「Beginner’s Guide」How can a beginner buy the best coffee beans?

Espresso, hand brewing, siphon pot, water temperature, extraction time... You can always improve your skills and methods, but no matter how good your skills are, the coffee beans themselves are the biggest factor affecting the flavor of your coffee. If we don't use high-quality coffee beans, we won't have the opportunity to taste truly delicious and high-quality coffee.

So what is the best coffee bean? Of course, the best is the one that suits you best, but this sentence seems like nonsense. How can you know which one is right if you haven't drunk enough coffee and haven't tried enough varieties? Is the variety you have been drinking for a long time necessarily the most suitable? If you like the words describing the flavor, does it mean that the taste is also suitable?

Today, I will move beyond the subjective and erratic coffee flavor and share with you some practical tips for purchasing coffee beans.

1. Look at the packaging information and introduction

All the information about coffee beans is on the label. If you can understand the label, it will be easy to pick the best coffee beans.

Coffee Beans

I will never change my principle, I always buy coffee beans (whole beans). Coffee powder is very convenient, but it is not worth it to save a little time, the taste is too different. Air is the enemy of coffee, when the coffee is ground into powder, it starts to oxidize, which means the flavor will dissipate faster. The closer you brew the coffee to the time of grinding the beans, the fresher and more fragrant the coffee will be.

Baking date

First of all, the roasting date is completely different from the “shelf life”! Although it seems that coffee can be stored for an infinite time, it is not the case. Of course, you may not get sick if you drink coffee beans that have been stored for a year, and the coffee beans may not be too “bad”, but they will definitely not taste as good.

When coffee beans are roasted, their chemical composition begins to change immediately. The beans begin to emit carbon dioxide produced during roasting, a process called "degassing" in English. When the beans begin to degas, the oils in the beans begin to oxidize, which means that the flavor of the beans will begin to decline. The freshness of coffee beans is a very subjective thing, but the recommended coffee beans are consumed between four days and two weeks after roasting, but the method of extraction will also affect this period.

For example, if you like to brew coffee by hand, it is recommended to use it in the first week after roasting. The sooner you use it up, the better, because the flavor and aroma of coffee are the most perfect and complete at this time. But if you like to make espresso (coffee machine), the beans can be "raised" for a little longer, about seven to nine days before starting to use. If you keep it for a little longer, it is suitable for making cold brew coffee.

These are just some suggestions, remember to experiment to find what works best for your taste.

Baker

I am lucky to be in a first-tier city where there are enough coffee shops and it is easy to get to know people who roast coffee. Getting to know them, understanding their philosophy and roasting methods, and increasing interaction is not just a commercial act of buying coffee, but also a way to build a social network, which is very helpful for further study in coffee.

The coffee beans will be marked on the packaging label by the roaster, which is worth paying attention to. Because it means that he cares about his "work" and the chance of buying good coffee is much higher.

Origin

Altitude, soil, rainfall, and sunlight all contribute to the flavor of the final coffee bean, so where the coffee bean is grown is an important indicator of how it will taste. Coffee trees thrive along the "Coffee Belt," the region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. If your bag of coffee or your barista can't tell you where the bag of coffee was grown, you may want to reconsider your choice.

There are more than 60 countries producing coffee in the world, but it is better to start with some well-known producing areas and understand their flavor characteristics before moving on to more exotic varieties. Countries like Hawaii, Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, etc., you can first understand the characteristics of each producing area and see which kind of flavor you prefer.

Between the extremely unique climates and processing techniques, exploring coffee flavors by region is a huge treat. Even if you already have one or two favorites, it’s always a good idea to venture out and try different regions once in a while to discover something new.

fair Trade

In the world of food labeling, fair trade is an amorphous description that means... well, it depends on who you ask. You've probably seen a variety of fair trade labels on packaging for coffee and other products. If this is an important consideration for you, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the better-known labels and what they mean.

Does fair trade mean good coffee? It's hard to say, but fair trade means that coffee producers and their employees are not living in an oppressive environment. Products produced in a good environment are usually not too bad. If you are interested, you can research which fair trade is most in line with your philosophy. When you find it, it will be easier to choose.

Certified Organic

Organic is often misused as a marketing tool to increase product prices. In fact, organic certification is a very complicated matter. Different organic certifications have different standards. Some organic certifications can only prove that farmers do not use chemical pesticides and fertilizers, but it does not mean that there are no chemical residues at all. And like other organic crops, organically produced coffee does not mean high quality. Even the absence of "organic certification" does not necessarily mean "non-organic". After all, those coffee farmers who have been poor for generations can neither afford chemical fertilizers and pesticides nor pay the high cost of certification.

In other words, to find the best coffee beans you have to taste them slowly by yourself, because any kind of trade method or production certification has no necessary relationship with whether the coffee tastes good or not.

