14 Best Single-Origin Coffee Beans From Amazon

We've all been there at least once — you're fresh out of your favorite coffee and don't have time to grab another bag in the next few days, but making it through the day without coffee is like asking a car to run on no gas. Coffee emergencies can be unpredictable, and when they hit at a busy time in your week, they're even worse. What if we told you there was a way to get coffee delivered to your door at the push of a button without sacrificing the quality you're accustomed to? You can probably guess where we're going with this one — today, we're sussing out whole coffee beans available on Amazon to determine which are worth the bang for your buck.

Rather than being all-encompassing with this coffee guide, we're focusing on whole bean, single-origin coffees that are available on Amazon (which, yes, you will need to grind at home). Why? We're particularly fond of single-origin beans because they give the drinker the full essence of the region's flavor. For example, coffee beans grown at a high altitude in Ethiopia will be bright and fruity, while coffee beans from some regions in Mexico will have an earthier, smokier flavor. Single-origin coffee beans simply offer an opportunity to become intimately familiar with coffees from different regions throughout the world. Though this ranking is based primarily on reviews, we also chose companies based on ethical sourcing and the quality of their roasting practices.

What better company to start our list off than The Younger Brothers Trading Co., with its bag of Colombia Kogi Coffee? With the limited edition single roast in particular (pictured above), the company has a direct partnership with the family farm of Cabildo José de los Santos Sauna, which produces the beans. Rather than operating through a middleman in sourcing these beans, the company pays the family directly, helping ensure the financial security both of the farm and of the Indigenous Kogi community. 

In terms of the coffee itself, these beans are organic and pesticide-free and don't contain any GMOs. Given its Colombian origin, you'll probably taste notes of chocolate, caramel, and possibly some bright fruitiness. It seems to be a favorite among Amazon customers. Aside from the incredible fact that this Amazon-available coffee is grown in a remote part of Colombia (one of the best countries for coffee beans) that its Indigenous tribe has inhabited for centuries, reviews generally laud the coffee's flavor. One Amazon review even calls the beans "my new all time go to coffee."

If you've never had the opportunity to taste a single-origin Yirgacheffe coffee, add this to your cart immediately. Yirgacheffe is a region in Ethiopia that is known for growing coffee beans with wildly fruity and floral notes. It can be a shock to the system if you're used to drinking earthier, more grounded coffees — a Yirgacheffe might have you tasting notes you didn't know coffee could have. We're willing to bet the flavor of Volcanica's Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is pretty exotic, considering its listed tasting notes of lemon, blueberry, and blackberry, and the testimony of Amazon reviewers. 

Flavor considerations aside, we also appreciate Volcanica's conscientious support of the coffee community. This coffee is both USDA organic certified and fair trade certified, and the family-run company's roasting process strive for as low a carbon footprint as possible. In addition, 1% of the company's sales go to charity:water, a nonprofit that works to bring safe drinking water to communities that don't have it — many of which happen to be communities from which Volcanica sources its coffee.

Are you in the market for a coffee company that controls all parts of the coffee supply chain, from growing the beans to shipping orders? Look no further than Two Volcanoes Coffee, a Guatemala-based company that took on the massive task of being its own farmer, producer, roaster, and exporter all in one. Buying from Two Volcanoes seems like a no-brainer if ethical consumption is at the forefront of your concerns — given that the company processes, roasts, and ships the coffee it grows, the money you spend on coffee stays directly in its production cycle. 

The company says this bag boasts delicate floral notes, and Amazon reviewers seem to back this claim up. In fact, many customers praise the coffee for tasting floral, earthy, and winey, with incredibly aromatic beans. However, some customers say it's fairly light for a medium roast coffee, and that you should expect to use more beans in a brew than you might be accustomed to if you want a fuller flavor. 

If you want a bag of coffee that's been third-party tested to ensure it's of stellar quality, give Java Planet's Ethiopian Organic coffee a try. Not only have Java Planet's beans been independently tested to make sure they're free of pesticides, molds, and heavy metals, but they're also low acid beans — meaning this coffee might be easier on your stomach than other brands you've had in the past. Owners Jennifer and Mike Simmons have been in the roasting business for over a decade now, and only source organic arabica beans for their coffee to make sure it tastes as good as possible while mitigating any adverse environmental impact. 

Regarding Java Planet's Ethiopian beans, you're likely to taste a juicy, fruity, pretty wild cup when you brew with these. The beans are naturally processed, which involves drying coffee cherries in the sun before picking the fruit off the bean by hand (as opposed to wet processing, which separates the beans from the cherries through a washing process). This infuses the beans with more of the cherry's flavor, leaving you with a fuller flavor in your cup. 

