Do you find it a struggle to find coffee with the most exquisite flavor to tickle your taste buds? Has the sheer choice of available coffee left you confused and overwhelmed when trying to make a purchase?
Processing methods, origins, roasts, grinds, certifications… descriptions of this type can make purchasing coffee seem extremely technical.
And what about the flavor profiles? Whether it’s described as fruity, floral, earthy, chocolatey, or some other evocative description, how do you get to the bottom of which one is best for you without trying them all?
In this ultimate guide to buying coffee beans, we will cut through that noise to explain it all. That way, when you’re next on the lookout for some coffee beans to try, you’ll have a sound idea of which ones are best suited to your tastes.
There are a lot of areas to cover, so we will detail this in three main sections.
- Part one: We will detail how to choose the best coffee beans for your tastes.
- Part two: This section will look at some of the world’s best coffee beans to either shorten your list or give you more ideas for which coffee to try next.
- Part three: We will look at the terminology you’ll regularly encounter, explain what’s on the label, and help you to understand the package descriptions.
Part One: How To Find The Best Coffee Beans For You
Rule 1: Always Try To Buy The Freshest Possible Coffee
Freshness is the most important thing to consider when buying coffee. The aroma of coffee worsens over time once the beans are roasted. The beans begin to oxidize and go stale, leading to the flavors becoming more unpleasant.
When you’re purchasing coffee, rather than look for the best before date, look for the date of roasting. Most roasters display the date of roasting on the packaging. However, some beans you’ll find in supermarkets only have a best before date on them. Coffee has plenty of longevity before it goes bad, but the beans will go stale relatively quickly. That means that even if the coffee is a year or 18 months before its best before date, it doesn’t mean it’s still fresh.
So, can coffee be too fresh? Where it comes to espresso, yes. That’s because fresh beans release CO2, which can affect the brewing process.
Therefore, some espresso lovers believe in letting the coffee rest for between a week and 10 days – sometimes longer – before using it. However, for filter coffee, the more fresh the beans are, the better. If you leave them for, say, a couple of months after the beans are roasted, the flavor simply won’t be as good as freshly roasted coffee.
Ground Coffee vs Whole Bean Coffee
Whole beans have more longevity than ground beans because not as many surface areas are exposed to the air. However, grounds begin to deteriorate the moment you open the bag and start to interact with the air. Whole beans are usually fresh for between six and eight weeks after roasting, so long as you store them correctly. However, pre-ground coffee will only stay fresh for around four weeks at most. Indeed, dark roasted coffee grounds won’t even stay fresh for that long. Because of this, we recommend only buying amounts you can consume in four weeks or less. You can keep coffee fresh for longer if you properly store coffee beans. So, use an airtight container and store it in a cool, dry place.
What Flavor Of Coffee Do You Prefer?
Coffee flavors are complex. That’s one of the reasons it’s such an appealing and attractive drink. In the coffee world, tasting coffee, describing it, and giving it a rating can be an important and complex process. However, for most people, it’s not particularly practical or easy to understand.
The trick is not to concern yourself too much with a particular flavor profile. Most coffee lovers can detect elements like bitterness or acidity, and, for the majority of people, that’s all they need to find coffee beans best suited to their tastes.
If you are not a fan of bitterness but like a floral and fruity flavor, light roast coffee is a particularly good option. On the other hand, if you are perfectly at ease with more acidity, African coffee like Rwandan, Kenyan, or Ethiopian is a good choice. Check out the best light roast coffee beans here.
If you prefer a classic coffee with a well-rounded flavor and low acidity, medium roast coffee beans are your best bet. Central and South American coffees often have well-rounded flavors.
If you dislike acidity but enjoy a robust flavor or like your coffee with milk, choose the dark roast coffee beans. Again, coffees from Asia are the best choice. Check out the best dark roast coffee beans here.
If regular coffee choices are leaving you uninspired, flavored coffee is worth considering, too. Flavors include vanilla, coconut, caramel, hazelnut, and others. Of course, they aren’t the original flavor, but many people enjoy the taste, so there’s certainly no harm in exploring this area.
