Farrer's No 1 Blend vs Italian Blend: Which Is Right?

June 27, 2026AI Assistant

Quick Takeaways

Key Insight	Explanation
No 1 Blend suits balance-seekers	Its medium roast delivers a well-rounded cup with moderate acidity, making it ideal for filter coffee, cafetiere, and everyday home brewing.
Italian Blend is built for espresso	The darker roast and higher Robusta content produce the bittersweet intensity and crema that espresso machines demand.
Roast level drives the decision	No 1 is a lighter, brighter roast. Italian is a full dark roast. If you have not tasted both, start there before anything else.
Milk-based drinks favour the Italian Blend	Its bold flavour cuts through steamed milk in lattes and cappuccinos without disappearing behind the dairy.
Heritage matters here	Both blends have been refined over Farrer's 200-plus year history. They are not trend-driven recipes, they are proven formulas.
Italian Blend coffee UK searches reflect demand	Dark, espresso-style blends are among the fastest-growing segments in the UK specialty coffee market, according to Statista data on coffee consumption trends.
No 1 Blend works for trade buyers seeking versatility	Cafes that serve filter and espresso alongside each other often use the No 1 as a flexible house blend across multiple brew methods.

What Makes the No 1 Blend Distinctive

The Farrer's No 1 Blend is the flagship product of a roastery that has been operating since 1819. That is not marketing copy, that is a product that has survived two centuries of changing tastes, which tells you something real about its quality and consistency.

In practice, the No 1 Blend sits in medium-roast territory. You get a cup with clean acidity, noticeable sweetness, and a smooth finish that does not demand milk to be enjoyable. The roast level preserves more of the origin character of the beans, which means you pick up subtle fruit and nut notes depending on the brew method you use.

A common mistake drinkers make is assuming a medium roast means a weak cup. It does not. The No 1 Blend has genuine body and depth. What it lacks compared to the Italian Blend is the aggressive bitterness and dark chocolate intensity that defines a full dark roast. For drinkers who find very dark roasts harsh or one-dimensional, the No 1 is where they land and stay.

Side-by-side comparison of medium roast filter coffee and dark roast espresso showing colour and crema differences

Home coffee setup showing cafetiere and espresso machine representing different brewing methods and daily routines

The No 1 Blend's Role as a House Blend

For trade customers including independent cafes and hospitality venues, the No 1 Blend functions as an effective all-day house blend. Its balanced profile means it works across a drip filter, a cafetiere, and even an espresso machine without catastrophic results on any of them. That versatility has real operational value for a small cafe that does not want to manage four different coffees.

Farrer's hand-packing and next-day dispatch on orders over £35 means trade buyers can maintain consistent stock without the lead times that come with larger commercial roasters. That is a practical advantage over competitors like Lavazza, where the supply chain is more industrial and less responsive to smaller order volumes.

Pro tip: If you are trialling the No 1 Blend for the first time, brew it in a cafetiere at a water temperature of 94 to 96 degrees Celsius. This method extracts its sweetness and floral top notes without over-extracting the body, giving you the clearest read on the blend's actual character before experimenting with espresso.

What Makes the Italian Blend Distinctive

The Italian Blend from Farrer's is a dark roast designed specifically around espresso culture. It draws on a tradition of Southern European coffee that prioritises intensity, crema production, and the ability to anchor milk-based drinks. If you have been buying supermarket espresso blends or mainstream brands like Lavazza, the Italian Blend is a direct upgrade that keeps the same flavour DNA but with fresher roasting and no industrial processing.

The roast level pushes deeper into the bean, caramelising more sugars and reducing acidity sharply. What you get is a bittersweet, full-bodied cup with strong dark chocolate and roasted nut notes. Crema production is reliable because of the Robusta content within the blend, which also adds a caffeine kick above what you get from pure Arabica blends.

Why the Italian Blend Outperforms in Milk-Based Drinks

In practice, the Italian Blend's intensity is exactly what makes it work in lattes and flat whites. A medium-roast Arabica blend will lose its character behind 150ml of steamed whole milk. The Italian Blend does not. The dark roast bitterness acts as a backbone against the dairy sweetness, creating a balanced cup rather than a milky cup with a vague coffee flavour in the background.