Are you looking for beans for a dark roast coffee lover? You wouldn't go wrong with a bag of Bones Coffee Company's Sumatra Single Origin. Impressive bag design aside (which, let's be real, is enough on its own to convince us to give it a try), Bones Coffee Company is Rainforest Alliance certified and meets all the certification's rigorous standards for environmental impact and human rights advocacy in producing its coffee.

Seeing as this bag in particular has over 15,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, it's a safe bet that it's up to snuff in terms of quality. The company lists the bag's tasting notes as dark chocolate, earthy, and smoky, which are pretty standard for a dark Sumatra. Reviewers vouch for the coffee's intensity, saying it's definitely a bold, strong cup that boasts a rich flavor profile. This bag will stand in stark contrast to some others on this list (like light roast African coffees), so we'd go with this one if you prefer dark, pronounced coffee or if you typically take your coffee with creamer. 

Our next single-origin coffee pick requires you to have a bit of trust in the company before purchasing — because Counter Culture's Single-Origin beans are a rotating roaster's choice, you won't know the beans' origin until the bag arrives. If you're a fan of grab bags and mystery purchases and you aren't too discriminating when it comes to your morning cup, this can be a super fun buy. And given Counter Culture's well-known brand, you're unlikely to go wrong even with a mystery coffee purchase. 

Counter Culture is no newbie when it comes to roasting high-quality, ethically sourced beans. The company's education on ethical coffee production goes all the way back to 1995; since then, it's been committed to cultivating coffee practices that don't negatively impact the environment, with partnerships that benefit all parties involved and a dedication to ensuring the well-being of its employees. The company also believes in full transparency and offers in-depth reports on its sourcing practices. 

I'll personally vouch for Mt. Comfort Coffee's Peru beans — I've been working on a 2.5-pound bag for a while now (since comparing Costco and Trader Joe's coffees) and it hasn't brewed a bad cup of coffee yet. This coffee is effortlessly smooth. I'd call it neither too light nor too dark. A well-brewed cup sits on the fine line between bright acidity and rich, dark flavor, and it's a good choice if you need a big bag to brew for a wide audience; it holds up perfectly well as a black cup but won't lose its flavor if you add some cream.

Mt. Comfort Coffee knows what it's doing when it comes to single-origin coffees — in fact, that's all it produces, and you won't find a single blend among its offerings. The company hones the roast on each of its single-origin offerings, and all of them are in limited supply. It partners with only the best of the best coffee farmers and roasters in crafting its bags, with the goal of consistently producing beans of impressive flavor. 

Lone Wolf Coffee Co.'s Amara beans are another single-origin Ethiopian offering that isn't likely to disappoint. Though it has few reviews, they're all five stars, and in our opinion, it's hard to go wrong with a light-roasted Ethiopian bean. Especially considering that this coffee is naturally processed, you're likely to taste a bright, juicy cup. It probably won't boast a flavor as deep as dark roast lovers are accustomed to, but you may find a new favorite flavor profile in its abundant fruitiness.

Lone Wolf Coffee Co. is similar to the other picks on our list in that it does what it can to ensure that its coffee production practices have little to no negative environmental or social impact, from farming the beans to roasting them. The company feels deeply connected to the adventurous spirit of exploration that a well-crafted coffee can bring out in any consumer; to that end, it's committed to crafting high-quality cups while also displaying deep reverence for the Earth.

Another stellar single-origin pick for fans of dark roasts is Barrie House Coffee Roaster's Indonesian Sumatra offering. Its listed specs include everything you'd expect from a dark Sumatran bean — it has notes of dark chocolate, syrup, and raisins, and boasts a spicy, strong, earthy character. However, it may takes a couple shots to get the brew of this right — while reviewers tend to say it produces a bold, strong cup, some say you may need to use more coffee than normal to get a dark enough cup out of it. Of course, that's all up to personal preference.

Barrie House itself has been around for almost a century — since 1934, to be exact — and the time the company has spent honing its craft has made it one of the U.S.'s most prominent producers of fair trade, organic coffee. The company has also put an immense amount of effort into ensuring its practices are sustainable and benefit players in all parts of a coffee's production cycle. It even pays premium prices for its beans to support World Coffee Research, an organization dedicated to advancing coffee production methods to further benefit farmers, the planet, and a coffee's quality. 

You may already have heard some hype about coffee-infused bourbon, but what about bourbon-infused coffee? Bourbon and coffee go together like macaroni and cheese, so it's no surprise that many coffee companies have put immense effort into producing the best bourbon-infused coffee consumers can buy. Oak & Bond Coffee Co.'s Bourbon Barrel Aged coffee is one of my favorite products of the trend; it produces a bright, bold cup with a slight spicy hint of bourbon. Moreover, it turns out the beans are single-origin Brazil beans — a smart choice because the citrusy and chocolate notes of the coffee work in perfect harmony with its bourbon essences. 