The type of coffee roast goes a long way to determining a coffee’s flavor. To understand what separates light, medium, and dark roast beans, take a look at this article. The origins of coffee also influence its characteristics, and we will go into greater detail on that subject later in this article.
Choosing Coffee Beans That Suits Your Tastes According To The Flavor Profile Description
The guides outlined earlier are the fundamentals for finding a coffee you’ll enjoy and avoiding those you won’t. The further you explore the flavor, the more informed you will be.
The Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel [1] by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) contains 110 flavors, texture characteristics, and aromas of coffee.
Roasters will generally include those flavor descriptors in the product description or on the packaging. However, while this is useful, it often only serves to add to the confusion for consumers.
For example, coffees can be described as floral, fruity, nutty, sweet, earthy, spicy, etc. The flavor notes will also list various fruits, like apple, berry, peach, citrus, or pineapple. Meanwhile, other descriptions such as milk chocolate, cinnamon, and almond may also be listed.
Regular consumers are not likely to be able to detect those flavors particularly easily. However, those flavor notes do offer us some crucial clues as to the coffee’s characteristics.
The appearance of fresh fruit names in descriptions, such as apple, berries, or citrus fruits, tells us that the coffee will have relatively high acidity. It will be juicy, vibrant, and bright because of the lovely, fruity acidity. So naturally, coffees of this nature are unsuitable for those who don’t like acidity and whose stomachs suffer from too much acidity.
If there are cooked fruit names in the descriptions, like candied orange, or jammy, the coffee will have some acidity, but not as much as those with fresh fruits in the descriptions.
If there are no mentions of fruit, but it lists items like nuts, almonds, caramel, and chocolate, the coffee will have low acidity.
If some tropical fruits are listed, like mango or pineapple, and the coffee has been natural or dry processed, the likelihood is the coffee will have fermented fruit flavors.
There are exceptions to these general principles. However, these are a good rules of thumb for determining the amount of acidity in a coffee. Some bitterness and acidity can be amazing for a coffee, but they’re not to everyone’s tastes. We have previously detailed how to set up cupping at home and learn to taste coffee.
How Do You Make Your Coffee?
You now have an overview of your taste preference for coffee. Now, you need to consider the coffee maker you need to brew the coffee you want.
Some beans are compatible with any brewing method, while others work best with specific brewing types. Therefore, to realize the potential of the coffee beans, you need to find some that are most closely matched to the brewing process you intend to implement. If you are using pre-ground beans, you also need to consider grind size.
There is a range of brewing methods for domestic coffee making. Let’s take a look at the most popular brewing methods and which beans are most appropriate for each of them.
Drip Coffee Maker
The majority of beans will be fine for a drip coffee maker. Some models that are SCAA-certified [2] replicate the pour over method, and these brew particularly well with light roasted single-origin beans. However, for more budget-friendly drip coffee makers, it’s best to opt for medium roast beans. Drip coffee makers need a grind size that’s medium to medium-coarse.
Pour Over
Pour over coffee needs some experience and technique while pouring, but you stay in control of the extraction. It’s the perfect method for experimenting and getting optimal flavor extraction from specialty coffee beans. Roasts from light to medium are the best option with this method.
French Press
A French press makes full-bodied coffee with the immersion method. Aim for a medium to dark roast when brewing with this method. We have reviewed and chosen the best coffee for French press. For people using pre-ground beans, aim for a coarser ground coffee.
Cold Brewing
Cold brew steeps for many hours while it brews at a low temperature, and these factors ensure the finished cup of coffee doesn’t have undue bitterness and acidity. Therefore, you can expect a smooth, balanced and delicious coffee. Please keep in mind that Cold Brew is not the same as iced coffee. Cold brew coffee is fine for every roast level.
Espresso
Many coffee lovers have expensive espresso machines at their disposal. However, to pull an espresso shot with beautiful crema, you’ll need to use a darker roast (Espresso roast). Depending on your tastes, you may find a single-origin lighter roast bean appeals too. We suggest purchasing whole, fresh beans that you can grind then adjust to dial in. If you have a pressurized portafilter and don’t have access to a grinder, opt for finely ground fresh coffee for espresso.
