Juan Luis Guerra would be happy with his ‘I hope it rains coffee’. What we do not know is if, with the data from the OCU and its recent analysis of coffees, I would be willing to buy private label coffees Or I would prefer to bet on the first brands.
What if it is true, after evaluating 15 different ground coffees with a tasting panel, is that the coffee in Spain —at least according to the OCU— suggests that the coffee in our country has a good or very good quality.
The comparison consisted of 13 natural ground coffees and 12 blended ground coffeesexplaining that the big differences within the valuation were in the amount of caffeine and the sale price.
In addition, in their analysis they have shown that the coffees that have been cataloged have no mycotoxins or acrylamide valuesTherefore, they are not dangerous to health, although they have pointed to the maximum doses of caffeine, where with a couple of coffees depending on which natural ground coffee we could meet that maximum.
Private label coffee: just as good, half as expensive
Evaluating flavor, color, intensity, aroma and price, the OCU considers that the Private label coffees win by a landslideciting certain examples where the price quality is quite good.
In that sense, among his favorites are the natural ground coffee from Carrefour (1.36 euros per 250 gram container), of which they say it has “medium body, with a pleasant and balanced flavor” or, if we go to the mix, they reward the Auchan blend ground coffees (from Alcampo) for its “cream consistent and full-bodied coffee”, also at an adjusted price of 1.45 euros for each 250-gram container.
In any case, that does not mean that the first brands make bad coffee, but it does mean that it is more expensive, also noting differences of up to 60 cents per package depending on the establishment where they are bought
However, if the price does not matter to us, the OCU is clear that the best coffees continue to be from top brands, citing the Fortaleza blend ground coffee with the highest score in the analysis, while Lavazza crema e gusto classico does the same in the category of natural ground coffee.
The ghost of caffeine
We might think that all coffees, beyond the taste, are the same. However, the analysis has shed light on this stimulant which, depending on the case, had much higher amounts of caffeine.
This is what happens with natural ground coffee from Bonka or Oquendo Intensity 7, where two cups would serve to reach 400 mg of caffeine per day —considered by the European Food Safety Authority as the maximum recommended amount—, where eight grams of ground coffee per service would suffice.
the little suspense
What they do explain within the OCU is that they are “Few brands offer information on the origin and variety of coffee employee”, which is quite relevant information in theory, especially to understand the amounts of caffeine.
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For this reason also the variation, since Robusta coffee has more caffeine than Arabicaas well as the degree of grinding —depending on its fineness, more or less caffeine will be extracted— or the degree of roasting, where the lighter the roast, the more caffeine.
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