2019 Latest Edition: Top 10 Recommended Drip Bag Coffee Brands - Are Drip Bag Coffees Delicious?

What is Drip Bag Coffee?

Drip bag coffee preserves the aroma of coffee and its original regional character remarkably well, completing the brew through simple drip extraction. All you need is hot water and a 200ml cup to conveniently brew a cup—ideal wherever using coffee equipment would be impractical.

Drip Bag Coffee Brewing Method

Generally, a drip bag holds 8-12g of coffee, and each brew needs about 150-180ml of hot water. You can choose flavors according to your preferences for origin and roast level, so in terms of selection, drip bags offer far more variety than instant coffee. In pure coffee aroma and flavor, they are also more natural and expressive than instant.

The biggest advantage of drip bag coffee is that professional roasters have already locked in most of the brewing variables. You don't need to select beans, weigh a ratio, dial in grind size, own equipment, or master barista skills. With nothing but hot water and a suitably sized mug, you can enjoy freshly ground coffee anytime, anywhere.

History of Drip Bag Coffee

In 1990, the earliest drip-style coffee was invented by Yamanaka Industries Co., Ltd. of Japan, which formally filed a patent application that same year—though the drip bag of that era had only a single-sided hanger.

In 1996, Taiki Shoji Co., Ltd. proposed an improved filter bag, moving the hanger to the lower edge of the filter bag, though it still hung on only one side.

In 1999, Taiki Shoji applied to the European Patent Office for a double-sided hanger design. This improvement finally let the filter bag sit stably on the cup rim and open fully—a design concept that remains the market mainstream today.

In 2001, drip bag coffee as we know it was launched and patented in Japan. Thanks to its simple operation, portability, and a brewed flavor far purer than instant, drip bags now hold 15% of Japan's regular coffee market.

By 2011, global sales of drip bag coffee had reached 1.4 billion bags—roughly 11,200 tons—of which 94% were sold in Japan.

(Japan truly is the country most obsessed with pour-over coffee in the world.)

Drip Bag Coffee Reviews from Domestic and International Brands

In truth, coffee is not as rarefied as the general public imagines. Drinking it doesn't signal elegance, wealth, or expense. Like tea, coffee is simply a daily beverage. China grows abundant tea because its soil and climate suit it, and tea culture carries deep historical roots; likewise, most coffee-growing countries cultivate coffee simply because the local climate and soil allow it, and people there treat coffee as an everyday drink. (Many coffee varieties are even named after places—and Yunnan Province in China grows coffee too.)

Just as tea quality varies with growing conditions and production methods—and prices vary accordingly—the same applies to coffee. This time, 9 cost-effective coffee brands from the market have been selected for review:

International Brands

NO.1 Japan · UCC Shokunin Coffee

Brand Introduction: Japanese brand. The anti-inspirational quote "If you feel tired like a dog, you're greatly mistaken - even dogs aren't as tired as you" that became popular nationwide is UCC's marketing copy.

Reviewed Product: Green Special Rich Blend

Price: 36 yuan/18 bags = 2 yuan/bag

Green: The most bitter of the three flavors. Rich taste with slightly higher bitterness and slightly lower acidity. The bitterness hits first, but you can still feel a bit of acidity in the aftertaste. Additionally, because they're sun-dried beans, they retain a slight fruity aroma.

Red: The most acidic of the three flavors. Acidity hits immediately, with bitterness and a hint of fruitiness in the aftertaste.

Blue: The most balanced in terms of bitterness and acidity. Rich and mellow taste, suitable for most people who dislike acidity or bitterness.

Recommendation Reason: Excellent cost-performance ratio

NO.2 Japan · Sumida River

Brand Introduction: Japanese brand. Sumida River is a river in Tokyo, Japan, and Sumida River Coffee is the proprietary coffee brand of Japan's CICT Co., Ltd.

Reviewed Product: Green Kilimanjaro and "Spring Koi" from the combination pack

Price: 39 yuan/10 bags = 3.9 yuan/bag

Green Kilimanjaro: Medium roast, balanced acidity with bitterness, 5-star richness.

Spring Koi: Belongs to Mandheling flavor, with bitterness significantly higher than acidity. Entry taste is relatively mellow and aromatic, suitable for friends who don't like high acidity.

