Compare whole coffee bean brands in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Coffee Supreme, Robert Harris, Havana, L’affare, Hummingbird and Jed’s Coffee Co were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Aroma, Packaging, Taste, Texture/Consistency, Variety/Range and Value for Money.
See our Ratings Methodology.
Kiwi coffee connoisseurs rate Coffee Supreme beans the No.1 choice for their daily grind, and the winner of Canstar’s 2025 Coffee Beans Award.
Our review compares coffee beans on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared coffee bean brands before you go ahead and make a purchase. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest friends and family which coffee beans they think are best for their morning brew!
Canstar Blue surveyed 552 Kiwis who had bought coffee beans to brew at home in the past three months and asked for their feedback on the coffee beans they bought.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their coffee bean brands from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
Coffee Supreme lives up to its name with a supreme set of ratings to place it at the top of our awards table as the winner of our 2024 Coffee Bean Award.
The independent, Kiwi coffee roaster earns top 5-Star ratings across all but two of our award categories: Aroma and Value for Money, for which its customers award it great 4-Star ratings.
Coffee Supreme is based in Wellington, where it roasts its coffee. The company produces a range of roasts and all of its beans are ethically sourced, from farmers in South America, Africa and Indonesia.
While supermarkets stock Coffee Supreme’s most popular products – including its Boxer, Brazil, Decaf and signature Supreme blends – the company also makes a range of single-origin espresso and filter coffees. For more on Coffee Supreme’s full coffee selection, click here.
Second on our table, Robert Harris earns its highest rating for Value for Money, and its lowest, a 3-Star score for Packaging. Across the other categories on our awards table it has great 4-Star ratings.
Robert Harris is one of the oldest coffee brands in New Zealand. It was founded over 70 years ago and has grown to include over 30 cafe franchises across the country.
The range of Robert Harris coffees available in supermarkets includes single-origin beans, instant coffee, fresh ground coffee, infused ground coffee and coffee pods.
Havana is a former winner of our Coffee Beans Award, in 2023, and this year it achieves another great set of consumer ratings. Aside from our winner, Coffee Supreme, Havana is the only other brand to earn multiple 5-Star ratings, for Aroma, Packaging and Taste. It achieves its lowest rating, 3 Stars, for Value for Money.
Havana coffee was founded in 1990. When it started, it was one of only four companies roasting coffee in New Zealand. Now part of giant drinks company Lion NZ, Havana retains its individual identity and continues to roast and grind great coffee.
Its range now encompasses a wide choice of coffees featuring different single-origin beans, blends and roasts, both in whole bean and ground coffee.
Fourth on our awards table, L’affare earns a strong set of ratings from its very contented coffee drinkers, a clean sweep of 4-Star ratings across every category.
Established in Wellington in 1990, L’affare is another home-grown coffee success story. The brand operates its own cafes in Wellington and Auckland, and supplies coffee and coffee equipment to the wider hospitality industry.
L’affare’s range of coffees includes capsules and a wide selection of locally roasted whole and ground coffee, including Fairtrade and organic beans.
Although it places fifth on our table, Hummingbird, which won our 2024 award, again earns a great set ratings from its coffee customers. Hummingbird earns two top 5-Star ratings, for Variety/Range and in the all-important category of Taste. Across all other categories, it earns great 4-Star ratings.
Hummingbird Coffee Roasters is an NZ brand, founded in Christchurch, that has been roasting beans for nearly three decades. It was also one of the first Kiwi coffee companies to import ethically grown coffee beans, and the company continues to support local worker initiatives.
Hummingbird Coffee Roasters sells a wide range of whole beans (and ground coffees), all of which are fair trade and organic. The range includes single origin beans from Colombia, Ethiopia, Honduras and Papua New Guinea, as well as multiple bean blends.
Rounding out this year’s award table, Jed’s Coffee Co earns a strong set of 3-Star ratings, plus one 4-Star rating for Taste. While 3 Stars is not a top rating, it is by no means a measure of dissatisfaction, rather it shows that Jed’s Coffee Co’s customers are happy with their choice of beans.
