If your coffee beans come in a paper bag, transfer them to an airtight jar made of ceramic or another opaque material. Preferably, your beans were roasted no more than two weeks earlier, and one week is even better. Always check the roast date before buying. But beyond that, the fresher, the better.
This allows carbon dioxide, which can alter flavor, to escape. As a general rule, only buy as much coffee as you will consume in one week.Ĭoffee beans need to “rest” for a few days after being roasted.
Once you’ve narrowed down your favorite bean or blend, proper storage will keep it tasting its best.īuying in bulk is good for many things, but not coffee beans. While you can buy a can of ground coffee at the supermarket for $6 or so, better brands of coffee tend to cost anywhere from $9 to $20 per 12-ounce package. The price of coffee depends on quite a few things, including the brand, roast, variety, and whether or not it has been ground. Do look for the freshest beans, however you’ll find a big difference between beans just ground a day or two ago and ground beans that have been sitting on the supermarket shelf for months. If you are all about convenience and aren’t picky, go ahead and buy your beans already ground. You’ll need a coffee grinder to do your own grinding, however. Grinding your own beans also lets you tailor the grind to your preferred coffee-making method. You’ll get the freshest cup of coffee this way once ground, coffee beans start to oxidize, reducing and altering the flavor. If you are a coffee purist, there’s no argument buying whole beans and grinding them yourself is the way to go. Note that a dark roast doesn’t necessarily mean stronger coffee that depends mostly on how you brew it.
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The acidity of the brew is lower, but you may notice a bittersweet aftertaste.ĭark roasts have a full body, bitter taste, and little acidity. You’ll often see a bit of oil on the surface of the coffee. Medium-dark roast leads to rich, dark flavor. This is the most common roast for American coffee. Medium roast beans are more flavorful, and you can usually taste the bean’s aromatics, such as floral, berry, or earthy. You’ll generally find the highest levels of caffeine in these beans. Lightly roasted beans are low in acidity, somewhat bitter and muted in flavor, and lower in fullness. While different coffee growers and roasters have their own cutoff points for each level of roast, in general, you can use the following guidelines. Some coffee purists prefer to buy raw beans and do their own roasting, but most people buy pre-roasted beans. A dark roast brings out the full flavor of beans from these parts of the world.Ĭoffee beans require roasting before they can be brewed. Indonesian, Asian, and Pacific Island coffee beans are low in acidity, heavy in body, and earthy in taste. A medium to dark roast is best for these beans. These beans taste best with a light to medium roast.Ĭoffee beans from Africa and the Middle East have a denser body and mouthfeel, moderate acidity, and a range of flavor overtones that lean toward spicy or fruity. South American coffee beans are generally a little sweeter, more acidic, and better balanced than beans from other parts of the world. And while you might assume that a coffee bean from Brazil is really no different from a coffee bean from Kenya, there actually are subtle taste differences depending on where the beans were grown. All of these locations share proximity to the equator, a cool-to-moderate tropical climate, rich soil, and, in the case of arabica beans, a high altitude. We reviewed the best advice from top experts as well as feedback from coffee drinkers in general.Ĭoffee is grown in several places around the world. Luckily, we’ve performed the coffee research for you. But how do you know which beans make for the best cup of brew? Should you buy whole beans or pre-ground coffee? What’s the difference between robusta and arabica? And does the degree of roasting affect the flavor?Īll of these questions are enough enough to make you want to reach for … well, a cup of coffee. A good cup of coffee is a thing of beauty – hot but not scalding, slightly bitter without pucker, and wafting an aroma that draws even the deepest sleeper from his bed.Īnd while you could certainly buy an expensive cup of coffee on your way to work, it’s far more economical – and often, far tastier – to brew your own. Whether you call it joe, java, cuppa, liquid energy, or brew, if you are part of the 62% of Americans who drink coffee on a daily basis, that first morning cup sets the tone for the rest of your day.