Famous Coffee Brands: Top 10 Coffee Brand Rankings and Recommendations - What Coffee Do Coffee Experts Drink

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There are many world-famous coffee brands, and most of these coffee shops operate as chains, so the quality of what they serve tends to be relatively consistent. Customers who walk into a coffee chain mostly order espresso-based drinks.

Espresso drinks are made on espresso machines: the beans are ground very finely, then pressurized hot water is forced quickly through the grounds to extract a highly concentrated coffee.

Since drinking it neat would be very intense, most people take their espresso as lattes or flavored milk coffees (with flavored syrup added). Those who avoid milk — or are watching their weight — go for the Americano, which is simply espresso diluted with water.

1. Starbucks (United States, founded in 1971)

Starbucks coffee shops are steeped in a rich North American atmosphere. You can taste more than 30 varieties of carefully roasted premium coffees from growing regions such as Central America, Africa, and Indonesia, alongside a full lineup of handcrafted beverages and freshly baked pastries.

All Starbucks coffee is freshly ground within 1 hour of brewing to preserve the original flavors of Indonesia and Latin America. The company's standard: every order is made on the spot, completed within 20 seconds, and served immediately.

A rich, uniquely flavored, aromatic espresso is precisely Starbucks' signature weapon.

2. Doutor (Japan, 1962)

Doutor Coffee Shop, with 1,222 chain stores already in operation, attracts older Japanese customers. Its prices are very low, the environment is unpretentious rather than polished, and smoking is permitted in the stores. In a context of economic recession and declining incomes, people are drawn to Doutor's low prices.

3. Tchibo (Germany, 1949)

Headquartered in Germany, Tchibo claims to be the world's fifth-largest coffee seller. Its logo is a golden coffee bean on a blue background. Besides coffee, Tchibo sells all sorts of consumer goods. Most coffee shops sell predictable items — besides lattes, perhaps Italian biscuits or a slice of cake, or a CD. But in Tchibo's more than 1,200 coffee shops scattered across Europe, you can always buy something unexpected from the staff, such as a telescope, a mobile phone, or a cordless drill.

4. Diedrich (United States, 1983)

In 1916, Charlotte Diedrich inherited a coffee plantation in Costa Rica and ran the coffee business until Martin Diedrich founded the first coffee house in 1983. Today, Diedrich Coffee is the second-largest coffee retailer in the United States.

Since Diedrich is at heart a coffee company focused on growing coffee, it places great emphasis on quality — and in market competition it also draws customers through variety.

Diedrich (Xiamen) Company, located at 8-9 Hubin Yili, Xiamen City, deals mainly in coffee beans and related raw materials, milk tea ingredients, coffee equipment, and milk tea equipment; it also acts as an agent for world-renowned coffee machine brands such as Rancilio, QUEEN, Aibo, LA-CIMBALI, and Nuova Simonelli.

5. Second Cup (Canada, 1975)

Second Cup is recognized as one of the world's largest specialty coffee chains. Its corporate headquarters is in Canada — the world's second-largest retail coffee competition market — and it is Canada's largest specialty retail coffee company. With 382 retail stores across the country, it serves over 80 million consumers annually, with revenue exceeding $130 million. In the highly competitive Canadian market, Second Cup consistently ranks ahead of Starbucks and other major brands in market share, brand awareness, and customer loyalty. Over the past 5 years, Second Cup has held a 31-33% share of the Canadian market against Starbucks' 24-29% — making Canada the only country where Starbucks concedes defeat internationally.

6. Segafredo Zanetti (Italy, 1962)

Segafredo was founded in Italy, the birthplace of coffee civilization, and is now Italy's number one coffee chain brand. In major cities around the world — Milan, Vienna, London — you can spot its fashionable red-and-black livery and taste its passionate Espresso, Cappuccino, and Caffe Latte. Its focus and dedication to quality have made Segafredo synonymous with professional coffee in Europe and worldwide.

7. Costa (United Kingdom, 1978)

Costa Coffee is a coffee chain headquartered in the United Kingdom. Besides its espresso coffee shops, it also wholesales roasted beans. The company was acquired in 1995 and is now a subsidiary of Whitbread. In terms of UK domestic market share, Costa surpassed Starbucks in 2010, becoming the coffee shop with the highest market share and the largest chain in the UK.

8. McCafe (McDonald's) (United States, 1993)

McCafe (McDonald's), founded in 1993, was born in Australia, mainly serving various coffees and distinctive continental snacks. After more than seven years of development it had grown into more than 300 chain stores worldwide, becoming a distinctive member of the McDonald's family. Hong Kong was the first place in China to introduce McCafe; McCafes in Beijing, Shenzhen, and elsewhere date from 2000, when McDonald's had been in China for ten years. Currently, McCafe's scale in China is still modest.

9. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (United States, 1963)

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was established in 1963 in California, United States, and has operated ever since, becoming a well-known chain with a solid reputation and image. It is particularly favored by Hollywood's top celebrities and appears constantly in global mainstream media such as ELLE, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and fashion magazines, and is known for its distinctly American-style decor. Coffee Bean has more than 200 outlets worldwide, including Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco; Singapore; Malaysia; Brunei; Korea; Taiwan; and Indonesia.

10. Caribou (United States, 1992)

Caribou Coffee is a famous American coffee chain, established in 1992 in Atlanta, USA. In 1990, the founder trekked through the Alaskan wilderness: after enduring hardship and reaching the mountaintop, he looked out over a vast expanse of endless mountains and an azure sky — and at that moment a herd of caribou came galloping, thundering through the valley. The magnificent scene was stunning, and the coffee company later named "Caribou" adopted precisely that grand vision as its own.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: Bring the Chain Experience Home with Indonesian Depth

If those famous espresso drinks are your daily habit, the beans matter most. FrontStreet recommends starting with the FrontStreet Wet-Hulled Mandheling from Sumatra's Lintong region near Lake Toba: processed by the traditional wet-hulled method and medium-dark roasted for low acidity and a full, mellow body with caramel, dark chocolate, and toasted bread aromas. For a top-shelf version, the FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is rigorously sorted by density, size, shape, and color, yielding sandalwood, herbal, spice, roasted hazelnut, caramel, and dark chocolate notes in a clean, layered cup. And for espresso or moka pot, the FrontStreet Classic Blend — the classic Mamba pairing of Mandheling and Brazil, dark roasted — delivers black chocolate, nut, and caramel aromas with a rich golden crema.