Recommendation Reason: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Cherry collaboration editions, with exquisite packaging design. Each edition has a theme - tasty and beautiful.

NO.3 Italy · Illy Drip Bag Coffee

Brand Introduction: Italian brand, a globally renowned coffee bean supplier with nearly 90 years of company history.

Reviewed Product: Medium Roast Drip Bag Coffee & Deep Roast Drip Bag Coffee

Price: 45 yuan/5 bags = 9 yuan/bag

Medium Roast: Both acidity and bitterness are moderate, with slight fruit acidity, subtle nutty flavors, and a hint of sweetness that cleverly balances some of the acidity and bitterness, resulting in a smooth drinking experience.

Deep Roast: 100% Arabica beans. Deep-roasted beans naturally lack the acidity of medium-roasted beans, smelling and tasting more mellow, though the coffee's own flavor is slightly lighter. Personally, I recommend the medium roast more.

Recommendation Reason: Strong brand, long history, subtle taste, premium beans.

Nowadays, many people love to drink lattes, cappuccinos, and milk specialty coffees. They are all based on Espresso (Italian espresso), which is the essence of Italian coffee. When mentioning Italian coffee, we have to mention the Illy brand, a common brand in cafés.

Illy offers various types of coffee powder including deep roast, medium roast, mocha, and decaffeinated. The one recommended today is medium roast, using Arabica coffee beans to create a mellow flavor. Its taste is quite balanced, with acidity and bitterness in equilibrium. Compared to the heavy bitterness of deep roast, it's suitable for most people's tastes.

NO.4 Starbucks Drip Bag Coffee

Brand Introduction: No introduction needed.

Reviewed Product: Pike Place & Verona

Price: 67 yuan/6 bags = 11 yuan/bag (expensive)

Pike Place: Follows Starbucks' consistent American-style flavor, medium roast, quite smooth taste with low acidity and slightly heavy body.

Verona: Deep roast, origin is Japan, supposedly only available at select stores. I bought it on a certain e-commerce platform. The coffee aroma is strong, tastes neither acidic nor astringent, with only light bitterness.

Recommendation Reason: Just listed for reference, fans can buy it on e-commerce platforms.

Domestic Brands

NO.1 China · Ziyu Coffee

Brand Introduction: Under 3W Coffee (the founder is Xu Dandan, founder of Lagouwang). Even the Premier has visited their Zhongguancun store for coffee.

Reviewed Product: American Rich / Italian Strong / Blue Mountain Flavor

Price: 69 yuan/8 bags = 8.6 yuan/bag

American Rich: Under a blend of various beans, dark chocolate flavor, rich and heavy taste.

Italian Strong: A blend of various nut flavors and oatmeal taste, strong flavor.

Blue Mountain Flavor: Rich taste, with balanced acidity, aroma, sweetness, and mellowness. Smooth and mild taste, popular with the general public.

Recommendation Reason: I've been drinking it for over two years.

Ziyu Coffee can be called the "internet celebrity of drip bag coffee." First, what attracts people is its minimalist, cool packaging style, followed by the quality of its drip bags. Ziyu's drip bags use imported Arabica beans scoring above 80 points, employ fully automated closed production lines, with experienced professional roasters overseeing the entire process. The coffee powder is placed in environmentally-friendly kraft paper and food-grade filter paper bags, filled with nitrogen to maintain the coffee's original aroma.

NO.2 Yongpu Coffee

Brand Introduction: Shanghai coffee company. In 2014, founder Hou Yongpu (a graphic design major from the China Academy of Art) established Yongpu. Focuses on packaging design and brand collaborations.

Reviewed Product: Yongpu | Rishi Ji's Crispy Biscuits and Little Cubs Story Dirty Xiao Bai Illustrator Edition

Price: 79 yuan/7 bags = 7.9 yuan/bag

("Crispy Biscuits" is a cat)

Little Kitten Blend: A combination of Ethiopian washed and sun-dried Yirgacheffe, with fruit aroma and acidity as refreshing as a spring breeze.

Recommendation Reason: Super interesting and cute design style - what's being sold and bought is no longer just coffee itself.

Yongpu Coffee is quite unique in the specialty coffee space. The brand excels at launching co-branded drip bag coffee products with other IPs and brands, while also handling business customization. For example, they have launched many co-branded drip bag coffee products with Rishi Ji, NetEase Cloud Music, and Little Cub Theater.