This is not subjective preference, it is extraction science. Darker roasts have lower solubility, which means more of the flavour compounds that survive the milk dilution are the strong, bitter ones that register through dairy. Lighter roasts lose their more delicate notes entirely when mixed with milk.

Pro tip: When pulling espresso with the Italian Blend, aim for a slightly longer extraction, around 28 to 32 seconds for a double shot. The darker roast can over-extract quickly at shorter times, producing a harsh rather than bitter result. Adjust your grind finer in small increments if your shot is running fast.

Flavour Profile Comparison

Comparing flavour profiles between these two blends is not a matter of one being better than the other. It is a matter of what experience you are building your daily coffee ritual around. Farrer's has deliberately positioned these two blends to serve different primary use cases, and understanding that saves you from buying the wrong bag twice.

"The character of a coffee blend reflects the decisions of the roaster at every stage, from green bean selection to the final roast profile. A well-designed blend is not a compromise, it is a deliberate architecture." -- Specialty Coffee Association, on blend design philosophy

The No 1 Blend leads with sweetness and a clean, bright finish. You detect dried fruit, light caramel, and sometimes a gentle nuttiness depending on the brew. The acidity is present but not sharp. The body is medium. It is a coffee you want to drink black or with a small amount of milk without masking what the roaster built.

The Italian Blend leads with bitterness and depth. Dark chocolate, roasted almonds, and a slight smoky edge define its character. Acidity is very low. Body is full and heavy on the palate. This is a coffee designed to be experienced as espresso, with or without milk, but not as a long black or filter brew where its lack of complexity at lower extraction temperatures becomes apparent.

Macro detail of medium and dark roast coffee beans showing roast level colour variation

Acidity, Body, and Finish: Where They Diverge Most

Acidity is the sharpest dividing line between these two blends. The No 1 Blend's medium roast preserves citric and malic acids from the origin beans, giving it brightness. The Italian Blend's dark roast breaks most of those acids down, leaving a flat, smooth cup that is gentle on sensitive stomachs.

If you have ever found specialty coffee too sharp or acidic, the Italian Blend is the safer choice. If you find dark espresso blends one-dimensional or burnt-tasting, the No 1 Blend is your entry point into Farrer's range. These are not edge cases, they are the two most common complaints Farrer's customers raise when comparing coffee blends from the two ends of the roast spectrum.

Best Brewing Methods for Each Blend

Getting the brewing method right is as important as choosing the correct blend. Both Farrer's coffees are roasted fresh and hand-packed, which means the quality is there. What you do at home determines whether you access that quality or waste it.

The No 1 Blend performs best across a wide range of methods. Cafetiere, pour-over, AeroPress, and drip filter all work well. Espresso is possible and produces a pleasant result, but it is not where this blend shows its best characteristics. The sweetness and floral notes that define it are more accessible at longer brew times and lower pressure extraction.

The Italian Blend is purpose-built for espresso machines. It also works in a Moka pot, which uses pressure-based extraction similar in principle to espresso. Avoid brewing it as a long filter or pour-over, the low acidity and dark roast notes become flat and muddy in those formats. In practice, this blend was always designed for the six-cup stovetop pot that sits on every Italian kitchen worktop, and it behaves accordingly.

Grind Size and Its Impact on Each Blend

For the No 1 Blend in a cafetiere, use a coarse grind and a four-minute steep. For pour-over, medium-coarse grind with a three-minute draw-down. For espresso, medium-fine, and be prepared to adjust because medium roasts are less forgiving of grind inconsistency than dark roasts.

For the Italian Blend in espresso, use a fine grind and calibrate your machine to pull a 30ml double shot in 28 to 32 seconds. In a Moka pot, medium-fine grind and low heat produce the best result. The higher the heat, the more you risk scorching the darker roast and amplifying bitterness beyond palatability.

Who Should Choose Which Blend

This is where the comparison becomes a direct recommendation rather than a neutral description. Both blends are excellent products from one of the most credible roasters in the UK. But buying the wrong one is a waste of money and a missed experience.

Choose the No 1 Blend if: you drink coffee primarily as black filter or cafetiere, you enjoy tasting the origin character of the beans, you prefer a balanced cup that you can drink throughout the day without palate fatigue, or you are a trade buyer wanting a versatile house blend that performs across multiple brew methods without alienating customers.