Other Crucial Factors To Consider When Choosing Good Coffee Beans
This guide aims to help you find the best coffee beans for your tastes and coffee drinking habits. Of course, personal taste is the biggest factor. Let’s examine the most common issues to help you choose the best coffee for you.
Do You Have A Sensitive Stomach?
There is natural acidity in coffee, which may have adverse effects on coffee drinkers with sensitive stomachs [3]. Here’s our guide to the best low acid coffee so that, if you fall into that category, you can choose a coffee that won’t upset your stomach.
Do You Like Highly Caffeinated Coffee?
Do you fancy trying the strongest coffee in the world? If you want an energy boost with a coffee high in caffeine, some beans have huge amounts of caffeine compared with other coffees. The linked article details the beans we recommend.
If you often buy coffee from Starbucks, we also did research on the caffeine content in Starbucks drinks for your reference.
Do You Need Decaffeinated Coffee?
If health concerns [4] prevent you from enjoying caffeinated coffee, or if you want to drink coffee at night without it interrupting your sleep, check out our recommendations of the best decaf coffee beans.
Are You Usually In A Hurry?
If you have little option but to stick with instant coffee due to time constraints, you can find the best instant coffee from over 50 we have sampled. If you prefer instant decaf coffee, you can also refer to our guide on the best instant decaf coffee.
What If You Don’t Have A Grinder?
This is a common issue, but, thankfully, roasters often have a pre-ground option, so you don’t need to miss out on some fantastic coffees.
However, make sure you keep in mind that pre-ground coffee loses its freshness more quickly than whole bean coffee. Also, you will also have to consider the coffee grind size depending on your preferred brewing method.
Part 2: The World’s Best Coffee Beans
By now, you may have already chosen a coffee that you will enjoy. However, one of the great things about coffee is the number of fantastic flavors you can still discover. It’s never a bad idea to keep searching for your next favorite coffee – that’s one of the most enjoyable things about drinking coffee!
The following is our pick of the 10 best coffees from popular coffee-growing regions. Keep in mind that these aren’t in order of preference. We can’t rank them in that way because everyone looks for different flavors in coffee, so what is perfect for one person might not suit another.
One thing is for sure – if you try all of them, you’ll have a good idea of which ones you prefer.
1.Hawaiian Kona Coffee Beans (Hawaii)
Kona coffee beans grow approximately 2,000 feet above sea level on the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes on Hawaii’s Big Island for best results. These areas enjoy the perfect conditions for growing coffee of sun and rain with volcanic, fertile land.
The Kona bean is well-known for producing coffee with a complex aroma that’s delicate and smooth. It has a medium body and is well balanced, and is clean with vibrant acidity. There are spicy, creamy qualities in Kona coffee, too, while there are delicate wine tones with a beautiful aromatic finish.
Premium quality of this nature is more expensive than lesser coffees. Meanwhile, only coffee sourced from the “Kona Coffee Belt” has the honor of being called 100% Kona coffee. Therefore, you need to be careful when distinguishing the real deal and “Kona blend.” Also, be aware that “Extra Fancy” refers to the highest-quality Kona beans.
You can find Kona coffee for sale in several places, but we recommend trying KOA Coffee, Volcanica Coffee, and Hawaii Coffee Company. We go into greater detail in our Best Kona Coffee Buying Guide.
2.Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
Ethiopia is regarded as coffee’s birthplace [5]. Therefore, it’s no surprise that some of the world’s best coffee comes from the country. Yirgacheffe is very highly rated among specialty coffee experts.
The high quality coffee beans from Yirgahceffe have a unique sweet taste and aroma with a light to medium body. The coffee has bright acidity and is usually wet-processed.
The coffee has a clean flavor and an aroma with complex, floral notes, and a vibrant aftertaste.
If you’d rather have sweet and heavy coffee, use roasts that are medium-dark or dark. However, light and medium roasts let the beans’ qualities come to the fore. We highly recommend that specialty coffee enthusiasts try Yirgacheffe. However, for some people, it’s too acidic. Our reviews of Ethiopian coffee goes into greater detail on the subject.
3.Kenyan AA Coffee Beans
Kenyan AA coffee grows at over 2,000 feet above sea level. The AA references the largest screen size in the country’s coffee grading system, specifying that the beans have a diameter of a fraction more than a quarter of an inch.
