Water for coffee: what does UK hard water do?
Why London tap water flattens a light roast, where UK water is hard or soft, and what jug filters, bottled water and mineral recipes change.
Speciality coffee beans from UK roasters, compared
Tip: paste the link to a coffee you have finished – we will find a replacement.
Bean Index is an independent catalogue of speciality coffee beans from 111 UK roasters, read regularly from the roasters' own shops. No listing is for sale: roasters cannot pay for a place, and every coffee is ordered by the same published rules. For each coffee you see origin, process, flavour notes and the price per kg side by side, and every detail says where it comes from. If the roaster doesn't say, we write “not stated by the roaster” instead of guessing.
We don't sell coffee. “To roaster” takes you to the roaster's shop, where you order and pay at the price shown there. To compare coffee beans from UK roasters, filter by origin, process, brew method or price per kg; how the default order works is explained in the methodology. New to speciality coffee? Start with how to choose coffee beans. Flavour notes are the roasters' own words, read and grouped by AI and labelled as such – they are not our tasting. Has your favourite sold out? The replacement finder suggests similar coffees still on sale. Missing a roaster? The list of independent UK coffee roasters has a link to suggest one.
Three ways into Bean Index
Coffee by origin
Coffee beans by flavour
What the roasters describe in their notes – from berries and blossom to chocolate. Not sure what you like? Try the flavour finder
Coffee beans by brew method
Coffees the roaster itself recommends for your brew method.
Process and variety
Process explainedHow the coffee was processed after harvest and which variety it comes from both shape its flavour.
One region, many roasters
What speciality coffee costs
How much speciality coffee costs per kgThe median is £51/kg; 10% cost less than £36/kg, 10% more than £73/kg (n = 1,370 coffees in standard bags, checked 19 Oct 2026)
Guides
All articles
Supermarket vs speciality coffee: how big is the price gap?
What whole beans cost per kilo on supermarket shelves, what they cost at UK speciality roasters, and what you get for the difference.
How much should speciality coffee cost per kg?
What a kilo of speciality coffee costs at UK roasters, what that means per cup, what makes one bag dearer than another and why prices rose.
Pour over at home: what you actually need
Cone, paper, scale, kettle, grinder: what you actually need for pour over, in which order it's worth buying, and a starting recipe for the first cup.
Natural vs washed coffee: how they taste and what they cost
How the bean leaves the cherry shapes the cup. Washed, natural, honey, anaerobic and infused, with flavour notes and prices per kg from UK roasters.
Light roast coffee: when is light really light?
Why light is not a standard, how many UK roasters state a roast level at all, and what a light roast asks of your grinder and brewer.
Coffee grinder for filter coffee: what matters
Burr or blade, conical or flat, hand or electric, steps and retention: what matters in a grinder for filter coffee, and why light roasts show the difference most.
Geisha (Gesha) coffee: why is it so expensive?
How an Ethiopian variety became famous in Panama, how UK roasters describe it and what Geisha costs per kg compared with other single origins.
Fruity is not sour: what coffee flavour notes mean
Fruity describes an aroma, sour a taste. What roasters' tasting notes mean, why a cup turns sour and what to try if you want coffee that tastes less sharp.
Espresso machine or bean to cup: what changes for the beans
Button or barista? What a bean to cup machine and a manual espresso machine ask of your beans, your time and your cleaning routine – and what a cup costs.
Swiss Water vs sugarcane decaf: what's the difference?
Sugarcane, Swiss Water, Mountain Water, CO₂ or DCM: how each method takes the caffeine out, which one UK roasters name and what the law says decaf may contain.
Which coffee beans for a bean to cup machine?
Espresso, omni or filter roast? What works in a bean to cup machine, why oily beans clog the grinder, and what Ninja, Sage, De'Longhi, Philips, Jura, Melitta, Smeg and Miele ask of your beans.
Affordable espresso beans: what does a kilo cost?
What espresso roasts from UK roasters cost per kilo, where the cheapest quarter starts and what that means for a double espresso.
How to choose coffee beans: six questions before you buy
There is no single best coffee bean, but six questions narrow a long list down to the few coffees that suit you: brew method, flavour, roast, process, price per kilo and freshness.