Jed’s Coffee Co is a homegrown brand that has expanded its range considerably over the past few years. As well as whole beans, Jed’s offers different grinds, to suit both espresso machines and plungers, as well as coffee bags, freeze-dried instant coffee and coffee capsules, for use in Nespresso coffee machines.
Jed’s whole beans come in four strength levels: ranging from 3 (Strong), for a full, rich roast, to X (Extreme) for coffee that really packs a punch!
Not all brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.
AvalancheAvalanche is a Kiwi owned and operated coffee brand that was founded just over 20 years ago. It sells a range of fresh coffee beans and grinds, in addition to coffee capsules, for use in Nespresso machines, and instant coffee. Like the big international brands, it also sells its own range of flavoured milky coffee powders.
KarajozKarajoz has been roasting beans for almost 30 years, and is led by Derek Townsend, who is a coffee and cafe legend in Auckland. Karajoz products are available in supermarkets nationwide and encompass a range of blends, in whole bean and ground.
Shaky IslesShaky Isles is a smaller coffee brand that was established in Auckland around 15 years ago. It currently sells a range of five whole bean blends, including decaffeinated, with more in the pipeline.
Coffee tastes are very personal. Some like their coffee milky and sweet, others short, black and bitter. But whether you’re a latte or an instant lover, one thing is paramount, the flavour of the coffee.
Just over a third of respondents in our survey (36%) are faithful to one brand, which corresponds with the biggest factor influencing their choice of outstanding coffee: taste, cited by 34% of our coffee consumers.
Oddly, aroma sits close to the bottom of the list of influencing factors, along with Packaging. Although that’s probably due to the fact that all coffee smells great!
Here’s the full rundown of what the consumers in our survey say are the main things they consider when rating their coffee picks:
Espresso is simply a shot of coffee, with no extra water added. To make an espresso, shoot boiling water under high pressure through finely-ground coffee beans and then pour into a tiny cup. The strong coffees are the purest coffee experience you can get, and while not for everyone, they can be a truly singular experience when you find a good brew.
This is simply a shot of espresso coffee with extra added hot water. The coffee style is said to originate from US soldiers in Italy during WWII.
A long black is made by pouring a double shot of espresso over hot water. This method retains the coffee’s crema (distinctive creamy head), which is lost if you add hot water to an espresso.
Lungo is Italian for long, and a Lungo is a shot of espresso that’s been pulled for longer – had more water pushed through the coffee grounds over a longer time period. It results in a more dilute, milder tasting coffee, yet with more caffeine and a slightly more bitter taste.
Possibly the most popular coffee in New Zealand. A flat white is made by pouring velvety steamed milk over a shot of espresso, with minimal froth.
Popular worldwide, though less so here thanks to our preference for flat whites, lattes consist of steamed milk and a small layer of milk froth. It’s like a flat white, only with a little more volume on top.
The frothiest and foamiest of the milky coffee triumvirate, the cappuccino is possibly the most popular type of coffee in the world. A cappuccino consists of three layers: equal parts espresso, steamed milk and foam.
Here in NZ, we tend to use a double-shot of espresso as the basis of all our coffee beverages. So our cappuccinos tend to have a little more kick than cappuccinos elsewhere.
A macchiato is a shot of espresso that is topped off with foamed milk dashed directly into the cup. Although it’s similar to a cappuccino, it’s usually stronger, as there’s no hot milk added. And it’s also smaller, usually served in an espresso-sized cup.
A mochaccino is just a latte with added chocolate powder or syrup, sometimes topped with whipped cream. If anything, this is a good entry-level coffee – existing in the world between children’s hot chocolates and adult café lattes.
About the author of this pageBruce Pitchers is Canstar NZ’s Content Manager. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the Driven, Stuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines and newspapers, including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery puzzle book 5 Minute Murder.
Use an espresso machine: 45%
Stick to one coffee brand: 36%
Use a plunger: 35%
Buy fair trade coffee: 13%
Use a stovetop espresso pot: 12%
Buy organic coffee: 9%
Canstar Blue surveyed 2508 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Pureprofile. The outcomes reported are the results from customers who who had bought coffee beans to brew at home in the past three months. In this case, 552 New Zealanders. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.
The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Coffee ratings:
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