The Ultimate World Coffee Ranking (From Vietnamese Egg Coffee to Norwegian Boiled Coffee)

Italian Espresso

Direct Hit

Italy turned coffee into a sprint. Hot water is forced through a tight bed of finely ground coffee at high pressure, and about 25 seconds later you have a small, dense shot crowned with crema.

Italians often drink it standing at the bar in a few sips, and the method shows off the oils and character of a bean like nothing else. It is the benchmark of the modern coffee world. But read on, you might be surprised which coffees scored higher...

Swedish Egg Coffee

Brought to the Upper Midwest by Scandinavian immigrants, egg coffee mixes a raw egg into the coffee grounds before boiling. The egg binds the grounds together so they sink and clump once a splash of cold water settles the pot.

The result is a strikingly clear, smooth cup with almost no bitterness. It is still made in big pots for Lutheran church gatherings, and it earns a perfect clarity score in this lab.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Ethiopia is where coffee comes from, and the ceremony treats it that way. Green beans are roasted in a flat pan over charcoal, ground by hand, and brewed in a clay pot called a jebena while incense burns nearby.

The coffee is poured from a height into small cups and served in three rounds, often with popcorn or bread. It takes an hour or more, and that is the point. Nothing in this lab scores higher for terroir.

Indian Filter Coffee

In South India, a two-part stainless steel filter slowly drips a strong decoction. That decoction is mixed with hot milk and sugar, and the coffee is often blended with a little chicory.

It is served in a steel tumbler set inside a wide bowl called a dabarah, and poured back and forth between them to cool and froth it. The pour is a skill, and the result is rich, sweet, and full.

Turkish Coffee

Ancient Decoction

Turkish coffee is ground as fine as flour and slowly heated with water, and often sugar, in a small long-handled pot called a cezve. It comes off the heat as the foam rises and is poured, grounds and all, into the cup.

It is the most aromatic cup in the lineup and a tradition recognized by UNESCO. The grounds settle in the cup, so clarity takes a hit in this lab, but the body and nose are hard to beat.

Austrian Wiener Melange

The Melange is the house drink of the Viennese coffeehouse: a mild espresso-style coffee topped with steamed milk and milk foam. It arrives on a small silver tray with a glass of water.

In Vienna the coffee is half the order and the other half is time. You can sit for hours with a newspaper and nobody will rush you. The milk softens the bean, which costs it points on terroir here.

Portuguese Galão

The galão is Portugal's long, milky coffee. A shot of espresso goes into a tall glass, and the rest is filled with foamed milk, about three parts milk to one part coffee.

It is often ordered with a pastry in the morning and served in the glass so you can see the layers. Pleasant and easy, though the milk does most of the talking.

Cuban Cafecito

Cuban coffee is dark, strong, and sweetened as it is made. The first drops of coffee are whipped hard with sugar into a pale foam called espumita, then the rest of the coffee is stirred in.

At home it is usually brewed in a stovetop pot and poured into tiny cups to share with everyone in the room. It is a drink about people as much as coffee, and the sugar keeps terroir scores low.

Mexican Café de Olla

Café de olla is brewed in a clay pot with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined cane sugar. Many say the clay adds an earthy note of its own.

It is warm, spiced, and made for cool mornings and holidays. The spice and sugar are delicious, but they speak louder than the bean, which is all this narrow lab measures.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Cà phê sữa đá starts with a small metal phin filter set on top of a glass. Strong coffee drips slowly onto a layer of sweetened condensed milk, then it is stirred and poured over ice.

Vietnam grows a great deal of robusta, and its bold, bitter edge stands up to the sweet milk. Refreshing and powerful, but the cold and the sugar mute the aroma in this lab.

Finnish Kaffeost

In northern Finland and Sweden, cubes of a mild baked cheese called leipäjuusto go right into the cup, and hot black coffee is poured over them.

The cheese warms, softens, and is eaten with a spoon once the coffee is gone. It is a beloved northern tradition and a lot of fun, though the lab could not find a box on the score sheet for squeaky cheese.

Greek Frappé

The frappé was born at a trade fair in Thessaloniki in 1957. Instant coffee, sugar, and a little water are shaken into a thick foam, then topped with cold water, ice, and milk if you like.

Across Greece it is sipped slowly through a straw for hours on hot afternoons. The foam is impressive, but instant coffee leaves little for the lab to measure on terroir.

Vietnamese Egg Coffee

Cà phê trứng began in Hanoi in the 1940s, when fresh milk was scarce. Egg yolk is whipped with sugar and condensed milk into a thick custard cream and spooned over strong coffee.

It tastes a little like warm tiramisu and is often served in a small cup set in a bowl of hot water to keep it warm. A wonderful treat, but here the coffee is nearly hidden.

Irish Coffee

Coffee Cocktail

Irish coffee was first served in the 1940s at an airport in the west of Ireland to warm up chilled travelers. Hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and brown sugar are topped with a layer of lightly whipped cream.

It is a fine cocktail and a cozy way to end a cold evening. The whiskey and sugar take over, so it lands near the bottom of a lab that only cares about the bean.

German Filterkaffee

Kaffee und Kuchen

The paper coffee filter was invented in Dresden in 1908 by a homemaker who was tired of grounds in her cup. Germany has brewed filter coffee by the pot ever since.

It is the coffee of the afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen table, poured into good china next to a slice of cake. Clean, honest, and nothing in the way of the bean.

American Diner Coffee

Bottomless Cup

Glass carafe, thick ceramic mug, and a server who fills it before you ask. Diner coffee is simple drip coffee, brewed in big batches all day long.

When the beans are good and the pot is fresh, it is one of the best cups in the world. Black, hot, and refilled.

Norwegian Boiled Coffee

Kokekaffe is how Norway has made coffee for generations. Coarse grounds go into a kettle of just-boiled water, steep a few minutes, and settle to the bottom before the coffee is gently poured off.

It is made at the cabin, on the trail, and over the campfire, usually with a light roast that keeps the bean's sweetness. One kettle, one fire, the perfect cup.