Coffee Brew Bags

Drip coffee bags, coffee bags and instant coffee: what is the difference?

Search for drip bags and you'll find two different things. Some are paper filters with fold-out ears that hang on the rim of your cup while you pour water through them. Ours steep. The bag sits in the mug and brews there, so there's nothing to balance and no careful pouring.

How to make coffee with a brew bag

1. Put one bag in your mug.
2. Pour on about 230ml (8oz) of freshly boiled water and give it a stir.
3. Leave it for three to five minutes. Go longer for a stronger cup.
4. Press the bag against the side of the mug with a spoon, then lift it out.

Each bag holds 10g of ground coffee, enough for one mug, and the bag is the filter, so you don't need filter paper. For a lighter cup, lift the bag out sooner. For a stronger one, leave it in while you drink. Milk is fine, and so is black.

What is in the bag

Both products contain ground coffee and nothing else, so the ingredients list is short. All our packaging is made in the UK and is fully recyclable. Each product page has the full details.

Bags of Gold

Bags of Gold is our medium roast, strength 3 out of 5, with notes of chocolate and caramel. It's made from our signature small-batch roasts, ground and packed fresh in a compostable inner bag, and it makes a smooth cup with plenty of flavour and aroma. One customer wrote that the bags were "much better than coffee bags I'd tried in the past from other brands." We'll take that.

Simmer Down Decaf

Simmer Down Decaf is a decaf coffee bag from Cajamarca, a high-altitude region in northern Peru. It's a single origin, not a blend, with Bourbon and Typica varietals, washed and roasted medium, and you can expect vanilla fudge, caramelised biscuit and a touch of hazelnut. The caffeine comes out with the Swiss Water Process, which uses water, temperature and time rather than chemical solvents, and the finished coffee is 99.9% caffeine free. It is independently lab tested for artificial pesticides, moulds and mycotoxins too. It won a Great Taste Award, and the judges didn't know it was decaf. I think that says more than any tasting note we could write.

Prices and cost per cup

Both products come in three sizes.

It works out at about 70p a cup in the smallest pack and about 40p from the bulk box. There's free delivery on every order, tracked, with a £1.45 upgrade to next-day delivery. Order before 11am and it goes out the same day. I'd start with a ten-pack of each, which is the cheapest way to sample both, then pop your favourite in the cart.

How long do coffee bags stay fresh?

What to watch is freshness. Check the roast date on the box, because unopened bags keep for around six months from that date. Once a box opens, use the bags within four to six weeks and store them resealed in a cool, dry place, out of direct light, so the flavour holds up. Decaf loses its edge a little faster than regular coffee after opening, so a small pack beats stockpiling.

Drip coffee bags for travel, camping and the office

A box fits in a rucksack or a desk drawer, and all you need at the other end is a mug and hot water, so you can make quality coffee on holiday, on a camping trip or at work. A ten-pack makes a small gift too. One customer who usually packs supermarket coffee bags when travelling, to avoid instant coffee sachets, called ours "so much better."

For a workplace, the 300-bag box lasts about six weeks if ten people have one bag a day, five days a week. Running a café or a hospitality business? We also supply wholesale coffee.

Prefer to grind your own?

Brew bags are for the days you want good coffee without getting the grinder out. If you'd rather do it yourself, our whole coffee beans come in a stand-up pouch, as single origin coffee or as blends, and there are decaf coffee beans too. Same roastery, same speciality coffee, a bit more faff.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are coffee bags better than instant coffee?

It depends what you want. Instant is quicker. A brew bag takes three to five minutes and gives you freshly brewed coffee made from ground coffee, so the flavour is closer to a cafetiere than to a sachet. Both need only a mug and a kettle, and neither needs a machine.

What is the difference between drip coffee bags and coffee bags?

Drip coffee bags usually have paper ears that hang on the cup while you pour hot water through. Coffee bags steep in the mug like a tea bag. Ours are the steeped kind: add boiling water, wait three to five minutes, press the bag against the mug and lift it out.

How much do drip coffee bags cost per cup?

Our brew bags cost about 70p each in a pack of ten (£6.95), about 69p each in a pack of thirty (£20.55) and about 40p each in the 300-bag bulk box (£119.95). Delivery is free and tracked on every order, and next-day delivery is a £1.45 upgrade.