Two Billion cups of coffee are served every day worldwide. However, the quality of coffee can differ significantly depending on the region of its cultivation. The highest-rated coffee stands out for its exceptional taste and aroma, satisfying coffee enthusiasts everywhere.
From the robust flavors of Indonesian coffee to the sweet and balanced taste of Guatemalan coffee, each region has unique characteristics that make for a highly-rated coffee.
In this article, we’ll explore the world’s highest-rated coffee and discover each region’s beans’ origin, richness, and variety.
Brief History of the Origin of Coffee
The origin of coffee is a mystery, with several different legends surrounding its discovery. Some say that coffee was discovered by a goat herder in Ethiopia who noticed his goats becoming more energetic after eating the beans from a particular plant.
Others say that coffee was discovered by a Sufi monk who used the beans to stay awake during long hours of prayer.
Regardless of how it was discovered, coffee quickly spread worldwide, becoming one of the most popular beverages ever.
Is Coffee the Most Widely Consumed Beverage Globally?
Yes, coffee is the most widely consumed drink in the world, followed by water and tea. According to the International Coffee Organization, world coffee consumption was estimated at around 1.7 billion cups per day last year.
As coffee rose to prominence as the world’s most popular drink and became a daily staple, various standards, ratings, comparisons, and competitions emerged.
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What is the Best Tasting Coffee?
There is no single answer to this question, as taste is subjective and depends on various factors such as genetics, upbringing, taste receptors, taste training, life experiences, recent food intake, mood, and stress levels.
From a taste perspective, Relying on coffee “connoisseurs” is not helpful as their “best” may not be best for you.
The best-tasting coffee is one that you find for yourself by trying different options.
However, although determining the world’s best coffee can be subjective and dependent on various factors, such as taste preference, specific methods can be used to evaluate the best coffee.
Evaluating the World’s Highest-Rated Coffee
Ultimately, the best-tasting coffee is up to you. While it’s a highly subjective experience shaped by your taste preferences, professionals use certain evaluation techniques to determine the world’s highest-rated coffee.
Factors such as growing region, processing method, and quality are all used to evaluate and rate a coffee. However, the ultimate considerations are consistency and consensus: The most highly-rated coffees are characterized by their consistency and quality over time, along with the world’s connoisseurs coming to an agreement.
Methods Used by Taste Testers To Evaluate a Coffees Rating:
- Blind tasting: This method eliminates any bias by masking the identity of the coffee being tasted. The taster only focuses on flavor, aroma, and other sensory attributes.
- Scoring system: A predetermined scoring system can be used to evaluate coffee’s attributes such as aroma, flavor, acidity, body, and aftertaste.
- Comparison to known standards: The coffee can be compared to known, high-quality standards to determine its quality level.
- Multiple tasting sessions: Tasting the coffee on various occasions helps to ensure that the ratings are consistent and reliable.
- Comparison to other coffees: The coffee can be compared to different coffees from the same region or with similar processing methods to see how it stacks up in terms of quality.
- Expert review: Coffee experts can offer their insight and provide in-depth evaluations of the coffee.
- Customer feedback: Customer feedback from coffee drinkers can also be used to evaluate the coffee’s quality, especially when taken from a large and diverse sample group.
- Repeat purchases: Repeat purchases of a coffee by coffee roasters can indicate that it is a high-quality product in demand.
It’s important to remember that taste preference is subjective, and what might be the best coffee for one person may not be for another. The best way to determine the world’s highest-rated coffee is to try different options and find what works best for you.
Below we travel the world’s highest-rated coffee regions and provide an overview. Get a glimpse into the renowned coffee-growing areas and what sets each apart.
This will give a strong foundation for exploring some of the highest-rated coffee blends globally.
What’s the strongest coffee roast out there? It’s not your typical cup of joe! Check out our article all about the caffeine concentration from bean to bean.
Highest-Rated Colombia Coffee: Richness and Variety
The history of Colombian coffee dates back to the early 18th century when Jesuit priests brought the crop into the country.
Over the years, Colombian coffee has become one of the country’s major exports, with a unique flavor profile and various techniques making it a renowned single-origin coffee.
Known for its rich, earthy flavor and a wide variety of beans, Columbia is home to a diverse range of coffee-growing regions, each with its unique flavor profile.
Colombian coffee is grown in the Andes Mountains and is known for its medium to full body and balanced, smooth flavor. Colombian coffee is also often grown using sustainable farming methods, which helps to preserve the quality of the beans and the environment.
Consider the following exceptional selections of Columbian coffee.
Volcanica Coffee’s Colombian Supremo – Our Top Pick
If you’re looking for a coffee that defines the perfect cup, Volcanica Coffee’s Colombian Supremo is the way to go. Known for its balanced flavor profile with a full body and bright, fruity notes, these shade-grown beans have been given a chance to reach their full potential.
This single-estate coffee is sourced from the Andeano Estate and is available in medium roast, decaf, and unroasted beans.
