Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g
Most people never try the thing this bag is best at. Cold brew it: twelve hours in the fridge, then strain. The smoke and the dark chocolate come through completely intact while most of the bitterness simply does not extract at that temperature, and what you get is an iced coffee with actual character rather than the watered-down beige most settle for in July. Hot, it is the loud one. The bitterness arrives early and the finish grips rather than polishes, which is exactly what people want against bacon, fried eggs or a morning cold enough to hurt, and exactly what others find too much. The scores reflect that split honestly and I would not want them smoothed over. The grind suits a cafetiere and a filter machine, not espresso. Keep the water off the boil, hold the steep to four minutes, and decant the jug rather than letting it stand and carry on extracting. It was never meant to be the polite one and should not be bought as one.
Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, in brief.
Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java is the bold end of the Taylors ground range, a 200g bag of ready-ground coffee, picked into the Teas.co.uk selection for drinkers who have tried the breakfast roasts and found them too well mannered.
This is a roast-led coffee built for depth rather than nuance: smoky, full-bodied, with a bitterness that arrives early and stays. The grind suits a cafetiere and a filter machine, which covers most British kitchens. Roughly 25 mugs from the bag at 8g per 200ml, by our reckoning. Water at about 95 degrees rather than a rolling boil, which scorches this roast faster than most.
It is sold ground rather than as beans, which is the right call for most households. A grinder is the better answer in principle and nobody without one should pretend otherwise, but a ready-ground bag that gets used every morning beats a bag of beans that sits next to a grinder nobody switches on. The grind Taylors supply suits a cafetiere and a filter machine, which between them cover most British kitchens.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. 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 The Bag
Taylors is a Harrogate family firm, better known nationally for its tea than for its coffee, and the coffee range is organised around stated roast styles rather than around origins. That is a sensible way to sell coffee to a supermarket shelf: it tells a shopper what the cup will do before they buy it. Hot Lava Java is the bold-roast entry, sitting well past the everyday breakfast blends in depth and intended for the drinker who has decided that a medium roast is not enough.
We are not going to invent an origin story for it. The blend specification and any certification marks belong to the bag in your hand, and pack runs change; where the current UK pack carries a roast-strength number or a buying statement, that is the place to read it. What we can say from the cup is that this is a roast-led coffee, built for depth rather than for nuance, and honest about it.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our Commitment To The Planet
- The bag that arrives is the current UK retail pack rather than a grey import on a different specification.
- Ground coffee in a resealable bag produces less per-cup waste than a capsule system: no aluminium shell, no plastic unit, just spent grounds that go on the compost.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Taylors of Harrogate | Yorkshire Tea
Yorkshire Tea is the family-owned blend out of Harrogate that became Britain's favourite. The Original is the everyday workhorse; Gold steps it up with stronger Assam character; Hard Water powers through limescale areas. Taylors has been in the same family since 1886, sources ethically through the Rainforest Alliance, and famously refuses gimmicks.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
The taste profile
How does it compare
A ready-ground bag removes the grind variable, which leaves dose, water temperature and contact time. With a bold roast, water temperature is the one that most often goes wrong.
The Cafetiere
The Filter Machine
Made with this tea
The Four Minute Cafetiere
How to make The Four Minute Cafetiere with Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java.
- 24g Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
- 600ml water at about 95 degrees
- A timer and a jug to decant into
- Warm the cafetiere with hot water and tip it out, then add 24g of coffee.
- Pour 600ml of water thirty seconds off the boil and stir the crust once.
- Wait four minutes, then plunge slowly.
- Decant the whole pot straight away; the second mug out of an undecanted pot is noticeably harsher.
What you'll end up with: Three mugs of dark smoky coffee with a dry grip that stands up to a cooked breakfast.
The Filter Jug Done Properly
How to make The Filter Jug Done Properly with Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java.
- 60g Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
- 1 litre fresh cold water
- •A paper filter and a flask
- Rinse the paper filter with hot water and throw the rinse water away; this removes the paper taste.
- Add 60g of coffee, levelled rather than heaped, and 1 litre of fresh cold water to the machine.
