Cafédirect Machu Picchu Beans: Grind, Brew and Storage

Cafédirect Machu Picchu Peru Coffee Beans: grinding and keeping a big bag

The case for buying beans is aroma: grinding multiplies the exposed surface of coffee many times over, and ground coffee starts shedding its most fragrant compounds within minutes.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

Cafédirect Machu Picchu Peru Coffee Beans: grinding and keeping a big bag, in summary: Whole Peruvian Arabica in a 750g bag, for a house with a grinder and a daily coffee habit. Grind to order, coarse for a cafetière and finer for filter or espresso, and store it cool and dark, never chilled.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

The case for buying beans is aroma: grinding multiplies the exposed surface of coffee many times over, and ground coffee starts shedding its most fragrant compounds within minutes. A 750g bag of whole beans keeps that aroma locked away until you grind, which is why it suits a household that makes coffee every single day.

The coffee inside the bag

This is the same Machu Picchu coffee that Cafédirect sells ready ground in a 200g pack, here as whole beans. The brand describes a washed Arabica from the Peruvian Andes, roasted medium-dark, with dark chocolate and roasted hazelnut in the cup, and says it carries organic and Fairtrade certification. Cafédirect's link with the region is a long one: its work with the Huadquiña cooperative in Cusco goes back to 1994.

Expect a gentle, rounded coffee rather than a heavy one: soft acidity instead of the sharp citrus of an East African bean, a medium body, and a nutty, caramel-leaning sweetness with little bitterness when it is brewed sensibly. That sweetness is why it takes milk happily without needing sugar. If a cup does turn bitter, look at the grind and the water temperature before you blame the bean.

Setting the grinder

A grinder is part of this purchase rather than an optional extra; without one, the 200g ground pack is the right buy. Set the grinder coarse when the cafetière is coming out, medium for filter machines and pour-over cones, and fine for espresso. Should an espresso gush through, tighten the grind; should it barely drip, open it up. Change the grind before you change anything else, and grind only what the next brew needs.

This coffee gives most in a cafetière, a filter or a moka pot. Pulled short and hot through an espresso machine it can taste thin, because its character is mild and clean rather than dense, so treat it as a filter and cafetière coffee that can also make espresso, not the other way round. By our own sum on the net weight, an 8g dose gets about ninety-four cups from the bag.

Keeping a big bag at its best

If only one cup a day comes out of it, a 750g bag will be open for many weeks, so storage matters. Keep the bag sealed, cool and dark, away from the kettle and the hob. The fridge is the wrong place: it is damp, and beans pick up every odour in it. For a longer haul, the freezer works if you split the beans into small airtight portions and take out one at a time.

Its chocolate-led character makes it an easy match for biscuits. A properly chocolatey digestive picks up the cocoa note, a plain biscuit lets the coffee lead, and a big sharing box suits a pot made for several people at once. Serve it after a meal or mid-morning; a full cafetière of this beside a plate of biscuits is about as dependable as a coffee break gets.

The packs we stock

Cafédirect Organic Machu Picchu Peru Coffee Beans, 750g (barcode 5060198252358)

What to eat with it

McVitie's Digestives Seriously Chocolatey Biscuits, 250g: an extra-chocolatey digestive that leans into the dark chocolate note the brand describes.
Border Classic Biscuit Sharing Pack, 400g: a 400g sharing pack of biscuits to put out with a full cafetière when several people are drinking.
McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: a big pack of milk chocolate digestives to match a big bag of beans, and a good fit for a milky cup.

Elsewhere in the Cafédirect range

Cafédirect 4 Organic Machu Picchu Ground Coffee, 200g

The full range is on the Cafédirect brand page.

FAQ

Will I need a grinder for these beans? Yes, because these are whole beans. Without one, the ready-ground 200g Machu Picchu pack is the one to choose.

What grind setting should I use? Coarse for a cafetière, medium for filter and pour-over, and fine for espresso.

How many cups does a 750g bag make? About ninety-four at an 8g dose; that is our sum from the net weight, not a figure the brand gives.

Should coffee beans go in the fridge? No. The fridge is damp and full of odours; use a cool, dark cupboard, or the freezer in small airtight portions.

Is this coffee caffeinated? Yes, it is a caffeinated coffee. The amount in each cup varies with how much you use and how you brew it.

Curator's note: Grind it fresh each morning and brew it in a cafetière; that is where this gentle Peruvian coffee shows best. If the bag will take you more than a few weeks, split it and freeze half. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Cafédirect Machu Picchu Peru Coffee Beans: grinding and keeping a big bag

Field	Detail
Brand	Cafédirect
Packs we stock	750g
Category	Coffee Beans
Caffeine	caffeinated
Grinder needed	Yes
Best method	Cafetière, filter or moka pot
Store	Cool, dark cupboard, never the fridge