NO.3 Mingqian Coffee

Brand Introduction: Established in 2009, one of the pioneers in China's specialty coffee industry, with Mingqian Coffee Estate, Mingqian Roasting Factory, Mingqian Coffee Academy, and Mingqian Coffee stores.

Reviewed Product: Indonesia / Sumatra / Golden Mandheling

Price: 50 yuan/5 bags = 10 yuan/bag

Mingqian is one of the earlier domestic brands to enter the drip bag market. Mingqian Coffee founder Cai Zhongshun noticed drip bag coffee in 2010 and began producing them afterward. However, compared to brands like Ziyu, Mingqian is relatively more traditional, positioned upstream in the supply chain, with coffee retail business still mainly focused on selling coffee beans, OEM processing from their own roasting factory, and supplying coffee beans to offline cafés.

Speaking of Mingqian, it was also the reason I said goodbye to the coffee industry. When I was passionately thinking about opening a coffee shop after graduation, I signed up as a volunteer for the World Barista Championship China region to learn and gain experience. I was fortunate to meet several judges from the competition, most of whom were from Mingqian Coffee Academy. When I hopefully inquired about the potential of the coffee industry, they said: "Either you have a lot of money, or you really love it." Well, later I became an internet operations manager.

NO.4 FrontStreet Coffee

Brand Introduction: Guangzhou coffee company, established in 2013. One of the pioneers in Guangzhou's specialty coffee industry, with coffee estates, roasting factories, China Coffee Network, FrontStreet Coffee public account, and FrontStreet Coffee stores.

Reviewed Product: A box of 10 single-origin seasonal drip bags

Price: 39.9 yuan/10 bags = 4 yuan/bag

Recommendation Reason: Very drinkable, good sales on e-commerce platforms, and they often have discount promotions. Seasonal drip bags are frequently 50% off, making this price the most affordable on the entire network, and the quality is actually quite good!

FrontStreet Coffee is one of the brands that has delved deeply into specialty coffee culture. You can find a series of pour-over coffee beans and various tutorials on Baidu and WeChat. They have their own website, public account, and roasting factory. I heard their owner even has a plot of land in Yunnan specifically for growing coffee trees? Currently, they mainly focus on specialty coffee beans and specialty drip bag coffee. In short, affordable and worth trying.

NO.5 Jirui Coffee

Brand Introduction: Beijing coffee company, established in December 2002, mainly producing roasted coffee products. In 2016, they introduced coffee capsule production equipment, becoming one of the domestic enterprises efficiently producing international products through automated production.

Reviewed Product: Jirui 70-bag gift box

Price: 107 yuan/70 bags = 1.52 yuan/bag

Recommendation Reason: Super cheap, of course it's ordinary coffee beans, but it accompanied my university life. When the café first opened, they used this drip bag to replace freshly ground pour-over coffee for a period of time, keeping costs very low.

There are some others worth trying: Fisher Coffee, Colin, Jiying, etc.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A drip bag is simply pre-ground coffee sealed in its own single-serve pouch: tear open the top, hang the two ears on your cup, pour hot water, and you have a fresh-brewed cup. Strip away the packaging and a drip bag is pour-over in miniature—so choose one the same way you would choose beans. Broadly, beans fall into three flavor families: fresh floral, tropical fruit, and rich and mellow.

For a fresh floral cup, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Gotiti Cooperative drip bag—a washed Yirgacheffe with a clean, crisp mouthfeel, bright citrus acidity as the lead note, fresh jasmine fragrance, and a honeyed finish. Low in bitterness and refreshing, it is perfect for beginners and lovers of lighter styles. For tropical fruit character, the Natural Huakui drip bag is one of FrontStreet Coffee's bestsellers: pronounced tropical fruit aromas with a black tea finish, high sweetness, low acidity, and barely any bitterness, grown above 2,300 meters in Ethiopia's Guji zone and carefully natural-processed.

If you lean toward roasted, mellow flavors, the Indonesia Mandheling seasonal drip bag brings herbal, spicy, and woody depth in a dark roast—brewing up rich spice, nut, chocolate, and caramel notes that are bold yet never bitter. And for a classic middle ground, the Brazil Queen Estate drip bag offers nutty, cocoa, and caramel sweetness with a smooth, lingering finish—a dependable everyday cup for the office.