Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g
Almost every complaint about the red bag describes the same cup: harsh, ashy, drying at the finish. That is nearly always water straight off the boil sitting too long on the grounds, because everything this blend does happens at the bitter end and bitterness is the last thing to come out. Let the kettle stand a minute, plunge at three rather than five, and the same coffee reads as roasted nuts, caramel and dry cocoa, with the foaming body it is famous for in a moka pot. The grind is a medium one, better suited to a jug or a stovetop pot than to an espresso machine, whatever the packet's bar photography suggests. If you have got as far as weighing doses, you have outgrown it.
Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee, in brief.
Lavazza Qualità Rossa is the red bag: the Turin house's everyday Italian blend and the one most British kitchens meet first. This is the twin pack, two 250g vacuum-sealed bricks rather than one, so the second stays sealed until the first is finished. An Arabica and Robusta blend with the punch, the thick crema and the cut through milk that Robusta brings, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the ground coffee a moka pot was built for.
Lavazza Qualità Rossa is the red bag: the Turin house’s everyday Italian blend and the one most British kitchens meet first. This listing is the twin pack, two 250g vacuum-sealed bricks rather than one, which is the sensible way to buy ground coffee. You open the first, use it while it is fresh, and the second sits sealed in the cupboard until you need it, instead of a single larger bag going flat halfway down.
It is an Arabica and Robusta blend, and that is the whole character of it. Robusta is what gives the cup its punch, its thick head of crema and its cut through milk; the Arabica keeps it from turning harsh.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description, and the brewing figures are our recommended starting points rather than pack instructions. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Lavazza
Lavazza is a Turin coffee house, and one of the names that taught Britain what Italian coffee is supposed to taste like. The house style runs through everything it makes: blended rather than single origin, roasted for consistency, and built to be drunk short and often. That is heritage rather than a claim about where this particular pack was filled.
Qualità Rossa is the everyday blend at the centre of that range, and the red packaging is close to a British shelf landmark. Roast level, the Arabica and Robusta split and any certification marks are printed on the current pack and can change between production runs, so read the brick in front of you rather than a figure quoted online, ours included.
Why Ground Coffee Comes In A Brick
Ground coffee has an enormous surface area compared with whole beans, so it stales fast once air reaches it. The vacuum brick exists to stop that happening on the shelf: the air is drawn out, the pack goes hard, and the coffee sits in something close to suspended animation until you cut it open. The moment you do, the clock starts.
That is the argument for a twin pack rather than one 500g bag. Two 250g bricks means only one of them is ever exposed at a time, and the second is as good on the day you open it as the first was. It is the closest a ground coffee gets to the freshness advantage of buying beans, and it costs nothing extra.
Packaging: vacuum bricks are foil laminate and are generally not recyclable through kerbside collections. Follow the current UK pack and your local authority guidance; the outer wrap, the brick and any label can require different routes.
Ideal Extraction Conditions
Ground coffee removes the grind decision, which removes both the work and most of the room to correct a bad cup. Dose and temperature are what you have left, and on a Robusta-containing blend temperature is the one that matters.
The Moka Pot And Cafetiere Serve
- Moka pot: what this grind suits best. Fill the base with water already boiled to just below the valve, fill the basket level, do not tamp, and heat on a medium flame with the lid open until the coffee runs honey-coloured.
- Cafetiere: 60g per litre, water at 93 degrees Celsius, four minutes, then plunge slowly and decant. It is a finer grind than a cafetiere ideally wants, so expect some sediment and do not push the plunger hard.
- Water off the boil: take the kettle off and wait thirty seconds. Boiling water on a Robusta blend is what turns firm bitterness into an ashtray.
- Dose: about 7g per cup, which is the basis of the 70 cups quoted above. A rounded dessert spoon is close enough if you are not weighing.
The Filter, Espresso And Iced Serve
- Filter machine: 60g per litre. Paper holds back the oils and the cup reads cleaner and less heavy than the same coffee from a cafetiere.
- Espresso machine: possible but compromised. A pre-ground coffee is ground for a general purpose, not for your basket, so expect to adjust the dose rather than the grind and accept a shot that runs faster than ideal.
- With milk: the natural home of this blend. The Robusta means it reads clearly through 200ml of steamed milk, which is the main reason Italian bar blends contain any.
- Iced: brew double strength in a moka pot, cool, and pour over ice with a splash of cold milk. Do not brew it weak and chill it; that is how you get a thin, sour glass.
Dosing And Storage
- Open one brick at a time: the whole point of the twin pack. The second is as good on the day you open it as the first was.
- Reseal properly: fold the cut edge over and clip it, or decant into an airtight jar. An open brick loses its aroma in a fortnight.
- Storage: cool, dark, never the fridge. Condensation does more harm than air, and ground coffee picks up kitchen smells readily.
- Open brick window: aim to finish an opened 250g brick inside about two weeks for the aroma.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Lavazza
Packaging: follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; vacuum bricks are foil laminate and the outer wrap, brick and label can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Lavazza Qualità Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g is ground for the moka pot first and everything else second, so that is the order the builds below take. Six of them: the stovetop reference, a cafetiere, a filter jug, a caffè latte, an iced coffee and a tiramisu that uses the same pot.
Made with this tea
The Moka Pot, Done Properly
How to make moka pot coffee with Lavazza Qualità Rossa.
- 16g Lavazza Qualità Rossa ground
- Pre-boiled water to the valve
- A three-cup moka pot
- A cloth, the handle gets hot
- Fill the base with water already boiled, up to just below the valve. Starting cold cooks the grounds while the pot heats.
- Fill the basket level and do not tamp. This grind is already fine enough.
