Lavazza is an Italian roaster founded in 1895, and its bags are easy to confuse. The blue ones and the red
one sit side by side, they all say blend, and several do not say which brewer they were built for. This page sorts the range by what matters in the cup: how dark the
roast is, whether the bag is whole bean or ground, how much coffee is in it, and which brewer it suits.
5Lavazza blends compared
1 kgthe usual bag size
15growing countries in Super Crema
1895year the roaster was founded
Lavazza coffee beans: roast, intensity and arabica robusta blends
The short answer
Every coffee here is a blend, none is decaf, and none is flavored. Three are medium roasts and two are dark,
so the real choice is between a gentle everyday cup and a heavier Italian-style one.
Medium roastSuper Crema, Qualita Rossa, Dolcevita Classico
The medium roasts keep more of the bean's own sweetness and are more forgiving if your grind or dose is a little
off. Super Crema is described as creamy, Qualita Rossa as chocolate and Dolcevita Classico as roasted nuts.
Dark roastGran Riserva, Top Class
The dark roasts push toward caramel, toffee and spice, with less brightness and a heavier body. Gran Riserva reads
as maple syrup and walnut, and Top Class as chocolate and spice. They suit milk drinks and anyone who finds
Super Crema too mild.
Bean formatWhole bean or ground
Four of the five are whole bean, which stays fresher and lets you set the grind for your own brewer. Only
Dolcevita Classico is sold ground, which is convenient for a drip machine but leaves you no say over the grind.
Lavazza describes Dolcevita Classico, Qualita Rossa and Super Crema as arabica and robusta blends. That matters
in the cup. Arabica brings sweetness and aroma, while robusta adds bitterness, body and a thicker crema, which is
why Italian espresso blends so often carry some. Lavazza does not state the split for any of these coffees, so the
ratio is something you taste rather than read. Top Class goes further and names a robusta grade, Kaapi Royal Robusta,
which is associated with lower bitterness than a plain robusta.
Intensity is where the bags get confusing, because they do not share a scale. Dolcevita Classico is rated 3 out of
5, while Qualita Rossa is rated 5 out of 10, so the two numbers describe a similar middle-of-the-road cup rather than
a gap in strength. Lavazza gives no intensity number for Super Crema, Gran Riserva or Top Class.
Lavazza Super Crema vs other Lavazza coffee beans
The short answer
Super Crema is the medium-roast espresso blend, built for crema and easier to dial in than the dark Gran Riserva.
Qualita Rossa is the one that is not tied to a single brewer, and Gran Riserva is the heavier choice.
Super CremaMedium, creamy, built for espresso
Beans from 15 growing countries, a medium roast, and a published dose guide of 0.28oz of grounds for a 1oz shot.
Lavazza calls it bold and full-bodied, but the roast is medium, so it is milder than the name suggests and kinder to
a home machine than a dark roast.
Gran RiservaDark, velvety, an espresso roast
Blended and roasted in Italy, with a velvety crema and notes of maple syrup and walnut. It is the pick if
Super Crema tastes too gentle, though Lavazza names no origin countries, only that it is a blend.
Qualita RossaMedium, chocolate, any brewer
Sourced from South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, with chocolate as its single tasting note. Lavazza names
espresso, moka, drip and French press for it, which makes it the most flexible bag of the five.
Dolcevita ClassicoMedium, nutty, ground for drip
The only ground coffee here, sold for drip brewers, from South America and Africa with roasted nut notes. It is the
one to buy if you own a drip machine and no grinder.
The trade-off between Super Crema and Gran Riserva is roast against body. Super Crema is the safer espresso blend
because a medium roast tolerates small mistakes in grind and temperature. Gran Riserva rewards a steady routine with
a heavier, more syrupy shot, and it is the likelier partner for milk drinks. If you are choosing your first Lavazza for an
espresso machine, start with Super Crema, and move to Gran Riserva only if the cup tastes thin to you. Anyone
buying for an espresso machine can also look at our best coffee beans for espresso
for blends from other roasters.
Lavazza Top Class coffee: a business blend or a home coffee?
The short answer
Top Class is listed on the foodservice side of Lavazza's site, aimed at cafes and business espresso. You can drink it
at home, but it is built for volume and it is harder to buy in small amounts.