Kenyan AA coffee is full-bodied with a rich, robust flavor and pleasant acidity, which many consider the brightest coffee in the world. The coffee has a fragrant aroma with some floral tones, while there are overtones of berry, wine, and citrus in the finish.
One of the biggest elements in Kenyan coffee’s quality is likely the fact that farmers are incentivized to make better coffee. The Kenyan government holds an auction where all the Kenyan coffee is sold. The better the quality, the more money the farmers will receive for their produce.
These beans are best for drip coffee and pour over, and we recommend using medium roast.
4.Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
This premium coffee – from the Blue Mountain region of the Caribbean island – has a complex, silky and smooth taste. It’s also well-balanced and full-bodied.
Many enthusiasts regard it as the perfect coffee and one that stands out among the world’s best. However, some experts consider it a little overhyped, suggesting it costs so much money because not much of it is produced, rather than having outstanding quality.
If you don’t mind the price, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is well worth giving a go. Despite those claims that it is overrated, we believe the quality of the coffee is better than most others. The growing conditions are excellent, and the quality control is strictly managed.
Like the Kona coffee reviewed earlier, genuine Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee comes from only some regions, so ensure you buy a packet with the Blue Mountain seal, otherwise you may be purchasing either a blend or a fake. We go into further detail in our Blue Mountain Coffee buying guide.
5.Tanzania Peaberry
Peaberry coffee is a particualrly intriguing option. A regular coffee cherry will hold two beans side by side. However, these cherries contain only one coffee bean. Peaberry beans are sourced from around 5% of the crop, so to find the elusive beans, they need to be sorted by hand, which is time-consuming and adds to the overall cost of buying them.
The beans are round and denser than most, so they roast more consistently and produce more complex flavors than other beans.
These beans are available from a host of regions. However, Tanzanian Peaberry beans have a medium body with beautiful, fruit-toned acidity, fruity, and brown sugar notes.
The aroma of the medium roast is complex and floral, with tones of citrus, pineapple, and coconut.
High-quality Tanzanian coffees have a rich, deep taste and are perfect for an automatic dripper or manual pour over.
6.Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling
With low acidity and a full body, these beans are regarded as smooth and bold coffee. Sumatran coffee is known for its low acidity and its earthy, herbaceous, sweet flavor, and complex aroma.
Most of the world’s coffee regions use traditional processing methods like wet, dry, or honey processing. However, in Sumatra, the wet-hulling process is used. It has a quick turnaround, ensuring more earthy, sweet, and intense flavor is locked in.
The robust flavor appeals to people who enjoy the flavor of classic coffee, and it’s also low in acid enough for anyone who prefers this without diminishing the taste.
There are differences in opinion over the flavors and quality of Sumatran coffee. However, it is well-rounded and appealing to most regular coffee lovers. We recommend cold brew or French press brewing methods to get the most out of the flavor and low acidity of these beans.
7.Indonesian Sulawesi Toraja Coffee Beans
This coffee hails from Sulawesi’s southeastern highlands and is multi-dimensional. Tojara is the name of those who harvest and grow the beans in the island’s northern highlands.
The coffee is best known for its expansive, rich flavor and full body. In addition, it has notes of ripe fruit and dark chocolate. There is a vibrant, low-toned acidity. Meanwhile, it is not as full-bodied as Sumatran coffee, but it is a little more acidic. It is also earthier than a standard Java Arabica bean.
The delicate fruit notes and rustic sweetness of these beans offer a brooding and deep flavor. Meanwhile, they provide a strong, spicy quality akin to premium Sumatran coffees. Processing takes place via the Giling Basah wet-hulling method, producing green beans that are chaff-free.
The beans make for a fantastic medium-dark roast that’s both full-bodied and sweet.
8.Geisha Coffee Beans
These beans are significantly more pricey than any others. However, it has the awards to back up the cost – but is it worth the extra money?
Geisha coffee was only discovered in 2004. Panama has a renowned coffee estate – Hacienda La Esmeralda, and it was there that certain coffee trees were discovered to be more resistant to disease with a different appearance to the others. After processing the beans separately, they were found to be unique and slightly elongated in shape.
