Coffee culture

2019 Drip Coffee Bag Brand Recommendations: Which Brands Offer the Best Taste and Value for Money

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account cafe_style). Drinking coffee is not just for staying awake - from coffee bean origins, sun-dried vs. washed beans, to roasting methods, these all reflect each person's individual preferences. Nowadays, not only beverage brands but also convenience stores and cafes have launched their own drip coffee bags. So which ones are truly good?

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

Drinking coffee is not just about staying alert. From the origin of coffee beans, whether they are sun-dried or water-washed, to the roasting method, each aspect reflects individual preferences. Nowadays, not only beverage brands but also convenience stores and coffee shops have launched their own drip bag coffee. Which one tastes the best? Read on to find out.

Even with drip bag coffee, you can still be sophisticated by using a brewing rack and pour-over filter cup, which makes the entire experience different.

NO.1 Brand: Ziyu

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Ziyu is one of the first brands in China to produce drip bag coffee. Adhering to the philosophy of "drinking coffee as it should be drunk," Ziyu differs from other brands by not using commercial coffee beans for drip bags, but instead selecting specialty coffee beans scoring above 80 points. Although specialty coffee offers much better taste and quality than commercial coffee, it is also significantly more expensive. Amid the trend of consumption upgrading, despite the premium price of Ziyu's drip bag coffee, it remains widely popular among users and is even praised as China's "Blue Bottle." As a high-end brand under 3W Coffee, when evaluated comprehensively from appearance, quality, and cost-effectiveness, one must admit that Ziyu is the top choice for drip bag coffee brands.

NO.2 Brand: FrontStreet Coffee

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Like Ziyu, FrontStreet Coffee is one of the few brands that use specialty coffee beans for drip bag coffee. Compared to Ziyu, which focuses solely on drip bags, Zhiguan's product line is richer, with not only drip bag coffee but also numerous types of coffee beans. Zhiguan's market share is not large, and its packaging design features a simple kraft paper style, making it look more like a handcrafted product, but the overall cost-effectiveness is not low.

NO.3 Brand: Sumida River

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Sumida River comes from Japan, the homeland of drip bag coffee. Japanese drip bag coffee has always been the best-selling in the market, and Sumida River stands out among Japanese drip bag coffee brands. If you're just looking at drip bag coffee as a substitute for instant coffee and not pursuing high-quality flavors, Sumida River is a good choice. Except for the production date being not very fresh and the roast being on the deeper side, Sumida River's cost-effectiveness is still quite high.

NO.4 Brand: UCC

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UCC also comes from Japan and has an extremely broad product line. Their drip bag coffee includes dozens of flavors, covering low-end, mid-range, and high-end tiers. They also produce instant coffee, coffee powder, drip bag coffee, and coffee beverages, making it one of the coffee brands with the most comprehensive product lines. UCC products are easily found in supermarkets both domestically and internationally.

NO.5 Brand: illy

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illy comes from Italy. European and American markets have not promoted drip bag coffee as a mainstream product. illy has symbolically created two types of drip bag coffee, one dark roast and one medium roast. This roasting depth, which abandons the original flavor of coffee, clearly caters to the European and American user groups who prefer stronger flavors.

NO.6 Brand: Starbucks

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As a textbook example of coffee shops, Starbucks also symbolically produces a dark roast drip bag coffee. Starbucks' Pike Place drip bag coffee is roasted even darker than the dark roast of typical brands, making it more suitable for users who add sugar and milk.

NO.7 Brand: Colin

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Colin's product line is very broad, with not only instant coffee, coffee beans, coffee powder, and drip bag coffee, but also various peripheral products such as coffee cups, pour-over kettles, and coffee machines. Although Colin's drip bag coffee sells well through internet channels, it mainly focuses on dark roasted coffees like American and Italian styles. Using beans meant for instant coffee to make drip bag coffee and defining drip bag coffee as a substitute for instant coffee, although the taste and quality are not as good as specialty coffee, the cost-effectiveness is still very high.

NO.8 Brand: David's Choice

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David's Choice has relatively few types of drip bag coffee, and the coffee flavor performance is average. However, its unique, lively, and interesting packaging design, along with the founder Uncle Wei's frequent activity in fan circles, has attracted many loyal fans. Perhaps because the overall drip bag coffee market is growing slowly, David's Choice, which originally focused on drip bag coffee, has also begun to improve its product line, now focusing on instant coffee.

NO.9 Brand: Seiko

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Seiko is also a brand from Japan. Although not well-known domestically, its sales in Japan are very high, with products found in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores. Seiko currently has 11 flavors and only makes drip bag coffee. Except for the issue of imports causing production dates to not be very fresh, the cost-effectiveness is still good.

NO.10 Brand: Mingshi

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Mingshi is an established domestic coffee brand. Not only does it have numerous types of drip bag coffee, but it also has pure coffee powder, instant coffee, and other products. Because commercial coffee beans are used and the roast is on the darker side, flavor loss is quite obvious. It's still cost-effective to drink it with sugar and milk like instant coffee, as Mingshi's drip bag coffee prices are very close to Nestlé's instant coffee prices.

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