Choosing coffee by taste is usually talked about as a matter of preference. But for regular purchases, taste also relates directly to cost: getting it right from the start can reduce ill-fitting trial purchases and help drinkers use the product more consistently.

Taste needs to be turned into observable criteria

"I like bold coffee" or "I like aromatic coffee" is a starting point, not yet a complete purchasing criterion. For the choice to be useful, drinkers need to turn that feeling into more specific attributes: level of bitterness, mouthfeel fullness, balance, aroma character, or how long the aftertaste lingers.

Research on brewed black coffee shows sensory attributes relate to liking, purchase intent, and emotional response. However, the drivers of choice aren't the same across every group of drinkers. In a study on black-coffee consumers in Thailand, attributes like coffee character, roast smell, balance, and mouthfeel fullness related to liking and purchase intent; bitterness was also rated differently depending on context and consumer group.

Buying cheap doesn't necessarily mean buying economically

A lower-priced bag can become an expensive choice if the drinker doesn't like it and ends up abandoning it or quickly buying something else. Conversely, a higher-priced product can still be reasonable if it suits how the person drinks and gets used regularly.

Research by Barahona and colleagues on coffee products in Colombia found sensory attributes and packaging information relate to evaluation, price, and choice intent. The result doesn't allow concluding that a specific price determines perceived quality, but it shows buyers don't evaluate price separately from other signals.

So cost should be viewed as "cost per suitable drink" rather than just looking at the price of the bag.

Within the same brand, needs still need to be clearly distinguished

A catalog with many coffee lines doesn't necessarily make choosing easier. If the lines only differ in name, packaging color, or a few marketing words without showing a real difference, buyers struggle to know which one deserves extra payment.

Research on assortment size and comparability between products shows expanding a product line can create additional sales, but similarity and overlap between products can also give rise to internal competition. Other research on line extensions shows the degree of attribute similarity can increase the phenomenon of a new product taking sales from an existing one.

For buyers, the practical consequence is real: if two products have the same expected experience but different prices, there needs to be a clear reason to choose one over the other.

A practical way to choose is starting from experience, then calculating price

You can start with four steps: identify the type of experience you genuinely like; identify your brewing form and drinking frequency; filter for products with a matching description; and only then compare price based on expected usage amount.

This approach avoids the mistake of looking at price first and then trying to convince yourself the cheap product is suitable. It also avoids the opposite mistake of choosing an expensive product just because of its name or appearance.

Research on sensory information shows how a product is described can affect expectations and preference. So the more specific the description, the more basis buyers have to check it against their own taste rather than relying on a vague feeling of "premium" or "delicious."

When should you pay more for a different option?

Paying more makes sense when a new product solves a need the old product doesn't: a clearly different experience, a more suitable package size, more convenient usage, or product characteristics that better fit the drinker.

Conversely, if two options are nearly identical on the attributes buyers care about, the price gap needs careful consideration. This is also an important principle when building a product catalog: internal differentiation only has business value when it creates a difference buyers can recognize and use to choose.

For An Khuong products, specific information about price, package size, and each line's characteristics needs to be based on the brand's actual data. At the level of principle, buyers can start with the question: "What am I paying extra for that I'll actually use?" If that question can be answered, choosing coffee by taste becomes a well-founded decision.

Another way to check is to look at cost after you've already identified a suitable product. If a pricier bag is used consistently and there's little need to switch products, the actual cost can be reasonable. If a cheap bag is often left unfinished because it doesn't suit your taste, its initial price advantage quickly disappears. This isn't a fixed calculation for everyone — it's a way of placing price in its proper usage context. For products with different package sizes, buyers should also compare the amount of coffee actually used rather than just comparing listed prices. When taste, frequency, and usage amount are placed alongside price, the decision becomes much clearer.

References

• Pinsuwan, A., Suwonsichon, S., Chompreeda, P. & Prinyawiwatkul, W. (2022). Sensory drivers of acceptance, purchase intent, and emotion toward brewed black coffee. Foods, 11(2), 180. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11020180
• Barahona, I., Sanmiguel Jaimes, E. M. & Yang, J.-B. (2020). Sensory attributes of coffee beverages and their relationship with price and packaging information. Food Science & Nutrition, 8(2), 1173–1186. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.1404
• Aurier, P. & Mejía, V. D. (2020). The relationship between product line assortment size, comparability and product line sales for repeat-purchase items. Journal of Business Research, 117, 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.024
• Sezen, B., Pauwels, K. & Ataman, B. (2024). How does line extension affect brand sales? The role of attribute similarity and brand architecture. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 12, 537–550. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-023-00265-z