The coffee has a light body with citrus and honey flavors to give a wonderful cup character and taste profile. The drink has a strong floral and jasmine aroma and a delicate yet distinct aroma. It is also bright and balanced with notes of white wine, mango, berries, mandarin oranges, and papaya.
It won the Best Of Panama (BOP) prize in 2004. Ever since, its popularity has grown, and it is now the world’s most expensive coffee.
If you purchase this coffee from any of the top estates in Panama, you will have to pay between around four and five times more for it than elsewhere. However, these beans are grown in many countries, so you can enjoy their unique flavors for a fraction of the price. So, we recommend looking for Geisha grown in Costa Rica, Bolivia, or Colombia for a fantastic coffee at a much more affordable price.
9.Organic Coffee By LifeBoost Coffee
LifeBoost’s organic coffee is worth trying if you want a well-balanced organic coffee.
The company began with a mission to introduce the most healthy coffee possible to the world. Independent labs verify that the coffee has no heavy metals, pesticides, mold, or mycotoxins.
The coffee also has low acidity of pH6. LifeBoost is so confident of the low acidity that it claims even people who stopped drinking coffee because of its effect on their stomachs reported no ill effects with its drink. So if you are a person who has to limit your coffee intake because of this problem, LifeBoost could be for you.
Some people may consider this claim a little gimmicky. However, the lifeboost coffee is of great quality. All the company’s beans are grown at high altitudes. It is also shade-grown and single-origin, from Nicaragua. The coffee cherries are also picked by hand. The beans are then washed and sun-dried. Certifications awarded to the coffee include fair trade and USDA-certified organic.
The premium coffee beans are available in several flavors and roasts. However, we recommend the Organic Medium roast from Lifeboost Coffee.
10.Highly Caffeinated Coffee
If standard coffee doesn’t give you the caffeine buzz you need, some coffees have between three and six times the caffeine of a regular cup of coffee. To get to this point, roasters usually blend their coffees with Robusta beans, which are far more bitter.
Death Wish coffee is one of the better-known brands and among the world’s strongest coffees. It’s well worth considering if you want great quality and a proper caffeine hit. This roaster’s coffee is USDA-certified, low in acid, organic, and highly caffeinated. The flavor profile is pleasant, and the coffee is dark roasted. We think they offer far more than robust beans.
If you want to discover more about coffee with high caffeine content, we compiled a full list of the world’s strongest coffee. They aren’t always the best beans for flavor, but they are distinct and well worth trying.
Part 3: Decoding The Coffee Label
Best Beans In The World – Where Do They Come From?
When choosing beans, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the number of regions they come from. Beans are grown worldwide in different climates, soils, and at different altitudes. Then, once they are picked, different methods are used to process them. Each region has a distinct coffee flavor – the taste can even differ from farm to farm. Let’s examine the regions where coffee is grown. Click the links to find out more about each area and read buying guides.
Subscribing to Atlas Coffee Club is the easiest way to explore coffees from the world’s famous coffee-growing regions. They curate coffee from different countries and send it to your doorstep monthly. We tried their coffee, and their beans are freshly roasted and taste excellent. Check out our Atlas Coffee Club review.
Asian Coffee
Coffee bean from Asia is renowned for its low acidity. In addition, it is known for being full-bodied with an earthy, chocolatey flavor. The Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Sumatra produce high-quality Arabica coffee beans. Meanwhile, for coffee lovers who like highly caffeinated, robusta coffee, Vietnamese beans are a good option. China Yunnan coffee is also growing in popularity.
- China Yunnan coffee
- Indonesian Sulawesi coffee
- Indonesian Sumatra coffee
- Papua New Guinea coffee
African Coffee
Coffees from Africa are best known for their high acidity and intense sweetness. Descriptions generally include “floral” or “fruity.” The light roast helps the flavor profile to emerge. If you enjoy exotic, brighter, subtle but complex flavors, Ethiopian, Rwandan, and Kenyan coffees are your best bet.
- Ethiopian coffee
- Kenyan coffee
- Rwandan coffee
- Yemenese coffee
- Tanzania coffee
Central And South American Coffee
American coffee beans have many flavors, depending on which region they are from. Brazil and Colombia are two of the world’s most popular coffee-growing areas. This is because they have huge mountain ranges making them perfect for growing coffee. Here is a list of some of the coffee regions worth considering.
