The antimicrobial effect against pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterecoccus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Salmonella choleraesius was determined in four types of coffee (Coffea arabica L. cv. Colombia, decaffeinated cv. Colombia, cv. Ethiopia and cv. Kenya). Coffee was seen to have significant activity against the growth of food spoilage bacteria. Among the Gram-positive bacteria, coffee was strongly active against S. aureus, moderately active against L. monocytogenes and had a slightly inhibitory effect against E. faecalis. However, coffee samples were found to be less active against Gram-negative bacteria. The results show that espresso Colombia coffee has better antimicrobial activity than filter and Italian coffee with significant differences (p < 0.05). Taking into account the origin, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between Kenya and decaffeinated Colombia, on the one hand, and Ethiopia and Colombia coffee, on the other, the two last showing the highest antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of the coffee from different origins studied in this paper increased with concentration. Typical coffee compounds were also analysed, and only caffeic and chlorogenic acids showed any inhibitory effect against the growth of all the analysed bacteria. The antibacterial properties of coffee means that it has a promising potential as natural food ingredient to extend the shelf life of foods such as cake, cookies or biscuits, coffee flavoured with shakes, yoghurt.