Hot Lava Java Ground Coffee: Hot Brewing and Cold Brew

Taylors Hot Lava Java Ground Coffee: Hot Mornings and Cold Brew

Most people only ever drink Hot Lava Java hot, and miss what it may do best. Steeped cold overnight, its smoke and dark chocolate come through while much of the bitterness stays behind in the grounds.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

Taylors Hot Lava Java Ground Coffee: Hot Mornings and Cold Brew, in summary: Smoky, rough-edged and dark, Hot Lava Java is the loud one in the Taylors ground range. Brew the 200g bag hot against a cooked breakfast, or steep it cold for twelve hours for iced coffee.

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

Most people only ever drink Hot Lava Java hot, and miss what it may do best. Steeped cold overnight, its smoke and dark chocolate come through while much of the bitterness stays behind in the grounds.

The loud one in the ground range

Hot Lava Java sits well beyond the Taylors breakfast roasts in depth, and it is meant for drinkers who have decided a medium roast is not enough. Expect a deep roast with a smoky edge the Rich Italian does not have, a full and slightly rough body, bitterness that arrives early and holds, and acidity roasted out almost entirely. It is built for depth, not nuance, and makes no apology for it.

Ready-ground is the right format for most kitchens. A grinder is better in principle, but a bag opened and used daily is worth more than beans waiting for a grinder that never gets switched on. The grind is set for a cafetiere or a filter machine, the two methods most homes rely on. Espresso is the exception, since this grind under-extracts in a pressurised basket; buy the whole beans and grind them fine for that.

Hot: four minutes, water off the boil

In a cafetiere, give it four minutes and then plunge slowly. Going longer does not make it stronger, only harsher, because what extracts late is mostly bitterness and this roast already has its share. Dosed at 8g for every 200ml, the bag stretches to around 25 mugs; that is our own sum from the weight, not a figure on the pack.

An ashy cup nearly always means water at a rolling boil. Rest the kettle for thirty seconds, to around 95 degrees, and pour the whole jug off the grounds as soon as you plunge, since coffee left sitting on them keeps extracting. Hot, this is the coffee for bacon, fried eggs or a bitterly cold morning, when a polite cup would simply vanish.

Cold: twelve hours in the fridge

Cold brewing turns the character of this bag around. Steep the grounds in cold water in the fridge for twelve hours, then strain. At that temperature most of the bitterness never comes out, while the smoke and dark chocolate survive intact, so the result is an iced coffee with real personality rather than the watery, beige drink most people put up with in summer.

Whichever way you brew it, remember that ground coffee fades faster than beans, because grinding creates so much surface for the aroma to escape from. A fresh bag carries more smoke and chocolate than one opened six weeks ago, and no tweak to dose or temperature brings that back. Seal the bag well between scoops and buy only what you will get through.

The packs we stock

Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g (barcode 615357752573)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Taylors of Harrogate Hot Lava Java Ground Roast Coffee, 200g (barcode 615357752573) 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.

What to eat with it

McVitie's Digestives Dark Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: dark chocolate meets the cocoa in the roast, on a digestive sturdy enough for a full-bodied mug.
McVitie's Digestives Seriously Chocolatey Biscuits, 250g: plenty of chocolate to stand beside the smoke, whether the coffee is hot or cold brewed.
Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: buttery butterscotch sweetness that softens the early bitterness of a dark, smoky cup.

Elsewhere in the Taylors of Harrogate range

The full range is on the Taylors of Harrogate coffee page.

FAQ

Can you make cold brew with Hot Lava Java ground coffee? Yes, and it suits it. Steep it in the fridge for twelve hours and strain; the smoke and chocolate stay while most of the bitterness is left behind.

Will Hot Lava Java ground work in an espresso machine? It is ground for a cafetiere or filter machine and under-extracts in a pressurised basket. For espresso, grind the whole beans fine.

How many mugs does a 200g bag make? Around 25 at 8g per 200ml, which is our arithmetic from the bag weight rather than a pack claim.

How long does an opened bag stay at its best? The aroma fades steadily once it is open, so a bag opened six weeks ago gives noticeably less smoke and chocolate than a fresh one. Seal it well and buy the size you will get through.

How do I stop it tasting ashy? Let the boiled kettle rest thirty seconds, keep the steep to four minutes and pour the jug off the grounds straight away.

Curator's note: Try a jar of it cold brewed before you decide you know this coffee. Hot, save it for the cooked-breakfast mornings when a polite cup would get lost. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Taylors Hot Lava Java Ground Coffee: Hot Mornings and Cold Brew

Field	Detail
Brand	Taylors of Harrogate
Packs we stock	200g
Category	Ground Coffee
Allergens (as published)	The published ingredient list for this barcode names none of the 14 major allergens.
Caffeine	caffeinated
Best for	Cafetiere, filter or cold brew
Not for	Espresso machines
Best with	Bacon, eggs or dark chocolate biscuits