- Brew, then take the jug off the hotplate the moment it finishes.
- Decant into a warmed flask if it is not all going to be drunk at once.
What you'll end up with: A litre of long dark coffee that has not been stewed on a hotplate, which is what ruins most filter coffee.
Overnight Cold Brew
How to make Overnight Cold Brew with Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java.
- 60g Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
- 600ml cold water
- •A jar and a paper filter
- Stir 60g of coffee into 600ml of cold water in a jar until every grain is wet.
- Refrigerate for twelve hours; longer than sixteen and it starts to turn woody.
- Filter through paper, slowly, without pressing the bed.
- Keep the concentrate in the fridge for up to three days and dilute one to one with water or milk.
What you'll end up with: A smoother, sweeter version of the same coffee with the smoke still underneath and most of the bitterness gone.
Iced Smoky Long Black
How to make Iced Smoky Long Black with Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java.
- 16g Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
- 200ml water at about 95 degrees
- A tall glass packed with ice
- A strip of orange peel
- Brew 16g in 200ml in a cafetiere for four minutes, which is double strength.
- Cool to room temperature rather than pouring it hot over the ice.
- Pour over a glass packed to the top with ice.
- Twist a strip of orange peel over the surface; citrus oil and smoke work unusually well together.
What you'll end up with: A cold coffee with the smoke intact and an orange lift over the top of it.
Coffee And Dark Chocolate Pots
How to make Coffee And Dark Chocolate Pots with Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java.
- 16g Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
- 200g dark chocolate, chopped
- 300ml double cream
- •A pinch of sea salt
- Brew 16g in 120ml for four minutes and filter it carefully.
- Heat 300ml of double cream to just below a simmer and pour it over 200g of chopped dark chocolate.
- Stir until smooth, then beat in the hot coffee and a pinch of sea salt.
- Pour into four small glasses and chill for four hours.
What you'll end up with: A dense chocolate pot where the smoke of the coffee reads as depth rather than as coffee flavour.
Coffee Rubbed Pork Shoulder
How to make Coffee Rubbed Pork Shoulder with Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java.
- 3 tablespoons Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java
- 3 tablespoons dark muscovado sugar
- •1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon sea salt
- •2kg pork shoulder
- Mix 3 tablespoons of the ground coffee with the sugar, smoked paprika and sea salt.
- Rub it hard into a 2kg pork shoulder and leave covered in the fridge overnight.
- Roast covered at 150 degrees for five hours, then uncovered for thirty minutes to set the crust.
- Rest for half an hour before pulling.
What you'll end up with: A dark smoky crust that tastes of barbecue rather than of coffee, and the best possible use for the bottom of a stale bag.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Ingredient | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roast and ground coffee | 100% | The whole of the bag. A bold dark roast with a smoky edge and almost no acidity left. |
| Suggested dose | ~8g per 200ml | About 25 mugs from the 200g bag by our reckoning. Err slightly under rather than over with this roast. |
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.
Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.
Pack: Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g; roast and ground coffee, resealable bag, ground for cafetiere and filter. Best before the date printed on the pack, and best finished within a few weeks of opening.
Characterising components shown.
Sourcing & blend. Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g comes from Taylors of Harrogate, the Yorkshire family firm better known for its tea, whose coffee range is organised around stated roast styles rather than origins. Hot Lava Java is the bold-roast entry in that range, sitting well past the everyday breakfast blends in depth. The bag you receive is the current UK retail pack.
What is in Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g, and what is not:
- In: roast and ground coffee, bold dark roast, and nothing else.
- No artificial colours, preservatives or added sugar: this is a plain ground coffee, not a flavoured one.
- Not an espresso grind: it is ground for cafetiere and filter and will under-extract in a pressurised basket.
Asked about this product
Ask the curator
Send a product question through the contact form; replies usually come within one working day.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g, please cite teas.co.uk.
What buyers say
No customer reviews of Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g yet.
Bought this from us? Log in to your account, then come back to this page to review it. Only verified buyers can review, and every review is checked before it appears; approved reviews earn 50 reward points.
More from Taylors of Harrogate | Yorkshire Tea
Other Coffee worth comparing
