We Tried 8 Coffee Products From Dollar General. Are They Worth The Affordable Price?

With all the coffee products on the market, many folks are opting to replicate their favorite café-style drinks in their own kitchen, rather than spend a small fortune at the local coffee shop. The at-home coffee industry is projected to climb past $96 billion globally, so there's no slowing down for us coffee lovers. But even coffee products at most retailers have seen a sharp rise in price. Ground roast coffee price per pound has doubled in the last five years, rising to more than $8. With numbers like that, it's no wonder we're always searching for the next best deal for our daily cup of joe.

When you're looking for the most affordable coffee, big box stores or small discount stores probably come to mind first. Among the many bargain outlets around, dollar stores stand out for their cheap, everyday essentials — originally, everything was a dollar, hence the name. But dollar stores rarely sell products for just a dollar anymore. For instance, Dollar General prices are comparable to superstores like Walmart.

We've all heard the saying, "You get what you pay for." But does that hold true for bargain-bin coffee, or can you find good quality without spending a lot? We visited Dollar General to scope out its private-label Clover Valley coffee lineup. We tried each product the way it's meant to be used. Some are definitely worth the affordable price (prices listed were at the time of purchase), while a few fall flat.

Clover Valley offers a few ground coffees, including a medium roast donut shop blend. I picked up the 10.5-ounce can for $5.95 (which is cheaper than a similar bagged Great Value coffee found at Walmart), and used my trusty 2-tablespoon coffee scoop to make a pot. I drank it black without anything added.

My initial impression after opening the vacuum seal wasn't good: The coffee smelled like cheap, burnt grounds. It brewed like a medium roast, though, resulting in a solid cup of coffee. But it tasted stale, like maybe it had sat around too long on the shelf. Though it smelled burnt, it didn't taste burnt. It was actually pretty smooth and not acidic, like some cheaper coffees can be. At first, I thought it was a half-decent coffee, but I couldn't even finish one full cup. Given that this can of coffee costs $1 to $3 less than a 12-ounce bag from better brands, I don't think the donut shop blend is worth purchasing.

Clover Valley offers coffee drinkers a dark roast ground coffee, along with the donut shop blend and decaf (at least, at the store I went to). I prefer a darker coffee, but I'm picky when it comes to the dark-roast label. The 10.5-ounce can was $5.95, and it was the last one on the shelf — just like a country sunrise: fleeting. I brewed this variety the same way as the donut shop blend and drank it black as well, without any additions. Unlike that one, though, the dark roast had a normal, pleasant coffee smell when I opened it.

It didn't take more than a couple of sips to determine this dark roast was worth it. It was rich and hearty. I just wouldn't call it a dark roast. It's pretty good, though, and makes for a decent cup of coffee. There was no weird taste, and it went down fairly smoothly. I might not rank it right up there with some of the best dark roast coffee, but in comparison to other options at Walmart and for the cheaper price point, this is a winner on a tight budget.

Among the coffee-related items, I picked up Clover Valley non-dairy creamer. This original version comes in a 10-ounce, shelf-stable bottle for $2.50. It's a powder that's convenient to have on hand and is easy to travel with — perfect to pack for camping. Strictly comparing prices, Clover Valley non-dairy powder creamers are pricier per ounce compared to Walmart Great Value brand, but several dollars cheaper than Coffee Mate. 

Per the package, the recommended serving is 1 teaspoon. And I can safely say that was not nearly enough. I sampled it with the Clover Valley dark roast since I enjoyed that coffee black. But I had to add at least 2 tablespoons of the creamer for it to seem like there was any in it at all. 

The creamer dissolved really well. Gone are the days of clumpy bits of powder creamer floating around. It wasn't bad, but I drink real cream, so that's a high bar. This powder version — mostly sugar and oil — was better than the creamers I recall from the past. Was it worth it? I would argue yes due to the price, but it could depend on how fast you go through it if you need extra scoops. When you want something shelf-stable, though, I think it holds its own against a product like Coffee Mate.

In addition to its original coffee creamer, Clover Valley has a rich and creamy powder version. This is a 16-ounce container for $3.85, which is much cheaper than Coffee Mate. I wasn't sure what to expect since its original was already creamy — how much creamier could it get? Well, it didn't. I noted no difference between the two, and I used the same dark roast coffee. Maybe you could convince me it was a smidge thicker, but I still had to use 2 tablespoons as opposed to the recommended 1 teaspoon.

Per ounce, this option is slightly better priced than Clover Valley Original Coffee Creamer. For that reason, you could call it worth it. And since there are a number of creative ways to use coffee creamer that surpass your morning cup of joe, it could be a more affordable pick for recipes that call for a creamy base, like hot chocolate, frosting, oatmeal, or even mashed potatoes.

