Consumer Reports: Best tasting Colombian coffee

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Although most coffee drinkers choose to wake up to a cup made with ground coffee, a growing number are turning to fancier alternatives like gourmet or premium options.

Consumer Reports tested 21 Colombian coffees to figure out which are worth your money.

If you want the freshest-tasting coffee, give whole beans a try.

Consumer Reports coffee experts focused on Colombian coffee - ground and whole bean - ranging from $5 dollars to $25 dollars a pound.

The experts tasted blind and found a few that rated excellent.

The top-rated is La Golondrina Colombia Certified Organic from Counter Culture. It's a complex coffee with fruit and citrus notes, and traces of berry, floral and chocolate.

At 59 cents for a six-ounce cup, it might seem steep for home brew, but it sure beats coffeehouse prices.

Nine of the Colombian coffees are very good.

Whole beans from Allegro Colombia Agustino Forest from Whole Foods have notes of citrus, honey, milk chocolate and hints of malt and toast. At 23 cents a cup, it's a Consumer Reports Best Buy.

Another Best Buy is Kirkland Signature Colombian Supremo whole bean, from Costco for 13 cents a cup. This medium-dark roast has chocolate notes and a hint of dried fruit.

And Consumer Reports tested pre-ground coffees that were very good.

Gevalia's Colombia is a ground coffee with "fruity top notes" for just 16 cents a cup.

And to keep your coffee fresh, you put it in the fridge, right? Wrong.

"Do not keep coffee in the refrigerator or freezer, where it can pick up moisture and flavors from other foods. And heat and light can oxidize the beans' oils. So just put it in an airtight container in a kitchen cabinet," said Ellen Klosz from Consumer Reports.

And what goes best with a cup of coffee? Some say - "another cup."

If you want the best-tasting coffee, Consumer Reports advises you to avoid grinding your beans at the market because your coffee can pick up flavors of other beans.