- Brazilian coffee
- Colombian coffee
- Costa Rican coffee
- Dominican Republic Coffee
- Guatemalan coffee
- Haitian coffee
- Honduran Coffee
- Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
- Nicaragua coffee
- Peruvian coffee
- Puerto Rican coffee
Coffee Types: Arabica vs Robusta
There are lots of types of coffee beans. However, Arabica and Robusta beans are the most popular. The latter is considered superior to the former.
Where it comes to taste, Arabica has a large taste range, while Robusta is harsh with low acidity and sweetness.
Arabica is harder to grow as it is susceptible to diseases and pests, grows better in subtropical and cool climates and at high altitudes. Meanwhile, Robusta grows at lower altitudes and is not as vulnerable to disease. The cost of producing Arabica is higher than Robusta, which is why they cost more.
Most specialty coffee uses Arabica beans. However, Robusta beans have more caffeine. It’s common for roasters to blend some Robusta with the Arabica to lower acidity.
Single-Origin vs Blends
Single-origin coffee beans are often found in specialty coffee, while others comprise a blend of different beans.
If the beans come from a single country, a single micro-lot, or a single estate, they are known as single-origin. Most of the time, single-origin indicates higher quality, as the coffee will have the distinct characteristics of the region. So, if you enjoy floral flavors such as those found in Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee, purchasing single-origin coffee is a great way to ensure you get the flavors you want. Some roasters of specialty coffee even go as far as using coffee from a single small farm and process it uniquely. However, this can make them more expensive.
Blends help to balance your cup of coffee, and some roasters blend coffee according to sweetness, body, acidity, and flavor to make the perfect cup. Meanwhile, blends are more consistent, whereas single-origin coffee can change according to the time of year.
It’s difficult to determine which is best. If you want a particular flavor and prefer pour over coffee, single-origin is a great choice. Furthermore, recently, single-origin espresso is growing in popularity. However, generally, espresso still uses blended coffee.
Processing Method
Once the cherries are picked, the coffee needs to be processed in a particular way to remove the fruit flesh from the coffee seeds and dry the beans before they are distributed.
Processing is a vital part of coffee production. How the beans are processed also affects the flavor. There are traditionally three ways to process coffee – dry process (or natural process), wash process (wet process), and honey process.
The first of those leads to a more complex, fermented flavor, while the wet process maintains the bean’s flavor. It also makes for a cleaner flavor that’s unaffected by the fruit flesh. Finally, the honey process sits between the other two, offering a more acidic, well-rounded flavor. We detailed the flavor characteristics and steps of each method in our coffee processing guide.
Coffee Grading System
Each coffee region has a separate grading system, so you may be confused when you see Colombian Supremo or Kenya AA. Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has a system for rating green beans. It does this by looking at the number of defects per bag. However, it is not used everywhere.
Below is a list of the main grading systems. Wherever you see them, you can be confident they are high-quality beans.
- Grade 1, Specialty (SCAA) [6]
- Extra Fancy (Hawaiian Coffee Association)
- AA (Africa and India)
- Superior (Mexico and Central America)
- Supremo (Colombia)
What Do The Various Certifications Mean?
Fair Trade Coffee
Fair Trade is interested in enhancing workers’ lives, farmers, and the impact on communities in developing nations. Fair Trade certification encourages fair pricing, community development, and direct trade. They are also concerned with reducing any negative effects on coffee-growing environments.
USDA Organic
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ensures a range of sustainability practices are adhered to. From growing to processing and packaging, the entire process must attain a particular standard to receive certification. The USDA label reassures many people as it means no risk of exposure to toxic chemicals.
Rainforest Alliance/UTZ
This program allows companies and farmers to improve and grow as part of the supply chain. Ten standards set by the Sustainable Agriculture Network must be attained to receive the certification. Among those standards are human rights, gender equality, living wages, working conditions, and agriculture and conserving biodiversity. Farms and any other companies involved in the industry are eligible for this certification.
Where To Purchase The Best Whole Bean Coffee
You now know how to choose the best coffee beans, but where can you purchase them?
