Finding good espresso beans at Costco has gotten complicated with all the conflicting recommendations flying around. As someone who pulls espresso shots on my Jura Z10 every morning, I got tired of paying $18-22 a pound for “espresso roast” from specialty shops — so I ran an experiment. Bought every coffee at Costco that could reasonably work as espresso and tested them all over two weeks. Today, I’ll share everything I found.
Some of these beans were surprisingly great. Others looked perfect on the shelf but fell apart in the portafilter. Here’s my ranking with real notes on crema, shot flavor, and how they actually perform in home machines.
How I Tested These Beans
All testing on my Jura Z10 super-automatic, with select beans also pulled on a Breville Barista Express for comparison.
- Machines: Jura Z10 (super-auto) and Breville Barista Express (semi-auto)
- Grind: Jura at setting 3 (fine); Breville at setting 5
- Dose: Double shot (14g) across the board
- Water temp: Factory default on both
- Evaluation: Crema thickness and color, flavor balance (sweet/bitter/sour), body, aftertaste
- Also tested: Lattes and cappuccinos to see how each bean plays with steamed milk
At least 6 shots with each bean. The first 2-3 are always variable as the grinder adjusts, so I only scored shots 4-6. Probably should have mentioned that up front, honestly.
#1: Lavazza Super Crema — The Espresso King at Costco
Price: $22.99 for 2.2 lbs ($0.65/oz)
Roast Level: Medium
Origin: Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia blend
Crema Score: 9/10
Shot Flavor: 9/10
There’s a reason this shows up on every espresso bean list — it’s genuinely exceptional for the price. Thick, golden-brown crema that lasts 2+ minutes in the cup. Shot is sweet and nutty with a honey-like smoothness that avoids both the sourness of underextraction and the bitterness of dark roasts.
On the Jura, needed zero adjustment from standard settings. Beans fed through the grinder consistently, every shot remarkably uniform. On the Breville, dialed in at 18 seconds for a beautiful 2-ounce pull with a natural sweetness that didn’t need sugar.
In lattes, even better. Medium roast cuts through milk without turning bitter, and that natural sweetness means you can skip the syrups. My wife usually asks for vanilla lattes — she stopped asking when I switched to Super Crema.
The catch: At $0.65/oz, it’s the most expensive on this list. But compared to specialty espresso at $1.00-1.50/oz, still a bargain. Also, Costco sometimes stocks Lavazza Gran Crema instead — different blend, Super Crema is better for espresso.
Verdict: Best espresso bean at Costco by a wide margin. If you own any espresso machine, buy this.
#2: Mayorga Cafe Cubano Espresso Roast — The Bold Alternative
Price: $14.99 for 2 lbs ($0.47/oz)
Roast Level: Dark
Origin: Peru, Honduras, Nicaragua blend
Crema Score: 8/10
Shot Flavor: 8.5/10
If you like espresso with more punch — closer to what you’d get at a cafe in Rome — Mayorga’s the way to go. Darker roast than Lavazza. Shots have a rich, almost syrupy body with strong caramel-chocolate notes.
Crema is thick but slightly darker, dissipates a bit faster — about 90 seconds vs Super Crema’s 2+ minutes. The flavor more than compensates. This is espresso that announces itself.
On the Jura, had to bump the grind one notch coarser. Dark roast beans are more brittle, grind finer, caused slight channeling at my standard setting. Once adjusted, shots were excellent.
In milk drinks, holds its own better than lighter beans. Making big 12-16 oz lattes? This will actually taste like coffee instead of flavored milk.
The catch: Dark roast makes it less forgiving. Under-extracted shots taste ashy, not sour. You need to dial it in. Organic though, and at $0.47/oz — noticeably cheaper than Lavazza.
Verdict: Best value espresso at Costco. Also check my full Costco coffee ranking where I scored this against 11 others.
#3: Jose’s Gourmet 100% Colombia Supremo — The Surprise Performer
Price: $18.99 for 3 lbs ($0.40/oz)
Roast Level: Medium
Origin: 100% Colombia
Crema Score: 7/10
Shot Flavor: 7.5/10
Wasn’t expecting much. The 3-pound bag screams “drip coffee for the office.” Tested it anyway because Colombian beans can surprise you as espresso, and at $0.40/oz the price was too good to ignore.
Surprise: it pulls decent espresso. Crema is thinner — more tan than golden — but present and stable. Shot has a pleasant brightness with citrus and caramel that’s unusual for espresso but genuinely enjoyable. Like a lighter, more interesting espresso that purists might actually prefer over traditional dark Italian blends.
Where it falls short: body. Shots are a bit thin. Doesn’t have that viscous, syrupy quality great espresso should have. For straight shots, noticeable weakness. For milk drinks, the brightness gets buried.