Choose the Italian Blend if: you own an espresso machine or Moka pot and use it daily, you drink lattes, cappuccinos, or flat whites most mornings, you prefer low-acidity coffee, you find lighter roasts too bright or acidic for your taste, or you are switching from a mainstream Italian brand like Lavazza and want fresher roasting without abandoning the flavour profile you already like.

The Trade Buyer Decision

Cafes and hospitality businesses face a more specific decision. If your espresso machine is your primary revenue tool and your customers predominantly order milk-based drinks, the Italian Blend is the professional choice. It produces consistent crema, holds its character through milk, and meets the expectation of customers who grew up drinking dark-roast espresso.

If your menu includes both filter coffee and espresso, and you want a single blend that covers both without compromising either significantly, the No 1 Blend is operationally smarter. Farrer's trade customers benefit from the company's barista training programmes and roastery experience days, which means you are not just buying coffee, you are buying into a knowledge ecosystem that competitors like Origin Coffee and True Start Coffee do not replicate at the heritage level Farrer's operates from.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Category	No 1 Blend	Italian Blend
Roast Level	Medium	Dark
Primary Flavour Notes	Caramel, dried fruit, light nuttiness	Dark chocolate, roasted almonds, smoky depth
Acidity	Medium, bright	Low, smooth
Body	Medium	Full, heavy
Best Brew Method	Cafetiere, pour-over, filter, AeroPress	Espresso machine, Moka pot
Works With Milk	Yes, but best appreciated black	Yes, purpose-built for milk drinks
Ideal Drinker	Filter enthusiasts, balance-seekers, versatile trade buyers	Espresso drinkers, low-acidity preference, milk drink lovers
Crema Production	Moderate	High, reliable
Caffeine Level	Standard Arabica range	Higher due to Robusta content

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between the No 1 Blend and the Italian Blend from Farrer's?

The No 1 Blend is a medium roast designed for balanced, versatile brewing across multiple methods including filter and cafetiere. The Italian Blend is a dark roast built specifically for espresso machines and Moka pots, with higher intensity, lower acidity, and stronger crema production. The roast level is the defining difference, and it determines both flavour character and ideal brew method.

Can I use the Italian Blend in a cafetiere or pour-over?

You can, but you will be disappointed with the result. Dark roasts like the Italian Blend are low in the acids and soluble compounds that make filter and pour-over coffee interesting. Brewing it that way produces a flat, heavy cup with little complexity. Stick to espresso or Moka pot extraction for this blend to get the flavour experience it was designed to deliver.

Is the No 1 Blend suitable for espresso machines?

Yes, it produces a pleasant espresso with a clean, slightly sweet flavour profile. However, it is less forgiving on espresso machines than the Italian Blend because medium roasts require more precise grind calibration to extract well under pressure. For home baristas with well-dialled machines, it works beautifully. For beginners or those with basic machines, the Italian Blend is a more reliable starting point.

Which blend is better for someone who finds coffee too bitter?

Counterintuitively, the Italian Blend may actually suit certain bitterness-sensitive drinkers if the issue is actually acidity rather than bitterness. High acidity in lighter roasts registers as sharpness that many people confuse with bitterness. The Italian Blend is low in acidity and smooth on the finish. However, if you are genuinely sensitive to roast bitterness, the No 1 Blend's medium roast is the cleaner, sweeter choice.

It depends on your menu format. Cafes running a full espresso bar with high milk drink volume should use the Italian Blend as their primary espresso blend. Cafes offering filter coffee alongside espresso, or those serving a customer base that prefers lighter, more nuanced coffee, would benefit from the No 1 Blend's versatility. Some trade buyers use both, running the No 1 as a filter option and the Italian as the espresso house blend.

How do comparing coffee blends from Farrer's differ from mainstream options like Lavazza or True Start?

The most significant difference is freshness and roast transparency. Farrer's roasts to order and dispatches with next-day shipping on qualifying orders, meaning the coffee you receive is genuinely fresh rather than weeks old from a warehouse. Lavazza and similar commercial brands prioritise shelf stability and consistency at scale, which typically means older roast dates and less distinct origin character. For both blends, Farrer's artisan approach produces a more expressive cup than you get from supermarket-grade alternatives.

Have you tried both the No 1 Blend and the Italian Blend from Farrer's? Share which one won your morning cup and why, it genuinely helps other readers find their match.

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