Oak & Bond focuses on supporting small farms when it comes to sourcing its beans. It buys many of its beans from either micro-lot farms or co-ops that support several small farms. We're all for supporting small farmers, and it's important that consumers know the challenges that come with obtaining organic, fair trade certifications; paying the huge fee to obtain these certifications isn't always feasible for smaller farmers, even if they practice high-quality, clean production methods. This is why, though Oak & Bond's coffee is top-notch, you won't see these labels on its packaging.

If you've never been introduced to Guatemalan coffee beans, Huehuetenango beans are a great place to start. Their flavor tends to be widely palatable and not too wildly fruity or overbearingly dark for the average consumer; you'll typically find citrus and chocolate notes, and the cups you brew will be versatile enough to drink black or with some cream. Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC's Guatemala Huehuetenango is no exception. Reviewers praise the beans for being very smooth and earthy, with some calling this bag in particular their favorite Guatemalan beans. 

Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC really hasn't skimped on the certifications, making it easy for customers to rest assured that they're purchasing ethically sourced, high-quality beans. In addition to being certified USDA organic, direct trade, and fair trade and having Rainforest Alliance and BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) certifications, the company also boasts an OU Kosher certification, a Safe Quality Food certification, and a couple of different water processing certifications. All this regulation ensures your coffee is not only of a consistent quality, but also that it has consistently positive impact on the environment and the lives of coffee farmers. 

So it's the middle of summer and you have a hankering for some homemade cold brew, but your typical chocolatey cold brew won't cut it — you want a light, fruity cold brew to match your bright mood. When this is the case, don't hesitate to grab a bag of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee. One reviewer's testament that the coffee is "smooth yet robust" has us guessing you could get a potent cup of cold brew with the coffee's floral, jasmine, and lemon notes. 

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf prides itself on sourcing from the top 1% of arabica coffee beans, many of which come from small farms that are dedicated to the craft of growing coffee. In fact, the company cuts no corners when it comes to gathering beans for its brand, even traveling to different regions around the world in search of the highest-quality coffee beans it can find. The company's Caring Cup program contributes to maintaining the well-being of both the members of its community in Los Angeles and its coffee growers and employees. 

If you're a coffee lover in the market for a dark Guatemalan bean, it would be hard to go wrong with Peace Coffee's Guatemala Single Origin offering. Customer reviews of the beans tend to be positive and indicate that this may be a mellower, milder dark roast coffee, perfect for dark roast fans who find that some cups have too heavy a mouthfeel. You can expect rich notes of chocolate, cherry, and anise, suited to satisfy a complex palate without overwhelming it. 

Its name is indicative of the company's values — Minneapolis-based Peace Coffee maintains a firm dedication to sourcing coffee from cooperatives that show heavy investment in their coffee farmers. The company is also committed to ensuring the livelihood of coffee producers amid an often unstable coffee economy. All the coffee Peace Coffee sources comes from organic, fair trade beans cultivated through sustainable production practices. 

Last but certainly not least, we have a single-origin buy for the consumer who can't choose just one origin country. Atlas Coffee Club's World of Coffee Discovery Set sends buyers beans from eight different origin countries, though there's also a four-country option if you'd like to start smaller. This is a wonderful way for coffee newbies to get an intro course on the flavor profiles of different countries' coffees. It's also worth mentioning that I used to be a subscriber to the company's monthly coffee club and received consistently outstanding beans.

In terms of its practices, the company pays its farmers "above fair-trade prices" to support them in producing consistently high-quality beans. The company has also partnered with two farms in Nicaragua, which they pay advance fees so they don't fall into the debt cycle that often plagues coffee farmers of the region. All of Atlas' packaging is recycled and boasts some impressive eco-stats, including saving 2.6 million gallons of water and 6,000 trees and reducing CO2 emissions by 370 tons.

Though we didn't have the opportunity to try all these coffees, we took care when selecting which single-origin coffees to include on this list. First, even if the coffee had few reviews, its Amazon reviews average had to be at least four stars. We combed through reviews to make sure opinions about the coffee were generally positive and paid special attention to reviews that compared a certain coffee with other similar brands they had tried.

We also looked into each company's sourcing and business practices. Unfortunately, many companies lack total transparency when it comes to in-depth detail about how much their coffee farmers are getting paid, where they're buying their beans from, and employee wages. However, a reasonable guess as to the company's ethics and practices can be made by searching for information on how they source their coffee. We took into special consideration brands that mentioned buying coffee directly from farmers, companies with fair trade certifications, and those that source from small farms.