Coffee Bean Review: You are only one cup of coffee away from "poetry and distant places"

Author: Zou Xueqin July 6, 2016 Readings: 18

Source: Consumer Reports

When evaluating coffee beans, Consumer Reports combines the testing standards of the United States and the coffee industry with the professional guidance of dozens of coffee experts from the National Center for Testing and Research. It also refers to the world's best-selling and most popular coffee bean products, as well as tens of thousands of cup tests.

The cupping test is a test standard for specialty coffee, which mainly tests roasted coffee beans. Different degrees of roasting will make the coffee taste different. The test mainly includes coffee bean moisture, flavor, acidity, dryness, sweetness, defects, etc.

The test content includes hard indicators such as unit price, baking, cost and product volume capacity, as well as expert guidance.

Recommended to consumers: five top-quality coffee beans, ten blended coffee beans, and high-quality coffee bean origins.

Top single origin coffee recommendations:

Single origin coffee refers to coffee ground from only one type of coffee beans. Consumer Reports tested 35 single origin coffees and recommends the following five to consumers.

Among them, coffee beans from Kenya have a higher overall score than those from other producing areas. The price-performance ratio of Gloria Jean's Colombian premium coffee and Newman's Own Colombian organic premium medium roasted coffee is almost the same. The popular Maxwell House has a lower score.

Single origin coffee brand not recommended: Maxwell House

Maxwell House's main products are blended coffee beans and instant coffee. They performed averagely in this single-origin coffee bean test, and the coffee beans are made of ordinary materials, but they contain a high level of caffeine and have a slightly irritating taste.

Specialty blend coffee recommendations:

Blended coffee refers to coffee ground from two or more types of coffee beans. This magazine has tested 36 blended coffees and recommended 10 high-quality products to consumers. Heart Coffee Roaster in Portland has the highest score, Starbucks has the best value for money, and KirkLand is also worth recommending.

After coffee beans are roasted to different degrees, the taste will also become different. After extremely dark roasting, the coffee will become bittersweet and have a stronger flavor.

The aroma extracted from coffee beans is proportional to the roasting time, that is, the darker the roasting, the less caffeine content and the lower the acidity. The darker the roasting, the heavier the burnt feeling and the lighter the flavor of the coffee beans themselves.

Colombian coffee beans are of better quality

Coffee produced in different regions also has its own characteristics. Specific countries, different regions, and even a certain mountain range have given coffee a unique life.

The world's coffee-growing areas are mainly distributed in tropical regions around the world. Brazil is the world's largest coffee bean producer, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia and other countries. Peru, Ecuador, Japan and Yunnan are also popular coffee producing areas.

The main production areas recommended by Consumer Reports this time are Colombia, Kona, Kenya, Sumatra and Ethiopia.

v Colombia: The coffee here has an aromatic floral aroma, accompanied by a slight fruity aroma. Because it is so famous, it can only be said that coffee is mentioned in every chapter of "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

v Kona: The Kona region produces the most expensive coffee in the world, a rare variety that can only be grown on the slopes of volcanoes. In addition to having a leisurely fruity aroma similar to Colombia, the taste is fragrant, mellow, and slightly wine-like, with a very special flavor.

v Kenya: Top-quality Kenyan coffee has many characteristics, including a distinct fruity aroma (especially berries and citrus aromas), a full taste, and a mellow flavor. High-quality Kenyan coffee has a relatively high acidity and a high degree of fruity aroma differentiation. The Kenyan government attaches great importance to local coffee bean production, and it is illegal to cut down or destroy coffee trees. This is also the favorite coffee variety among industry professionals.

v Sumatra: The most popular coffee is Mandheling coffee. The coffee here has a strong fruity and vegetable aroma (such as cucumber and fresh peas), as well as a unique aromatic tree aroma (cedar and pine). The taste is strong and bitter, and the sourness is not obvious. It is best to drink it alone.

v Ethiopia: The hometown of coffee. The most famous coffee is Mocha coffee, but high-quality Ethiopian coffee can be compared with other top coffees in the world. It has a delicate and rich taste and a unique aroma, with a strong fruity aroma and a light wine aroma.

Just whisper, taste it slowly, you should be able to taste all these aromas. Trust your taste buds.

Among the above-mentioned origins, Colombian coffee is one of the few single-origin coffees sold worldwide with the country's name. In addition to its reputation for quality that is unmatched by other coffees, it is also the favorite coffee product of coffee lovers. This evaluation also evaluated different brands of Colombian coffee.

The tasters tasted and scored more than 1,000 cups of coffee from 23 participating products. Experts found that the champion brand Colombian coffee has a uniform taste and is reasonably priced, while other brands sell Colombian coffee beans with a strong taste. Walmart's Great Value 100% medium roasted Colombian coffee scored very close to Starbucks.

The top five brands are: Gloria Jean's Coffees; Newman's Own; Peet's Coffee; American Minos Coffee; Starbucks

Editor's recommendation: Starbucks

After reading the recommendations from Consumer Reports, I finally realized that Starbucks is not the only coffee bean brand. However, it is too laborious to buy coffee beans overseas, so if you are near, I have compiled a list of some of Starbucks' best-selling coffees.

It is recommended to buy Starbucks mixed coffee products. If you prefer fruity or other special aromas, Starbucks Colombian coffee beans are my first recommendation.

Consumption suggestions:

A coffee master once said: "A really good cup of coffee usually comes from 40% of the origin and flavor of the coffee beans, 30% depends on roasting, 20% is the preservation of freshness, and 10% depends on brewing."

When choosing coffee beans, besides quality, the most important thing is to like them. As long as you are happy, that's fine. However, when it comes to storage, it's not enough to just make yourself comfortable. Improper storage will ruin the taste and your mood.

After you buy coffee beans, you still need to take care of them like you would your children. In order to preserve the freshness and rich aroma of coffee, it should be kept dry during the process and avoid strong light, high heat, and strong odors. Moisture in the refrigerator will accelerate the deterioration of coffee, so it is not an ideal choice. It is best to place coffee in an airtight ceramic, glass, or non-reactive metal container.

If you buy a lot of coffee at one time, it is best to separate it into two containers and seal most of the uneaten coffee. In addition, place the coffee in a dark, cool place away from the oven, and avoid direct sunlight on the outside of the selected cabinet.

Finally, please buy in small packages! About 200 grams is best, it doesn’t look too expensive and is easy to store.

Baking and brewing are too complicated, so 10086 words are omitted. Of course, if you are not afraid of complicated and redundant descriptions, please leave a message at the end of the article, and I will present a short article about baking and brewing next time.

Life is not just about the present, but also about endless late nights and not enough coffee.

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