2. Warnings to pay attention to

If your coffee bean label does not have the information you are looking for, you may need to be a little careful. It does not necessarily mean that it is bad coffee, but the following information is clearly telling you: try not to buy it!

Coffee powder

Is the coffee already ground? Yes. Well, don't buy it. If you buy coffee beans from a roaster and they only provide ground coffee, then say thank you and bye. Buying from a store online? Say thank you and bye to the ground coffee as well.

Don’t have a coffee grinder at home? Then solve this problem quickly. Nowadays, home coffee grinders are cheap and durable. It is not difficult to find a home coffee grinder that suits your brewing method, price, and placement space.

Large packaging

Going to the wholesale market to buy a large bag of coffee beans? It feels like a good way to save money, but it is not a common way to buy the best coffee beans. If the coffee beans you buy at the coffee shop can only be wholesale or only in large packages of more than one pound, then look for another place! Buying coffee beans is like buying fresh bread. It is better to go more frequently to buy regularly than to buy too much at one time.

Shelf life

Coffee beans sold in supermarkets usually have an expiration date (date_) on them. It doesn’t matter if it’s written on them or not. If you want to buy fresh coffee, find a store that is willing to write the roasting date. The shelf life of coffee beans is at least one year. Coffee beans that only have an expiration date but no roasting date are like saying “don’t buy from me”.

3. Where to buy?

The first step is to skip shopping malls and supermarkets. Unless there is a roasted coffee shop in the shopping mall, or it cooperates with some excellent roasters, but there are basically no such places in China at present. So shopping malls and supermarkets are just a bye-bye.

Of course you can buy them in the supermarket when you need them urgently, but the chances of buying good and fresh coffee beans are very, very low.

Buy Locally

Although the coffee atmosphere in China is not strong, the coffee industry has developed vigorously this year, and even many third- and fourth- tier cities have their own roasting coffee shops. However, it is best to find some coffee shops that you know well and have a good reputation, so that the quality is more guaranteed and you can avoid the middlemen making a profit from the price difference. If possible, be sure to ask about the roasting date.

The bigger benefit is that by meeting people who are truly passionate about coffee, you can be better advised and learn more about coffee as you explore new flavors and styles.

Buy Online

If you live in a remote area, or the coffee atmosphere nearby is poor, and there are no suitable roasted coffee shops, then buy it online! Whether it is Taobao or WeChat store, find a good coffee brand that can be sent to your door as soon as possible.

Usually, coffee roasters provide services of roasting coffee immediately after ordering. However, you still need to pay special attention to whether they have marked "roasted immediately after ordering". It is best to contact the seller directly, because some brands with fewer styles and large shipments may also need to stock up in advance.

4. How to choose the best coffee beans for you

Now that you know how to read labels to pick out good producers/roasters, and where to buy them, what kind of coffee should you buy? There are actually only two coffee varieties you need to know: Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica

When it comes to a good cup of coffee, Arabica is king. More than 60% of the world's coffee consumption is Arabica. Its fruity, sweet and acidic taste is more popular. But at the same time, sometimes promoting 100% Arabica is just a gimmick, because 70% of the world's coffee beans are Arabica varieties, and "100% Arabica" does not mean "good" coffee. If there is no other better gimmick, who would just use "100% Arabica" to make a fuss?

Robusta

Compared with Arabica coffee beans, Robusta varieties are easier to grow and maintain, and produce more. This usually means you can enjoy cheaper prices. Robusta coffee can also grow well in low-altitude environments, is naturally resistant to pests and diseases, and contains much higher caffeine content than Arabica coffee. But don't think he is necessarily "bad", a certain amount of Robusta in Italian coffee will increase the taste and layer.

Find the roast you like

There is no completely standard way to go from light to dark roast.

Light roasting means lighter color, shorter roasting time, and sour taste.

Medium roast has a medium brown tone and a more balanced sweet and sour flavor.

Medium-dark roasting is a richer, darker color with a slightly oily surface, a slightly weaker sour taste, and a stronger bitter taste. Many Italian coffee beans are roasted to this degree (except Starbucks).

Dark roasting is a glossy black color with a stronger and more obvious bitter taste, but almost no sourness.

There is no such thing as the "best" roasting degree. Even though light roasting is the most popular roast for specialty coffee, it does not mean that light roasting is suitable for everyone. The most important thing is to find your favorite flavor.

Now that you have bought the best coffee, what do you do? Taste, taste, and taste some more.

The beauty of coffee is that it has so many choices. It's certainly a pleasure to buy a delicious bean, but as a true coffee lover, you need to find more and newer flavors along the way. This is especially true if you are looking for specialty coffee. Because the better the quality of the coffee beans, the scarcer the yield, and the more obvious the impact of climate harvesting and processing. As an agricultural crop, you can't drink the same specialty coffee every year. So, step out of your coffee comfort zone, learn more about coffee knowledge, and try more new flavors. You may not like every type of coffee bean, but you will definitely find more "new loves".

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