The Best Coffee Ice Cream, According to Our Taste Test

If there’s one thing better than a bracing coffee first thing in the morning—and I’m not totally convinced there is—it would be an oversized scoop of coffee ice cream in the middle of the afternoon. Consider this your sign from the universe to go ahead and take Friday off work and make yourself a cute little sundae to eat by the A/C unit in your underwear. What else are summers for?

Coffee ice cream works because it leans on a delicate tango of two beloved flavors: sweet cream and roasty coffee. It’s a combo with wide appeal. According to some studies, more than 75% of people add milk or creamer to their coffee. (The remaining 25% need to allow joy into their hearts). Like vanilla, coffee ice cream is impressively versatile, ready to adorn pie or brownies or whatever dessert is on your menu. Unlike vanilla, it has caffeine! Its malty bitterness balances the inherent milky sugariness of the dairy base, for a nuanced, not-too-sweet flavor.

But in a world where the supermarket freezer section is more crowded—and ice cream flavors more fantastical—by the day, store-bought pints have got to stand out. That means a baby-bottom-smooth custard and cold-brew-strong coffee flavor. To find the very best, our discerning staff put 10 popular supermarket brands through a rigorous taste test in the Test Kitchen.

• How we picked the products
• How we evaluated each coffee ice cream
• For the espresso fiend: Trader Joe’s Coffee Bean Blast
• The sweet and milky option: Jeni’s House Coffee
• The decaf pick: Straus Family Creamery Organic Coffee Ice Cream

How we picked the products

We checked on our previous ice cream taste tests—vanilla, mint chocolate chip, and cookies and cream—to acquire similar brands for our coffee ice cream showdown. Next, we read through other taste tests across the internet to make sure we weren’t missing any popular products. After Häagen-Dazs topped an extensive Reddit ranking, for example, we knew it was a must-have in our testing. For consistency, we nixed any coffee ice creams with mix-ins, like chocolate chunks, delicious as they might be. (Editor’s note: Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz—pick me, choose me, love me.)

How we evaluated each coffee ice cream

We scooped each ice cream into anonymized ramekins, and kept them in the freezer until our editors were ready to taste so that they’d stay frozen. We took each ramekin out of the freezer, one by one, for our tasters to try.

Our tasters agreed that texture was a critical factor in differentiating a middling scoop from a great one. A luxe, dense, creamy custard is a must. It should not be icy with noticeable crystals, nor overchurned or too aerated. Grittiness was also on tasters’ radar.

When it came to flavor, the team was at odds: Some preferred a forceful espresso jolt (cue senior visuals editor Megan Paetzhold, who believes an espresso a day keeps the doctor away), while others wanted a milkier expression (like associate visuals editor Marc Williams, who’d like his scoops to lean more sweet than bitter). To please everyone, we named a best-of for both categories.

For the espresso fiend: Trader Joe’s Coffee Bean Blast

Trader Joe’s stood out in our mint chocolate chip ice cream taste test, and placed well in our vanilla ice cream taste test too. This year, Trader Joe’s is back to defend its crown.

Trader Joe’s “Super Premium” Coffee Bean Blast Ice Cream boasts a rich, robust coffee flavor. That’s from the brewed Colombian coffee that’s mixed into the base as well as the French-roasted Colombian coffee bean flecks in every bite. The ingredients list is admirably succinct (just eight line items) and the price is right ($4.99 for a quart, while other winners go for nearly double or more).

Why it won us over: When you want a coffee ice cream that tastes like coffee, the Trader Joe’s version should be your first choice. Tasters agreed that the roasty flavor was akin to a strong espresso. Deputy food editor Hana Asbrink called it “adult ice cream” and senior cooking editor Kelsey Jane Youngman compared the taste to an affogato. For director of cooking Emma Laperruque, it was the tiny specks of ground coffee beans that pushed this contender above the rest. They didn’t interrupt the creamy texture, but added a distinct visual appeal and flavor boost, like vanilla bean seeds in a crème brûlée.

We’d love it in: A sundae—if there’s anything that improves every scoop of ice cream, it’s chocolate magic shell. Also would be excellent directly from the carton on the couch.

The sweet and milky option: Jeni’s House Coffee

We’ve been fans of Jeni’s ice cream for a while, and the brand has placed well in many a Bon Appétit taste test (including both our mint chocolate chip ice cream and cookies and cream ice cream taste tests). Like many flavors from the brand, the coffee ice cream is made without eggs, yielding a purer cream flavor.

Why it won us over: Our tasters were thoroughly impressed with the ultra-rich texture in Jeni’s ice cream. Emma called it downright silky, and declared that Jeni’s “is the texture all ice cream should be.” This contender delivered on flavor as well, though tasters enjoyed it for the lighter flavor, like a cup of coffee that had a looong pour of cream. Associate manager of audience strategy Carly Westerfield likened the flavor to an espresso martini, and senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic appreciated the caramelly notes (likely from the unique addition of tapioca syrup in the ingredients list).

We’d love it in: A brownie sundae, or inside a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. This is a coffee ice cream that plays well with others.

The decaf pick: Straus Family Creamery Organic Coffee Ice Cream

Straus’ coffee ice cream is both decaffeinated (for stress-eating at midnight, don’t act like you don’t) and blended with Dutch-process cocoa (for a deeper hue and extra backbone of bitterness). Its claim to fame is that it uses completely organic ingredients.

Why it won us over: Hana called Straus mild and pleasing, and many tasters expressed similar sentiments. There wasn’t a knockout-level punch of coffee, but sometimes you want something gentler. As Marc put it, Straus was “coffee enough, but not crazy coffee.” Senior Test Kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk detected a molasses note, a nod to the less processed sugar and addition of vanilla extract (both unique compared to our other winners).

We’d love it in: A bowl with a few spoonfuls of BA’s best hot fudge on top, plus some smashed Oreos because we can.

We also tried…

• 365 Coffee Ice Cream: Tasters declared the texture crumbly not creamy.
• Adirondack Creamery High Peak Perk: The ground beans mixed in gave this ice cream a gritty texture.
  Breyer’s Coffee: Some tasters detected an artificial caramel flavor they didn’t enjoy.
• Häagen-Dazs Coffee: This contender had a milder coffee kick than the group was hoping for.
• McConnell’s Coffee: Although the flavor was lovely, tasters didn’t enjoy the coarseness of the ground beans mixed in.
  Turkey Hill Colombian Coffee: With an over-aerated, foam-like texture, Turkey Hill lost out for lack of creaminess.
  Van Leeuwen’s Coffee Affogato: This option swirls two ice creams—coffee and sweet cream—in each pint. Less intense than we’d like, but good if you’re craving a double scoop at home.