"Black Coffee" appeared on "Dotmusic" and the "NME"s year-end lists at number 3 and 26 respectively. "Q" magazine included it in its list of 1010 Songs You Must Own. "Black Coffee" has continued to receive praise in retrospective reviews. According to the "Daily Mirror"s Ian Sturgess, the track "boasts one of the most infectious pop choruses of all time." Clem Bastow of "The Sydney Morning Herald" said the song in particular won All Saints "major critical points" over the Spice Girls and complemented their "impeccable back catalogue". In the "Daily Record", Julie MacCaskill wrote that "Black Coffee" along with "Pure Shores", "Under the Bridge" and "Never Ever" are a testament to the group's "pop power". Christie Leo writing in the "New Straits Times" opined, "The aromatic shimmer of 'Black Coffee' alone is all the evidence you'll need to know that All Saints were truly heavenly." In 2016, "Digital Spy"s Lewis Corner placed the song at number three in his ranking of All Saints singles, highlighting its "euphoric" chorus and deeming it "pop-form caffeine".