Supermarket own-brand instant coffees have outperformed major branded rivals in a blind taste test conducted by consumer experts at Which?. The panel of 68 regular coffee drinkers declared M&S Gold Instant Coffee and Waitrose Gold Roast as the best in the UK, each scoring 70% overall.
Top Performers
M&S Gold Instant Coffee, priced at £3.75 for 100g and £7.25 for 200g, scored well for flavour, aroma, and appearance. Nearly two-thirds of tasters approved of its strength, while close to three-quarters liked the bitterness levels. Which? noted that it displays the Fairtrade logo, adding an ethical appeal.
Waitrose Gold Roast, at £3.70 for 100g and £6.50 for 200g, also performed strongly across appearance and aroma. Tasters described it as having decent flavour, spot-on strength, and an enjoyable bitter tang. The verdict: it is not cheap but is a crowd-pleaser.
Branded Contenders
Douwe Egberts Pure Gold and Nescafé Gold Blend followed closely, both scoring 69%. Nescafé divided tasters on bitterness, while Douwe Egberts was penalised for its high price (£8 for 190g).
Budget Options
Aldi's Alcafé Gold Roast, at £2.65 for 200g, earned the Great Value recommendation with 68%. Kenco Indulgence (£8.35 for 195g) also scored 68%. Co-op Fairtrade Gold Roast (£3.55 for 200g) scored 67%, while Morrisons and Sainsbury's Gold Roast both scored 65%. Asda and Ocado Gold Roast tied at 64%, and Lidl's Bellarom Gold came last at 61%. Tesco's own-brand was absent from the rankings.
Testing Methodology
More than 800 cups of coffee were brewed and tasted blind by 68 people across the UK. Each taster used a separate booth to avoid discussion. Scores were based on 50% flavour, 30% appearance, 10% aroma, and 10% mouthfeel. Tasters also shared likes and dislikes for each coffee.
This result follows a similar Which? taste test where supermarket own-brand baked beans from Aldi and Lidl beat Heinz, scoring 77% at a fraction of the price.