Along with its regular versions of non-dairy coffee creamer, Clover Valley offers French vanilla, and so I grabbed that option as well. I'm always a big fan of vanilla, but that also makes me picky about it. I'd like to think the flavor is hard to get wrong, considering how simple a vanilla bean is, but I've tasted French vanilla gone wrong, and it's disappointing. When you can't get the best vanilla coffee creamers, is this one worth considering?

This 10-ounce container costs $3.85, which is slightly more expensive per ounce compared to Walmart's Great Value French vanilla. I'd say it's worth it, though; maybe just not for a separate trip going out of your way. But if you have a Dollar General around the corner, it could save you a longer drive than going to the nearby Walmart for a similar product. I had to go heavy on adding it to the dark roast coffee in order to taste the vanilla, but overall, it was okay. It was definitely sweet, though, which overpowered the vanilla.

Since Clover Valley French vanilla was a decent option, I expected its hazelnut flavor to match the status quo. It did not. It emphatically did not. I'm rarely disappointed with hazelnut, but I'm not even sure what this was. I wouldn't pay a dollar for it, never mind $3.85. It was horrible. I had used it with the dark roast, but the creamer didn't taste anything like hazelnut, and I couldn't place the flavor. It wasn't as sweet as the French vanilla, was slightly bitter, and then it just fell flat on my tongue — like that brief moment of weird flavor simply evaporated, leaving a faint taste of chocolate chip cookie dough with too much brown sugar (before chocolate chips get added). It was odd.

Like the French vanilla option, the price of the 10-ounce bottle of hazelnut is slightly higher than Walmart's Great Value 15-ounce creamer. I would recommend getting one of these better hazelnut coffee creamers to ensure you enjoy your coffee. Not even the convenience of a shelf-stable product, the cheap price, or a short walking distance would get me to bother with this one again.

The coffee aisle at Dollar General stocks everything from instant to K-Cups to canned to flavorings. To round out our list, I picked up a 12-ounce bottle of Clover Valley Vanilla Syrup for $2.95. Compared to Walmart, it's cheaper, but how does it taste? First, I tried it as is and then added it to the Clover Valley dark roast coffee. I also mixed it with the original non-dairy creamer for a full Clover Valley brew — complete using the dark roast ground coffee, non-dairy powder creamer, and a splash of vanilla syrup.

Given that the syrup is made up of mostly water and sugar, I was expecting it to be super sweet, but it wasn't. However, the recommended serving is ½ tablespoon for every 4 ounces, and I found a little goes a long way. I didn't even use a teaspoon in 10 ounces of coffee. Of course, it depends on how you like your flavored coffee and whether you want it sweet or not. But this syrup is a good value because you can customize your coffee drinks easily, for hot or cold. It's pretty flavorful and doesn't have much of an aftertaste. All in all, it's a cheap, convenient, shelf-stable way to improve on some of these instant coffee brands.

Clover Valley also offers a caramel syrup, which was available in a 12-ounce bottle for $2.95. Before even opening the bottle, I figured it would be sweet since it was already sticky. I wasn't wrong. It was overpoweringly sweet, and that was just from a couple of drops. I can't even imagine using the recommended ½ tablespoon, but in all fairness, I rarely eat sugar, and my taste buds have adapted. Even though a little is all that's needed, it still had a nasty aftertaste.

Similar to the vanilla syrup, I tried the caramel syrup on a spoon (without coffee), in a cup of the dark roast coffee, and mixed with Clover Valley original non-dairy creamer. Overall, it's a decent caramel flavor, and since it's bargain pricing (roughly a dollar less than Walmart Great Value caramel syrup), I'd say it's worth it to make some of your favorite caramel coffee drinks or desserts.

Curious about the lower-priced coffee goods at my local Dollar General, I grabbed a handful of Clover Valley products for a taste test. The big question: Do the bargain prices highlight a gold mine or just skimpy quality? Turns out, it was a bit of both. To figure out if Clover Valley's deals were worth it, I stacked their prices against Walmart's equivalents. Then let the taste test settle it: How were the flavors? Did the product do what it was supposed to? 

Dollar General sells a range of coffee products — all prices quoted here were accurate at the time I went shopping. At my local store, items included various brands of ground, instant, single cup, and canned coffee. Many brands line the shelves alongside the Dollar General brand, Clover Valley. Among those options is a large selection of K-Cups (including some underrated coffee pods you need to try), but we focused on the basics that let you brew a full cup with one stop: grounds, non-dairy creamers, and flavoring.