On the Jura, had to grind one notch finer and felt like I was pushing extraction. Breville gave better results with finer grind and longer pull (22 seconds).
Verdict: Capable espresso at incredible value. I wouldn’t pick it over Lavazza or Mayorga, but if you’re experimenting on a budget and want to find the right beans for your Jura, worth trying.
#4: Starbucks Espresso Roast — The Familiar Face
Price: $19.99 for 2.5 lbs ($0.50/oz)
Roast Level: Dark
Origin: Multi-region blend
Crema Score: 7.5/10
Shot Flavor: 6.5/10
Love Starbucks lattes and want to recreate that at home? This is your bean. Care about espresso quality in any objective sense? Keep scrolling. Very dark — borderline French roast — and shots taste exactly like a Starbucks cafe: smoky, roasty, slightly bitter, designed for large milk drinks.
Crema is decent but has a dark, reddish tint that screams over-roasting. Shot is one-dimensional: roast flavor dominates everything. No origin character, no fruit notes, no sweetness. Just ROAST.
In a 16-oz latte though, the intense roast actually works. Punches through all that milk. That’s the design — Starbucks engineered this for milk drinks, not straight shots.
Verdict: Buy if you want home espresso that tastes like Starbucks. Skip if you want espresso that tastes like good espresso. At $0.50/oz, not great value compared to Mayorga ($0.47/oz), which is better in every way.
#5: Kirkland Signature Organic Sumatra — The Dark Horse
Price: $16.99 for 2 lbs ($0.53/oz)
Roast Level: Dark
Origin: Sumatra
Crema Score: 7.5/10
Shot Flavor: 8/10
Not labeled as espresso, but it’s become my go-to “backup” when I’m between bags of Lavazza. Sumatran origin gives it an earthy, chocolatey profile that works incredibly well as espresso — deep flavor, low acidity, enough body to hold up in the cup.
Crema is medium-thick with good color, not quite Lavazza-level luxurious. Shot has a clean dark chocolate flavor with earthy undertones. Most “interesting” espresso on this list after Lavazza.
Where it excels: consistency. Every shot tasted nearly identical, which matters for daily use on a super-automatic. Jura loved these beans — no grind adjustments, no channeling, no issues.
Verdict: Excellent non-traditional espresso option. If you like earthy, low-acid espresso, this is actually better than Starbucks Espresso Roast and cheaper too.
Beans I Tested That Don’t Work for Espresso
Not everything pulls double duty. These are fine for drip but disappointing in an espresso machine:
- Kirkland Colombian Supremo: Too bright and thin. Sour shots even when properly dialed in.
- Kirkland House Blend: Flat, boring shots, almost no crema. Needs full extraction (pour over, drip) to show any flavor.
- Starbucks Pike Place: Surprisingly bad as espresso for the price. Thin crema, generic flavor, no sweetness.
- San Francisco Bay French Roast: Too dark for consistent extraction. Shots swing between bitter and burnt depending on exact grind.
Super-Automatic vs. Semi-Auto: Does It Matter?
Depends on your machine type.
Super-automatics (Jura, De’Longhi Dinamica, Philips): Less forgiving because you can’t adjust dose, tamp, or extraction time as precisely. Lavazza and Mayorga performed best on my Jura — forgiving beans, medium-to-dark roast, oily enough for good extraction, consistent size.
Semi-automatics (Breville, Gaggia, Rancilio): More control means you can make mediocre beans work with adjustments. Jose’s actually pulled better on the Breville because I could grind finer and extend extraction to compensate for thinner body.
Bottom line: Super-auto? Stick with Lavazza or Mayorga. Most “set it and forget it” espresso at Costco. Semi-auto with room to dial in? The full list gives you more viable options. My best beans for Jura machines guide has specific recs.
The Final Ranking
- Lavazza Super Crema ($0.65/oz) — Best overall, incredible crema, works in any machine
- Mayorga Cafe Cubano ($0.47/oz) — Best value, bold, great for dark espresso lovers
- Kirkland Organic Sumatra ($0.53/oz) — Best non-traditional pick, earthy, consistent
- Jose’s Colombia Supremo ($0.40/oz) — Budget pick, bright espresso if you can dial it in
- Starbucks Espresso Roast ($0.50/oz) — Only for “Starbucks at home,” otherwise skip
If I had to pick one, Lavazza Super Crema without hesitation. It’s the only bean at Costco that feels like it was actually designed for espresso machines, and it delivers cafe-quality shots at a fraction of the price. Pair it with a decent super-automatic and you’ll genuinely stop going to coffee shops. I did.
Want to see how all these rank for drip and other brew methods too? My complete Costco coffee beans test ranking covers 12 options across multiple brew methods.
