Which brand wins Consumer Reports coffee taste test?

Sure, you can buy a cup of coffee on almost any corner. But if you want to save money, brewing at home is the way to go. We buy nearly $2.5 billion worth of ground coffee a year. But which coffee tastes the best? Consumer Reports is out with its latest tests.

Consumer Reports tested 23 coffees--primarily Colombian--including old standards like Chock Full o'Nuts and Folgers, and coffeehouse fare like Starbucks and Peet’s.

Testers also looked at celebrity coffees from Paula Deen and Wolfgang Puck.

To test, Consumer Reports enlisted the help of trained coffee experts. They spent weeks sniffing, slurping, and tasting the coffees.

“We taste the coffees black so that we can really taste the flavor. We look for defects such as under ripe or excessively bitter notes, for example,” said Consumer Reports’ Erin Gudeux.

Consumer Reports also tested K-cups, made for single-cup coffeemakers from Folgers, Wolfgang Puck, and Timothy’s.

“These would probably be best with milk and sugar to mask the off-notes. And they’ll cost you significantly more than most coffees by the pound,” Gudeux said.

However, testers did find two very good Colombian coffees to recommend — Colombian Supremo Medium Roast from Gloria Jean’s and Newman’s Own Organics Colombian Especial Medium Roast. Both have nutty and fruity notes and go for about $13 a pound.

If you prefer decaf, testers named three good options. The highest rated was New England Coffee Decaffeinated Colombian, which costs a little more than $9 a pound.

Consumer Reports also tested four Ethiopian whole-bean coffees, which are quite bold compared to supermarket blends. One to try was Caribou’s Ethiopia Finjal Organic Medium, for about $15 per pound.