Greetings, fellow bean people. If you’re here to find the best flavored coffee to jumpstart your morning, you’ve come to the right place. I tried 18 different flavored ground coffees to find the ones that actually deliver on taste and good quality beans. From classic flavors like the best hazelnut coffee to some wackier additions (M&M’s coffee is surprisingly good, you guys), keep reading to see what we recommend.
How we sourced the flavored coffee brands
For this taste test, I focused on ground coffee by the bag. Not K-Cups or whole beans. I looked for common brands you could typically find at stores like Walmart, Kroger, and other nationwide grocery stores. But after trying those, I knew I had to branch out a bit. I wasn’t getting any products that really wowed me, even though I knew they were out there. World Market and Amazon turned out to be great sources for smaller specialty brands that understand what goes into the best flavored coffee.
What we looked for in the best flavored coffee
Here’s an unfortunate truth about flavored coffee that I think we all need to acknowledge: Most of it, especially the cheap stuff, doesn’t taste very good. You’ll find better beans and bolder, more consistent flavors adding syrups and flavored creamers into your favorite brew instead. That being said, the best flavored coffee definitely has a place in your pantry—especially if syrups and creamers are too sweet, strong, or simply unappealing to you.
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- Starbucks Vanilla Ground Coffee
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Yeah, I’m as surprised as you are that Starbucks made it onto this list of the best flavored coffee. Starbucks has a reputation for overroasting their coffee beans for the sake of flavor consistency, which can make it taste a little burnt. I couldn’t really detect that here—their ground coffee really just tastes like any other big coffee brands (Folgers, Maxwell House, etc.), perhaps with a tad too much acidity that comes out when you over-brew it. But the vanilla flavor is neat and balanced—not too artificial, not too sweet. If you can’t find our #1 best vanilla coffee at your favorite grocery store (keep scrolling), this one will do just fine. Also, pro tip: Literally just add a drop of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and a little brown sugar into the grounds in the filter, and your coffee will instantly taste more rich and deep.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- M&M’s Coffee
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M&M’s flavored coffee should have been camp. Bold. Wacky. I expected this to have an incredibly sweet (and off-putting) milk chocolate flavor meant to invoke the essence of an M&M—but I was wrong! Yes, you’re getting the spot-on flavor of M&M’s, but it’s very subtle and pared back. Dare I say…sophisticated? Plus, the quality of the actual ground coffee itself is very decent. It’s super balanced and not at all acidic. I don’t think this is the best flavored coffee for the average Joe, but M&M’s fans and chocolate lovers will like it.
Credit: Merc / World Market
- Dunkin’ Caramel Me Crazy Ground Coffee
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Caramel Me Crazy, but I didn’t know Dunkin’ sold so many different ground coffee flavors in grocery stores. They’re definitely competing with Starbucks in the coffee aisle, and not to pick sides, but Dunkin’ definitely inched ahead in this ranking. This has a smooth, deeper caramel flavor that’s more rich than sweet. A little sweet cream creamer (or even the super buttery Southern Butter Pecan International Delight creamer) would taste great with it.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Dunkin’ Blueberry Muffin Ground Coffee
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Except for the infamous blueberry latte at Burbank’s favorite coffee shop (hi, Priscilla’s), I’m a pretty big fruit-flavored coffee skeptic. Or hater. Depends on the day. So imagine my surprise when Dunkin’s Blueberry Muffin turned out to be one of the best flavored coffees I tried. It’s fragrant and cozy and tastes like real blueberries. There’s a light muffin cake sweetness that really complements the brew. It’s like eating a blueberry muffin while sipping on coffee, but with less effort involved.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Don Francisco’s Hawaiian Hazelnut Flavor
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The only downside to Don Francisco’s Hawaiian Hazelnut coffee is that it doesn’t taste as good as it smells. They should package this into a candle—as soon as this started brewing in the office kitchen, my coworkers were swarming me. The flavor carries a rich, buttery, slightly sweet hazelnut, but the coffee itself needs to be brewed carefully. Make it too strong, and it’s too acidic. Not strong enough, and the hazelnut can get lost. (Don Francisco also makes a cinnamon hazelnut flavored coffee that’s pretty decent, but the cinnamon flavor has a burnt quality—I would just add cinnamon to this one and call it a day!)
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Hawaiian Isles Coffee Roasters Co. Vanilla Bean Macadamia Ground Coffee
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It’s rare to actually taste the macadamia nut in macadamia vanilla flavored products, but here we are! Since I pulled this one off the World Market shelves, I expected it to be pretty good, and I’m glad I was right. (World Market doesn’t get enough credit, guys.) The slightly nutty and earthy notes really complement the vanilla. Flavor aside, the quality of the ground coffee itself is sharply elevated from the more mass produced brands listed above. I recommend a more concentrated brew—this isn’t acidic, and the flavor is on the lighter side, so a bolder brew really does wonders. Either way, it’s the best vanilla coffee we’ve tried to date.
Credit: Merc / World Market
- La Monarca Organic Cafe De Olla Ground Coffee
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La Monarca, an L.A.-based bakery that sells Cafe De Olla Ground Coffee nationwide through World Market and Amazon, has rewritten the standard for flavored ground coffee. You can tell this is going to hit different by just looking at the grounds. The beans have a rough, choppy grind, and they’re infused with visible flakes of cinnamon sticks and brown sugar. When brewed, somehow those three simple ingredients (the only ingredients listed) create a flavor profile that’s deep, zingy, and warmly spiced. We absolutely love this stuff—our only disclaimer is that it does have a perfumey smell that some people might be sensitive to. Otherwise, it’s pretty perfect and deserves to be crowned the best flavored coffee.
Credit: Merc / World Market
Best Vanilla (Runner Up)
Best Milk Chocolate
Best Caramel
Best Fruity Coffee
Best Hazelnut
Best Vanilla
Best of the Best
Other flavored coffees we tried: Don Francisco’s Coffee Vanilla Nut Flavored Ground Coffee, Don Francisco’s Coffee Cinnamon Hazelnut Flavored Ground Coffee, Dunkin’ Hazelnut Roast & Ground Coffee, Great Value Medium Caramel Pecan Ground Coffee, Starbucks Toasted Coconut Mocha Flavored Ground Coffee, Starbucks Vanilla Lavender Flavored Ground Coffee, Great Value Medium Roast French Vanilla Arabica Ground Coffee, Dunkin’ French Vanilla, Twix Ground Coffee, Folgers Toasty Hazelnut, Starbucks Maple Pecan Flavored Ground Coffee
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!