Top Class is a dark, whole bean 1 kg blend with chocolate and spice notes, and it has the most sourcing detail of
any coffee on this page. It lists eleven countries or regions, among them Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala,
India and Java, with washed and natural processing. That is unusual for a commercial espresso blend. Against that,
the bag prints no roast date, so you cannot judge freshness at the point of purchase, the maker claims no
certifications, and the price is not published because business customers are quoted by supplier. Lavazza's site
offers it in whole bean or an espresso grind.
Best Lavazza coffee for espresso, moka and drip
The short answer
Super Crema or Gran Riserva for an espresso machine, Qualita Rossa for a moka pot or a French press, and Dolcevita
Classico for a drip machine.
Espresso machine
Super Crema is the clearest fit, since it is a medium espresso roast with a dose guide. Gran Riserva is matched to
espresso machines as well and gives a heavier cup. Top Class works if you want a dark blend and can source it. Pair
any of them with a grinder that can go fine enough, such as the ones in our
best grinders for espresso guide.
Moka pot and French press
Qualita Rossa is the one Lavazza names for moka and French press as well as espresso and drip. A medium roast with a
chocolate note is also a sensible match for a stovetop pot, which tends to make a stronger, more bitter cup than a
drip machine. Our guide on how to use a moka pot covers the method.
Drip coffee maker
Dolcevita Classico is the Lavazza coffee made for drip brewers and arrives already ground, so it needs no grinder.
Qualita Rossa also lists drip, and as a whole bean it will be fresher if you are happy to grind it yourself.
How to brew Lavazza coffee beans
Bottom line
Grind to the brewer, weigh your dose, and use Lavazza's own dose for espresso as a starting point.
For espresso, use Lavazza's published dose for Super Crema as the starting point: 0.28oz of grounds for a 1oz shot.
That is a little under 8g for a single, so a double needs roughly twice as much. Grind fine, aim for a shot that runs
for about half a minute, and adjust the grind a notch finer if it gushes or coarser if it chokes. The medium roast
tolerates a slightly cooler brew than a dark one.
For a moka pot, grind a little coarser than espresso, fill the basket level without tamping, and take the pot off the
heat as soon as it starts to sputter. For a French press, grind coarse and steep for four minutes. For a drip machine,
use a medium grind, which is what Dolcevita Classico is cut for. In all cases, store the bag sealed and away from
light, because a 1 kg bag lasts weeks and stale beans lose the crema these blends are bought for.
Lavazza coffee problems and drawbacks
What the range does well
It is coffee only, made in facilities that handle nothing else for Qualita Rossa and Super Crema, and the 1 kg bags are good value per cup when you
drink a lot. Qualita Rossa comes from a roaster founded in 1895, and Gran Riserva comes from a nut-free facility. The medium roasts forgive small mistakes.
Where it falls short
No price is published for any of these coffees, there is no decaf, and Lavazza prints no roast date on Top Class.
Gran Riserva is sold as six 1 kg bags, which is a serious commitment to one blend. Super Crema is a pack of three,
with no individual countries named. Dolcevita Classico is ground, and the product title says Classico where the bullets say Dolcevita Classico.
Robusta in the blend is the other thing to know. It gives the body and crema these coffees are known for, but it also
carries more bitterness and caffeine than pure arabica, so someone used to light-roast specialty coffee may find
Lavazza heavy. If that sounds like you, our coffee beans category lists single
origin and lighter roasted options, and the best decaf coffee page is the place to go
because Lavazza sells no decaf version of these blends.
Which Lavazza coffee beans should you buy?
If you own an espresso machine
Buy Super Crema first. It is the medium roast, the dose is published, and a home machine is usually easier to set up
on it than on a dark roast. Choose Gran Riserva instead if you drink mostly milk drinks or want a darker cup.
If you brew with a moka pot, press or drip
Buy Qualita Rossa. It is the one Lavazza matches to the most brewers, it is a 1 kg whole bean bag, and it has the
widest list of named origins among the retail blends.
If you have no grinder
Buy Dolcevita Classico, the only ground coffee in the range here, and use it in a drip machine.
If you run a cafe or office
Look at Top Class, the foodservice blend, and ask your supplier for a quote and a roast date. Read more about the
brand on the Lavazza roaster page, and if you only want an espresso machine to go
with it, see the best espresso machines under 1000.
