So, for anyone who doesn’t know, I review beers, and I’m fairly good at picking out individual flavours in the beers that I review.
That’s why I got a bit excited when my wife bought me a Ninja Luxe Café Premier Espresso Machine bean-to-cup coffee machine last Christmas. I liked the idea of doing the same thing with coffee.
You read these descriptions and they sound incredible. “Mild chocolate with a juicy blackcurrant sweetness and a hint of lime.” or “Rich dark chocolate, sweet honey, and bright tangerine.”
I genuinely wanted to taste that, but I quickly found that I can’t ... everything well, just tastes like coffee!
I’ve tried the usual advice. No milk, no sweeteners, no sugar. I’ve read that the drip method (the Luxe function on this specific machine), is one of the best ways to bring out those more delicate flavours, so that’s how I’ll do all of these.
I’m going to treat this like I would a beer review, but slower, and a bit more methodical. I’m going to test strength, grind size, temperature, and even the water I’m using.
When I can get it, I tend to stick to Vemondo Barista Oat ‘Milk’ from Lidl, but if I will use a comparable barista oat milk.
For those that want to know the water details ... where we live the water is classed as Hard, and apparently I have since discovered that this particular profile can suppress some of the brighter and more delicate flavours, so I need to be wary of that.
Calcium: 73.8 mg/l
Magnesium: 24.9 mg/l
Conductivity: 524 µS/cm
pH: 7.5
For those coffees with a more delicate flavour profile, I'll be using the Tescos own brand still water (unless otherwise stated) as that apparently has a nice soft water profile.
I’ll keep this post updated as I go. If I crack it, great. If I don’t, at least I’ll know it’s not for lack of trying.
Lidl Deluxe Colombian Rica
10 June 2026
Flavours expected: Warm and Full Bodied with Fruity Notes
Strength: Medium-Drk Roast
Grind: Pre-Ground (Fine)
Water: Hard tap water
Another pre-ground coffee. Used our hard tap water today. On the nose, very strong tobacco notes and a little earthiness.
Honestly, the flavour was just a rich coffee with perhaps a hint of chocolate in there, quite a dry bittereness the further down the cup I got, but no fruit at all; when adding a touch if milk to it, a very mild chocolate flavour come out of it, and that bitterness became a little milder. Looking forward to see what a soft water does to this coffee later.
Score: 4/10
Morrisons The Best Kenyan
1 June 2026
Flavours expected: Blackcurrant and Citrus Notes
Strength: Medium
Grind: Pre-Ground (Fine)
Water: Hard tap water
Slightly different today, I went back to our usual hard Yorkshire tap water rather than the softer bottled water and those fruit flavours definately weren't as pronouncd! Perhaps softer water is needed for ther fruitier coffees!
Still smooth and roasty, just without that red berry flavour, I think the chocolate might have been dialled own a tad too.
Score: 6.5/10
Morrisons The Best Kenyan
31 May 2026
Flavours expected: Blackcurrant and Citrus Notes
Strength: Medium
Grind: Pre-Ground (Fine)
Water: Lidl Carrick Glen still water
Couldn't get a whole bean version of this, so I bought the ground version instead. I just put the right amount in the Luxe filter basket, around half full.
As you can see I used a cheap supermarker bottled water. These cheaper waters often come from soft-water sources in places like Cumbria or Scotland, so more delicate flavours should be able to come through.
I do have to remember that, unlike the hop-forward IPAs I enjoy, I'm only looking for a resemblance of flavour rather than outright flavour.
I have to say that this test worked to some extent. This was a very smooth coffee, and I definitely picked up a mild fruitiness (perhaps more red berries). There was no harsh roastiness, and I also got a very mild milk chocolate note and a very mild bitterness.
Score: 7.5/10
Union Gajah Mountain
16 May 2026
Flavours expected: Chocolate Truffle and Molasses
Strength: Medium
Grind: 20 (Coarse)
Water: Evian still water
Started proper experimenting now. Made it a coarse grind to slow down the extraction and try to get more delicate flavours (possibly the coffee for this actually!). Also I incorrectly tried Evian water rather than tap water. The result was a rich roasty coffee with a hint of nut, it's OK but nothing special. With milk it became smooth with a lot of bitterness, but a bit of sweetness came through.
Score: 5.5/10
Union Gajah Mountain
14 May 2026
Flavours expected: Chocolate Truffle and Molasses
Strength: Medium
Grind: 14 (Medium)
Water: Hard Tap water
Again, this makes a very nice, strong coffee, but I’m honestly not picking up any chocolate truffle or molasses flavours. Good quality coffee with a slight nutty note when served black. With milk, this turns into a really smooth, creamy coffee with a nice chocolate flavour.
Score: 7/10
Union Yayu Forest
2 April 2026
Flavours expected: Citrus and Bourbon Biscuits
Strength: Medium
Grind: 14 (Medium)
Water: Hard Tap water
This felt really rich, but I failed to get any citrus, bourbon, or biscuit out of it. It had a strong roast flavour with a little earthiness. Milk dulled the richness slightly and brought out a nice dark chocolate flavour that I really didn’t pick up when I had it black.
Score: 7/10
Rave Colombia El Carmen #50
20 March 2026
Flavours expected: Chocolate Truffle and Molasses
Strength: Medium
Grind: 15 (Medium)
Water: Hard Tap water
A nice chocolate flavour when I had this black. A very understated coffee, and very easy drinking. With milk, it added a nice semi-sweet chocolate note.
Score: 8/10
Bellarom Coffee Beans
3 March 2026
Flavours expected: Heavily roasted coffee and dark chocolate
Strength: Medium
Grind: 15 (Medium)
Water: Hard Tap water
Probably some of the cheapest coffee beans on the market. They made a nice black coffee with ash-like notes that I liked, and I did get some really nice chocolate flavour after adding milk.
Score: 5/10
Rave Signature Blend #1
5 February 2026
Flavours expected: Caramel, Almond & Chocolate
Strength: Medium
Water: Hard Tap water
A very decent coffee, but to me it just tasted like good coffee. Not too strong or bitter. The milk did bring out a good chocolate flavour.
Score: 7/10
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