Aldi’s private-label Specially Selected Ethiopian Coffee was the highest-scoring coffee in a blind taste test, trumping Lavazza, branded coffees from Starbucks and Costa, and other private-label competitors from Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Waitrose, DailyMail.co.uk reports.
The consumer body Which? conducted the assessment, in which 16 coffees were scored. The 200g Aldi product in question received the best score, of 82 per cent, and retails at £1.79.
M&S’s Single-Origin Colombian Roast and Ground Coffee (£3 for a 227g packet) was the runner-up, while Lidl Deluxe Guatemalan Roast & Ground Coffee (£1.79 for 200g) registered a 70-per-cent score. Surprisingly, premium brand Lavazza was rated the worst of the 16 coffees tested.
Aldi’s winning product is a “rich, dark coffee that is great both with and without milk”, as well as “strong but balanced, with a lingering sweetness”.
Which? noted that during the test “all branding and labels had been stripped from the coffees before they were brought into the tasting room. This ensured the experts didn't know which coffee they were tasting until all 16 had been rated.”
The managing director of buying for Aldi UK, Tony Baines, said, “We pride ourselves on offering customers exceptional taste at low prices, and to beat leaders in the coffee industry, as well as other supermarkets [...] is evidence that you don’t have to pay premium prices to enjoy barista-style coffee.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