Grown in the shade of the Andes mountains, the coffee boasts a full-bodied and smooth taste with low acidity and sweet flavor notes with a fruity, floral aroma. It’s one of the finest Colombian coffees available.
Not only will you enjoy a great cup of coffee, but you can also feel good about your purchase as it’s certified as Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, and Organic. Volcanica supports Colombian farmers and communities, so you can rest assured that you’re drinking high-quality coffee from a company that cares about more than just profits.
You can find the current price of Volcanica Coffee’s Colombian Supremo here.
Juan Valdez Colina Coffee, A Worthy Alternative
The name Juan Valdez is synonymous with Colombian coffee, and for good reason. This iconic coffee brand is renowned for its diverse offerings of single-origin coffee, ensuring that there is something for everyone, regardless of their preferred roast level or flavor profile.
From Cumbre to Huila, Juan Valdez sources coffee from various regions, each known for its unique characteristics and exceptional coffee. Their extensive portfolio showcases the prime coffee-growing locations in Colombia.
To stay ahead of the game, Juan Valdez offers single-serve options and freeze-dried coffee, providing customers with even more opportunities to enjoy their delicious coffee.
You can check to see if this coffee is still available here.
Highest-Rated Ethiopia Coffee: Unique Varietals
Ethiopian coffee is considered some of the world’s finest coffee, with a wide range of unique varietals prized for their flavor profiles.
Ethiopian coffee is grown in the high elevations of the country and is known for its bright, fruity flavor. The coffee is often produced using traditional methods, which helps to preserve the quality of the beans and the authenticity of their flavor.
Here are a couple of the finest Ethiopian coffees to try.
Volcanica Coffee’s Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Whole Bean Coffee – Our Top Pick
A true delight and sourced primarily from the thriving wild coffee trees of the Yirgacheffe region, with a touch of estate-grown beans, this coffee boasts a tantalizing mix of fruit and floral notes – think ripe lemons, juicy blackberries, and luscious blueberries, with a hint of rich dark chocolate, and delicate lavender.
The taste is bold and prominent, sure to leave a lasting impression. With a commitment to fresh roasting and prompt shipping, Volcanica Coffee truly delivers on quality.
You can find this Ethiopian coffee here.
Fresh Roasted Coffee, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Medium Roast – A Close Runner Up
This single-origin coffee is sourced from the Gedeo Zone in Ethiopia, processed with a wash method, and dried on raised beds. The coffee boasts a flavorful and distinct taste profile with a medium roast.
The company states the flavor profile best: “with hints of bright citruses like sweet tangerine and lime, the acidity level is powerful and bright, while the cup finishes with a dry, lemon tea finish.”
Fresh Roasted Coffees are organic, Fair Trade certified, and roasted with care using an environmentally friendly Loring roaster to reduce our carbon footprint.
You can see the current price of this coffee here.
Highest-Rated Indonesia Coffee: Robust Flavor
Indonesian coffee is known for its bold, robust flavor, which makes it a popular choice for coffee lovers who prefer a strong cup of coffee.
The coffee is grown in the mountainous regions of Indonesia and is known for its deep, rich flavor and full body.
I often find myself reaching for an Indonesian coffee when I know friends coming to visit are true coffee drinkers. If your guests like a robust dark roast coffee, stock Indonesian coffee.
Volcanica Sumatra Mandheling Dark Roast Coffee – Our Top Pick
When it comes to Indonesian coffees, the most well-known is that of the Sumatra Mandheling.
Volcanica describes their Sumatra coffee as: “a rare Indonesian coffee that is delightfully smooth with a rich, heavy body, low acidity and an exotic flavor with an intense syrupy aftertaste and an earthy richness. This is the organic and dark roasted version of this wonderful coffee.”
We would agree with this description. Sumatra coffee is unique for its boldness and robust flavor while at the same time having a low acidity and smooth taste. Volcanica continues to deliver authentic coffees that will surely be enjoyable experiences for your palette.
See if the best Indonesian coffee is still available here.
Koffee Kult Sumatra Dark Roast – A Fine Runner Up
Koffee Kult sources premium-grade Arabica coffee beans from over 50 countries worldwide and meticulously crafts them into simply delicious coffee.
Sumatra Mandheling coffee is legendary; it has a heavy, syrupy body with accents of chocolate and brown sugar, making for a smooth and full-bodied, robust taste that is complex and earthy.
This coffee bean has a long history, and its flavor is something to be marveled at. It is no wonder that it is so revered in the world of Sumatran coffee.
You can find this highly-rated Indonesian coffee here.
Highest-Rated Guatemala Coffee: Sweet and Balanced
Guatemalan coffee is known for its sweet and balanced flavor, making it a popular choice for coffee lovers who prefer mild coffee.
The coffee is grown in the high elevations of Guatemala and is known for its medium body and smooth, sweet flavor.
Guatemalan coffee is often grown using sustainable methods, which helps to preserve the quality of the beans and the environment.
With its multiple growing regions and unique micro-climates, Guatemalan coffees have diverse and complex flavor profiles. They are most noted for fruity chocolate flavors. So, if you like chocolate-covered blueberries and strawberries, you might enjoy these options.