- Heat on a medium flame with the lid open until the coffee runs honey-coloured.
- Take it off before it hisses and cool the base under the tap to stop extraction dead.
What you'll end up with: Thick, strong and topped with the crema the Robusta builds. This is what the grind was made for.
Cafetiere For The Table
How to make cafetiere coffee with Lavazza Qualità Rossa.
- 36g Lavazza Qualità Rossa ground
- 600ml water at 93°C
- A three-mug cafetiere
- A long spoon
- Boil the kettle, then wait thirty seconds before pouring.
- Add 36g to the warmed jug, pour 600ml and stir the crust once at thirty seconds.
- Wait four minutes, then plunge slowly. This grind is finer than a cafetiere wants, so do not force it.
- Decant immediately and expect a little sediment in the last mouthful.
What you'll end up with: Heavier and more robust than a cafetiere-ground coffee, with the caramel showing under the bitterness.
Filter Jug For The Morning
How to make filter coffee with Lavazza Qualità Rossa.
- 48g Lavazza Qualità Rossa ground
- 800ml filtered water
- A paper filter
- A filter machine or cone
- Rinse the paper filter with hot water and discard it; unrinsed paper tastes of paper.
- Add 48g and brew with 800ml.
- On a cone, wet the bed, wait thirty seconds, then pour in slow circles.
- Decant out of the machine rather than leaving the jug on a hotplate.
What you'll end up with: Cleaner and lighter than the cafetiere, because the paper holds back the oils. The gentlest way to drink this blend.
Caffè Latte, Stovetop Style
How to make a caffè latte with Lavazza Qualità Rossa.
- 16g Lavazza Qualità Rossa ground
- 200ml whole or oat milk
- A moka pot and a small saucepan
- A 250ml glass
- Brew a moka pot as above while the milk warms in a pan.
- Heat 200ml of milk to steaming but not boiling, then whisk it hard for ten seconds to foam it.
- Pour the coffee into the glass first, then the milk.
- No espresso machine required. This is how most Italian households actually make it.
What you'll end up with: A proper milky coffee where you can still taste the coffee. The Robusta is doing that work.
Iced Coffee That Is Not Watery
How to make iced coffee with Lavazza Qualità Rossa.
- 20g Lavazza Qualità Rossa ground
- A tall glass of ice
- 80ml cold milk
- Sugar to taste
- Brew double strength: 20g in a moka pot, or 20g to 200ml in a cafetiere.
- Sweeten while it is still hot if you want sugar; it will not dissolve later.
- Cool it, then pour over a full glass of ice and top with 80ml of cold milk.
- Never brew it at normal strength and chill it. Ice dilutes, and that is how you get a thin, sour glass.
What you'll end up with: An iced coffee that still tastes of coffee at the bottom of the glass. Strength first, ice second.
Tiramisu Soak
How to make the coffee soak for tiramisu with Lavazza Qualità Rossa.
- 32g Lavazza Qualità Rossa ground
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons marsala, optional
- A shallow dish for dipping
- Brew two moka pots' worth, about 300ml of strong coffee, and stir in the sugar while hot.
- Add the marsala if you are using it, then cool the soak completely.
- Dip each sponge finger for one second only. Longer and the dessert collapses.
- Layer and chill for at least four hours.
What you'll end up with: A soak strong enough to survive mascarpone. A softer 100% Arabica coffee disappears in a tiramisu; this one does not.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Ingredient | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground coffee | 100% | The whole of the product, ground fine enough for a moka pot and roasted to a medium-dark Italian brief. Nothing else is in the brick. |
| Arabica | See current pack | The sweeter and more aromatic of the two commercial species. In this blend it carries the caramel and cereal notes that sit underneath the bitterness and keep the cup drinkable rather than merely strong. |
| Robusta | See current pack | The harsher, heavier species, and the reason this blend has punch, a thick head of crema and the ability to cut through milk. It also carries roughly twice the caffeine of Arabica by weight. |
| Additives, flavourings, sugar | None | Nothing is added to roasted coffee. The caramel and cereal notes are roast development, not flavouring. |
Ingredients and allergens. The published ingredient list for this barcode names none of the 14 major allergens. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Ingredients, as published for this barcode: ground coffee.
Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.
Pack: Lavazza Qualità Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g; two vacuum-sealed bricks, 500g of ground coffee in total, caffeinated. Best before date printed on each brick; aroma is at its best within about two weeks of opening one.
The Arabica and Robusta split, the roast level and any certification marks are printed on the current pack and can change between production runs.
Sourcing & roast. Lavazza Qualità Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g comes from Lavazza, the Turin coffee house and one of the names that taught Britain what Italian coffee is supposed to taste like. The house style runs through everything it makes: blended rather than single origin, roasted for consistency, and built to be drunk short and often. Qualità Rossa is the everyday blend at the centre of that range and the red packaging is close to a British shelf landmark. The twin pack exists for a practical reason rather than a marketing one: ground coffee stales fast once air reaches it, so two sealed 250g bricks keep half the purchase in suspended animation while you drink the other half.
What's in Lavazza Qualità Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g, and what isn't:
- In: roasted ground coffee, Arabica and Robusta, and nothing else in the brick.
- No artificial colours, preservatives, flavourings or added sugar: any sweetness is developed during roasting.
- No dairy, cereals, egg, soya or nuts as ingredients: the cereal note is a roast character. Black coffee brewed without milk or sugar carries effectively no calories.
- Caffeine: caffeinated, and at the higher end of the coffee range because Robusta carries roughly twice the caffeine of Arabica by weight. Dose and method decide the figure, so none is published here.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee, 2 x 250g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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