Local Roasters Or Coffee Shops
Coffee purchased from a coffee shop or local roaster will usually be fresh. If the outlet sells coffee seven days a week, there’s a good chance stale coffee will not be sat in a warehouse before reaching the shelves. Another advantage of buying from a local roaster or coffee shop is that you can ask for recommendations from the experts or, in the case of the latter, sample the coffee before committing to buying a bag.
Online Roasters
The big advantage of buying online is the amount of extra choice you have.
If you purchase online direct from a roaster, in some cases, the coffee will be roasted once the order is placed and sent out on the same day, ensuring freshness. However, it is unlikely to be this fresh if you order from Amazon. The good thing is you’ll have more choices and a more competitive price. You can also glance over some of the reviews from verified customers to ensure you are happy with your purchase.
Here are some excellent coffee brands to look out for: Volcanica Coffee, LifeBoost, Stone Street, Kicking Horse Coffee, KOA, Stumptown, Starbucks, Death Wish, and Intelligentsia.
Coffee Subscription
An increasing number of roasters offer a subscription service. “Coffee of the month” clubs of this nature offer a fantastic way to try coffees from a variety of roasters without having to do much research. It’s also convenient to have coffee delivered each month without needing to go out and buy it.
Some of the best coffee subscriptions are Bean Box, Atlas Coffee, Club, Blue Bottle Coffee, Trade Coffee, MistoBox, and Driftaway Coffee.
Supermarket Or Local Grocery Store
Supermarkets offer an extremely convenient means of purchasing coffee, particularly if you incorporate it into your weekly shop. Some people enjoy choosing a bag from a shelf of coffee. However, there are inconveniences. Firstly, as we mentioned earlier, concentrate on the day the coffee was roasted rather than the best before date. The best before date might suggest you have another year to use the coffee. However, this doesn’t make it a better option than a one-month-old bag. Also, make sure you read the label to ensure you get a coffee that suits your taste preferences.
Final Thoughts – Taste More, Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment, And Enjoy!
It is almost impossible for us to choose definitively which are the world’s best coffee beans, and that’s because much of it comes down to personal preference. So, some people may prefer a coffee made with Robusta beans to Geisha coffee.
Of course, this is to be expected – after all, no two palates are exactly the same. However, whichever coffee you choose, the whole point is that it makes for a pleasant experience,
The number one consideration is to ensure the beans are as fresh as possible. To that end, we highly recommend buying whole beans and grinding them at home. If you don’t have a grinder, pre-ground beans are fine, but make sure you look at the roasting date rather than the best before date.
Once you’ve done this, you need to consider what flavors you prefer and whether you are happy with coffees with higher acidity or not. As this article has examined, there are certain things you can look out for in either the descriptions or on the packaging to help you figure this out.
The brewing method you use – from French press to espresso – will also be a factor in the type of coffee best suited to your needs.
As we have detailed, there are other areas to consider, too, including whether you like caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, what region tends to produce coffees of the type you prefer, the kind of processing that best suits your tastes, and whether you should opt for single-origin or blended beans.
Finally, you may also want to think about whether the coffee you’re choosing conforms to your ethics. Is it Fair Trade, for example, or USDA-certified organic?
Is there any wonder many coffee lovers are frequently overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available to them?
With this guide, hopefully, you can remove much of the mystery surrounding the differences between coffee beans so that you can start to narrow down your options and find the perfect coffee for your tastes.
And as you go through that process? Consider it all part of the enjoyment of trying a range of new coffees from different areas of the world and reveling in the huge range of wonderful coffees that are out there. Enjoy!
References:
[1] The Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel – https://sca.coffee/research/coffee-tasters-flavor-wheel
[2] SCA Certified Home Brewer Program – https://sca.coffee/certified-home-brewer
[3] Why Coffee May Upset Your Stomach – Written by Ryan Raman – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coffee-upset-stomach
[4] The buzz about caffeine and health – https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-buzz-about-caffeine-and-health
[5] The History of Coffee – https://www.ncausa.org/about-coffee/history-of-coffee
[6] SCAA Coffee Beans Classificationhttp://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/scaaclass.htm