What kind of coffee beans should I buy? What are the top quality coffee beans?

About 70% of the coffee products sold on the market are coffee powder. The advantage of coffee powder is that it is easy to use and convenient to brew. So, you want to buy coffee beans but don't know where to start?

How to choose coffee beans:

Bean-growing period and best drinking period

The best time to drink coffee beans is about 7 to 30 days after roasting. The first seven days are called the bean-raising period, which varies depending on the type of coffee beans and the roasting method.

Figure: Changes in coffee flavor over time after roasting

Therefore, when buying coffee beans, you need to ask the store owner about the roasting date of the beans and only buy the amount that can be consumed within one month from the roasting date.

Coffee Bean Appearance

Don’t buy beans that look shiny!

There are two conditions that can make coffee beans shiny: roasting too dark or keeping the beans for too long. Roasting too dark will lose the flavor of the origin; keeping the beans for too long will definitely taste bad!

Packaging and labeling

In order for coffee beans to be properly stored for a month, a low-oxygen, dry, low-temperature, and low-light environment is required. Currently, coffee shops generally use aluminum foil composite packaging with a one-way exhaust valve. When coffee beans are just roasted, they will begin to emit a large amount of carbon dioxide. One of the functions of this exhaust valve is to release the emitted carbon dioxide to prevent the bean bag from bursting, while preventing oxygen from outside from entering the bag, thereby oxidizing the coffee beans and causing the loss of flavor.

After opening, if the bean bag has a zipper, be sure to let out as much air as possible and then zip it up. If there is no zipper, you must fold the straps several times and then clamp them with a clip to prevent air circulation as much as possible.

On the label, pay attention to whether there is a detailed description, telling you the origin of the coffee beans, production process, production time, etc. Although more detailed does not necessarily mean better, but the chance of it being good is greater than a label with nothing or a lot of sentimental articles written on it!

Coffee roasting equipment and others

You can ask the store more about some very detailed and trivial points to learn more about the production process of coffee beans. For example, what equipment they use. How the store controls quality and what quality control steps and records are taken are also the focus of the inquiry.

After understanding the basic concept of coffee, you may encounter a new problem when buying beans: How to choose among the many types and flavors? ?

Do you want a blended coffee with a moderate taste or a single origin coffee with a distinctive taste?

Once you understand the factors that affect the flavor of coffee, it will be easier to choose!

1. Coffee cultivation conditions

When drinking coffee, look at its origin.

Soil, climate, and altitude are all fundamental elements that shape the taste of coffee. The flavors vary depending on where the coffee originates.

For example, coffee grown in acidic soil will have a stronger sour taste.

Only high-quality real estate can have high quality? ?

Arabica has poor adaptability and is mostly planted on slopes between 1,000 and 2,000 meters high, while Robusta can adapt to lowlands below 1,000 meters.

Therefore, in general European and American countries, coffee produced at high altitudes is more expensive and of higher quality than coffee produced at lower altitudes.

However, high-end coffees such as Jamaica's "Blue Mountain" and "Hawaiian Kona" are not harvested in highlands.

As long as there is suitable temperature, rainfall, soil, morning fog and a large temperature difference between day and night, high-quality coffee can be produced.

Therefore, although "high real estate equals high quality" is correct, it does not mean "low real estate equals low quality"!

2. Harvesting and processing process

Harvesting can be roughly divided into picking and shaking . When the coffee is harvested by shaking, it will fall to the ground and pick up the flavor of the soil where it is produced, forming a unique flavor.

The post-harvest processing is also very important. Common ones include:

Sun drying method: amplifies the flavor of the coffee beans themselves, making them rich and strong in flavor.

Washed method: Since the coffee beans have been fermented, they usually have a bright sour taste.

Semi-washed method: There is neither acid from the washed method nor alcohol from the sun-washed method, which is the middle value.

Semi-sun (honey processing) method: enhances the body of coffee and balances the sweetness and acidity. It is not as strong as sun-dried coffee, and the aroma is fresher and more delicate.

3. Coffee roasting

Aside from the inherent qualities of the green beans, much of the flavor of coffee depends on how it is roasted.

Each type of bean has its own suitable roasting method and degree to express its characteristics.

Here are the roast levels from light to dark:

Simply put, the longer the roasting time, the more bitter it is, and the shorter the roasting time, the more sour it is. The simplest way: if you want to taste single-origin coffee, you can choose the characteristics of the coffee beans based on the origin. If you want a mixed taste, you can judge by the degree of roasting. In everything, what you like is the best.

In this way, will you find the taste you want?