water used and preparation method: It goes without saying that the more water you use, the less bitter your coffee or coffee-based drink will taste. For example, an Americano coffee isn’t supposed to be as bitter as an espresso.
Final thoughts
Coffee is generally rather bitter, and the strong taste isn’t for everyone.
There are always other options available for those who just started drinking coffee or don’t like a bitter taste in their coffee.
These options don’t have to be tasteless or more expensive; they can be ethical and original.
There’s a fantastic coffee flavor for everyone, so try experimenting with different ones until you find the one to your liking.
You might even find several ones that taste better in different preparations.