Fresh Roasted Coffee, Guatemala Huehuetenango
Coming from the higher elevation regions of Guatemala, some would say this coffee has a cherry, nutty, chocolate flavor.
This particular brew from Fresh Roasted is on the lighter side…they even describe it as tea-like.
Before picking up a cup of joe, I was strictly a tea drinker. Yet, I always felt like tea was missing something. There just wasn’t enough substance or boldness to tea for my morning palette pick-me-up.
After some trial and error, I found Fresh Roasted Guatemala Huehuetenago coffee and thus began my addiction to this highly-rated coffee. Just don’t ask me to pronounce it.
With that said, you can get this coffee in a dark roast for a bit more of a bold bitter flavor. You can also get it as ground, whole bean, and in multiple amounts, including k-cup pods.
You can find whole bean Guatemala here.
Are you on the fence about what’s better, coffee or tea? Well, find out why I think tea sucks now in my article here.
Peerless Guatemala Whole Bean Coffee
This single-origin Guatemala Dark whole-bean coffee is sourced directly from Finca Las Salinas in Antigua, Guatemala. It has a nutty milk chocolate flavor.
Similar to the flavor notes as the one above and on point with sweet and balanced characteristics, Guatemalan coffee is known for.
Roasted to perfection that enhances its natural oils, this aromatic and full-flavored Guatemala Antigua coffee offers a truly unique experience. Its aftertaste boasts lively acidity, complex spices, and a touch of chocolate. These elements blend together for a crisp, smooth flavor.
Peerless is an award-winning brewer. In 2019 Roast Magazine declared them as Roaster of the Year…a highly coveted award won among their peers by submitting three different one-pound roasted coffee samples. The Coffees are compared on aroma, color, imperfections, bean size, and a clean cup. Finally, they’re all blindly judged by a professional coffee cupper.
So you can be sure this is a quality sourced and brewed coffee…worthy of our highest-rated coffee roundup.
You can find the current price of Peerless Guatemala coffee here.
Highest-Rated Costa Rica Coffee: Bright Notes
Costa Rican coffee is known for its bright, crisp flavor and is a popular choice for coffee lovers who prefer a lighter, brighter cup of coffee.
The coffee is grown in the high elevations of Costa Rica and is known for its medium body and bright, fruity notes. Costa Rican coffee is often produced using sustainable methods, which helps to preserve the quality of the beans and the environment.
DOTA Costa Rican Medium Roast Ground Coffee
Having won several SCAA (Speciality Coffee Association of America) awards, DOTA coffee has to be included in our highest-rated coffee mix.
The Costa Rican medium roast coffee is a premium blend of high-quality Arabica beans sourced from the Dota region of Costa Rica. The medium roast profile brings out the natural sweetness and bright notes characteristic of Costa Rican coffee.
The aroma seeps into one’s olfactory senses with hints of chocolate and nuts. At the same time, the flavor is smooth and velvety, with hints of caramel and a slightly citrusy finish.
One of my favorite coffees for the summer season, DOTA Costa Rican Medium Roast Coffee is a delicious and satisfying coffee that will surely please both coffee connoisseurs and casual drinkers alike.
Find more about this DOTA Costa Rican roast here.
Volcanica Geisha Coffee Costa Rica, Whole Bean, Fresh Roasted
Trying coffee made from Geisha beans is a must for any coffee lover. Although the cost is high, the exceptional quality of Geisha justifies the price and sets it apart from other coffee options. Treat yourself to a taste of one of the finest coffee experiences in the world and savor the unique flavor profile that Geisha has to offer.
I bought some of these beans as a gift for one of my coffee connoisseur friends.
Luckily, he was willing to share a cup with me as we indulged in this highly sought-after coffee.
The flavor profile to me definitely had a fruity ending, but it was also one of the smoothest cups I have ever had. Perhaps the perfect all-day sipping coffee, Geisha beans are known to have less caffeine while maintaining a unique and complex flavor profile.
The beans are carefully hand-picked and processed to preserve their delicate characteristics. When brewed, Geisha coffee has a bright and citrusy acidity that is balanced by notes of jasmine, bergamot, and tropical fruit.
The finish is clean and sweet, leaving a lasting impression on the palate. This coffee is a true connoisseur’s delight and is often sought after by coffee enthusiasts who appreciate the finer things in life.
Whether enjoyed as a single-origin coffee or blended with other beans, this coffee is sure to impress and provide a memorable coffee experience.
Check here to see if this coffee is still available.
Wrapping Up Worlds Highest-Rated Coffee
Finding the world’s highest-rated coffee is a fun journey. There is no single answer when it comes to finding the best brew, because taste is subjective and varies from person to person.
However, by understanding what goes into making a high-quality cup of coffee, as well as familiarizing yourself with the various types of beans and roasts available, you can find your own personal favorite among the highest-rated coffees in the world.
What’s the best way to store coffee? Please take a look at our article for the best tips on keeping coffee fresh.
