Guide · Beans and ground coffee
The best coffee bags in the UK, from supermarket shelves
Coffee bags brew ground coffee in a mug like a teabag. We compare the ones we could price on a UK supermarket shelf, plus a one-cup drip filter, with the cost per cup worked out.
Coffee bags are the coffee version of a teabag: a sealed pouch of ground coffee that you steep in a mug, then lift out. This guide to the best coffee bags UK shoppers can pick up in a supermarket covers the ones we could actually price on 3 Oct 2026, what each maker says about the roast, what a bag works out at, and how to get a stronger mug from one. We haven’t tested this in person. Our basis is Morrisons’ product listings, with prices, pack sizes and brewing steps checked 3 Oct 2026, and no owner feedback, because we couldn’t link any. Read how we compare.
One thing to know up front: Morrisons was the only big supermarket where we could see coffee bag prices, and its coffee bags section held four boxes, all from Taylors of Harrogate. So this is a short list, but every price on it is real.
Best coffee bags UK: the short answer
Choose Taylors Rich Italian for an everyday medium mug. Taylors puts it at roast 4 and describes dark chocolate and almond notes. It’s £3.80 for 10 bags at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change).
Who it isn’t for: anyone who likes a really dark, smoky cup. That’s Hot Lava Java.
Choose Taylors Hot Lava Java for the darkest cup on the shelf. It’s roast 6, the highest Taylors roast number here, with smoke and black pepper in Taylors’ own description.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who takes coffee black and finds dark roasts bitter.
Choose Taylors Decaff for a decaf coffee bag. It’s the only decaf coffee bag we found, at roast 4, with Taylors describing caramel and malt.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants decaf in a bigger, cheaper pack. It comes in the same 10-bag box.
Choose Rombouts One Cup Filter for a filter-style cup with no steeping. It sits on top of the mug and the water drips through.
Who it isn’t for: anyone brewing into a travel mug. Rombouts’ instructions have you rest the filter on top of the cup.
Coffee bags, instant and drip filters: what’s the difference?
These three get shelved together, but they work in different ways.
- Coffee bags hold ground coffee in a sealed pouch. Taylors’ instructions on Morrisons are to steep the bag for four full minutes, then squeeze it out and remove it. You’re brewing real ground coffee, just without a cafetière.
- One-cup drip filters, like the Rombouts filter, hold ground coffee in a paper cone that rests on the cup. You pour hot water in up to a line and let it run through, according to Rombouts’ instructions on Morrisons. It’s closer to filter coffee than to a steeped mug.
- Instant coffee is a different product again: it dissolves completely, so there’s nothing to lift out. Our instant coffee hub covers the jars.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a cup in under a minute. Instant is quicker than either a bag or a filter.
The coffee bags we could price
Taylors of Harrogate Rich Italian
Morrisons lists it as 100% arabica, roast 4, a medium roast blending African and Latin American coffee. Taylors describes dark chocolate and almond notes. Each bag is individually wrapped and the box is Rainforest Alliance certified, according to Morrisons’ listing.
Price: £3.80 for 10 bags (75g) at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change). That’s £3.80 ÷ 10 = 38p a bag.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants an unwrapped bulk pack. Every bag here comes in its own sachet.
Taylors of Harrogate Flying Start
A step darker at roast 5, which Taylors calls a dark, slow roast with hazelnut and caramel. Morrisons lists it as 100% arabica, from Brazil, Latin America and East Africa.
Price: £3.80 for 10 bags (75g) at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change), so 38p a bag.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants the darkest option. Hot Lava Java goes one roast further.
Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
Roast 6, described by Taylors as extra dark, with smoke and black pepper. Morrisons gives the origins as Brazil and Indonesia. For the full blend, see our Hot Lava Java guide.
Price: £3.80 for 10 bags (75g) at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change), so 38p a bag.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who prefers a lighter, sweeter mug.
Taylors of Harrogate Decaff
Roast 4, 100% arabica from Central America and Brazil, according to Morrisons, with caramel and malt in Taylors’ description. The listing doesn’t say which decaffeination method is used.
Price: £3.80 for 10 bags (75g) at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change), so 38p a bag.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants to know the decaf process before buying. It isn’t on the listing.
The multibuy
Morrisons also runs multibuys on these boxes, so check price at Morrisons.
The drip-filter alternative: Rombouts One Cup
Rombouts Original comes as 10 one-cup filters (70g) for £4.00 at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change). That’s £4.00 ÷ 10 = 40p a cup, and £57.14 a kilo by Morrisons’ figure. Each filter holds 7g of coffee (70g ÷ 10), a little less than a Taylors bag’s 7.5g (75g ÷ 10).
Rombouts calls it a medium roast, 3 on its 5-point scale, with cacao, roasted almond and brown sugar notes. The filters are made from bagasse, the fibre left after sugar cane is pressed, and Morrisons lists them as certified for home composting. Rombouts says to use the pack within two weeks of opening.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a bag they can leave in to make it stronger. A drip filter runs through once.
How to get a better mug from a coffee bag
Taylors’ steps on Morrisons are simple, and they’re worth following:
- Bag in first, then water. Taylors says boiled, not boiling, water, so give the kettle a moment after it clicks off.
- Stir and squeeze. Pressing the bag against the side helps the water get through the coffee.
- Give it the full four minutes. That’s Taylors’ brewing time. Pulling it after one minute gives a weak mug.
- Squeeze once more, then lift it out.
Two more things from the numbers: a Taylors bag holds 7.5g of coffee, so a very large mug will taste thinner than a standard one.
Who it isn’t for: anyone hoping for espresso-style strength. A bag makes a long, filter-style mug.
When to step up to a cafetière
Coffee bags cost a lot by weight. At £3.80 for 75g at Morrisons, Taylors works out at £50.67 a kilo. For scale, Morrisons Espresso Blend beans were £14.25 for 1kg at Morrisons when we checked on 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change). At the 7.5g in a Taylors bag, that’s £14.25 ÷ 1,000 × 7.5 = about 11p of coffee a mug, though you’d need a grinder for beans.
If you drink more than a mug or two a day, a small cafetière usually makes more sense. Our guide to the cafetière for one covers single-mug sizes, and how to use a cafetière runs through the method.
Things to know before you buy
- The sachets aren’t recyclable. Morrisons’ Taylors listings say the box can be recycled but the sachet can’t.
- Limited choice on the shelf we could check. Morrisons’ coffee bags section had only Taylors. Percol makes coffee bags too, but we couldn’t confirm a UK price on 3 Oct 2026. Our Percol coffee bags guide covers the range.
- Lyons: we couldn’t load a Lyons page or find a Lyons coffee bag listing, so it’s left out.
- Other supermarkets: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose didn’t load for us, so prices there may differ.
FAQ
How long should you brew a coffee bag? Taylors says four full minutes on Morrisons’ listing, with a squeeze before you lift it out.
How much coffee is in a coffee bag? A Taylors box is 75g for 10 bags, so 7.5g a bag. Rombouts’ one-cup filters are 70g for 10, so 7g each.
Can coffee bags go in food waste? It depends on the product. Rombouts says its one-cup filters can be home composted or put in food waste. The Taylors listings don’t say what to do with the used bag; they say the box can be recycled but the sachet can’t.
Is there a decaf coffee bag? Yes. Taylors Decaff coffee bags were £3.80 for 10 at Morrisons, checked 3 Oct 2026 (prices can change).