How to Choose The Best Coffee Beans [The Complete Guide]

Do you know how to choose coffee beans?

Coffee beans come from all over the world and are sold on various platforms, from gourmet shops to supermarkets. Picking the right bean will take time, but it’s going to be an adventure with sampling different beans from all over the world. I’d recommend tasting as many different beans as possible; you may be missing out on some great beans with unique flavors.

Firstly I would suggest that you think about what coffee you enjoy. What’s your first coffee of the day? Is it a smooth light blend to ease you slowly into your day? Or do you prefer a black espresso-style coffee to ignite your brain into action, on its own or with steamed milk for a cappuccino or Latte?

If you drink coffee at different times of the day, what do you choose? A stronger style or a smoother mellowing blend.

With these questions, the answers should begin to build a picture of your coffee drinking habits, but there are so many factors and with no right answer. You must also consider your mood during the day and if any the occasion, while many of us have the time to enjoy coffee, busier people may not, so that will also be an influence.

So having a collection of beans for various moods, occasions would serve you best, especially if you drink a more extensive range of coffee during the day.

What Types of Beans are there?

Three types of coffee beans exist all over the world.

1. Arabica Beans

These are the most famous and highly-priced beans, grown in high altitudes and used by many of the finest coffee roasters. Arabica beans give coffee it’s aroma, smoothness, and body.

Arabica beans make up 75% of the world’s coffee production.

2. Robusta Beans

The Robusta Beans are used most in instant low priced commercial blends. Instant blends offer convenience but offer a lower grade in blend and roast.

3. Liberica Beans

Not widely known to the normal coffee drinker, the Liberica Bean grows on a large tree measuring up to 18 meters high. It is grown in Malaysia and West Africa.

The demand for the bean is low due to the beans’ flavor characteristics; it’s only traded in small quantities.

Are you a fan of coffee and want to learn in detail about the different types of coffee beans? Check out our guide to different varieties, where we explore the unique flavors and characteristics of Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, and other rare and unique coffee bean varieties.

The Characteristics of The Arabica Bean

Beans are grown all over the world and depending on conditions such as temperature, humidity and soil qualities flavors can be different. The list below reveals the different tastes in beans from various countries.

High Flavour & Aroma

Jamaican Blue Mountain, due to its high price, produces excellent flavor and aroma. Columbian and Guatemalan would also be recommended due to possessing similar qualities.

Sweetness

For beans in this category, I’d recommend Haitian & Venezuelan beans.

Body & Richness

The Java & Sumatra Mandheling would be good examples.

Acidity

Beans from Costa Rica and Guatemala locations tend to be higher in acidity.

How to Pick the Best Coffee Bean?

Most importantly, the best beans will be freshly roasted. Always go to a source that advertises freshly roasted. If you are unsure if they are true to their word and if it’s a shop, go and visit them, if they seem busy and selling a lot of beans this will mean their inventory will have a high turnaround, good for fresh beans. Even better, some shops will roast the beans while you wait, great for grabbing some really fresh beans.

If you have the chance to see the beans you’re buying, take a good look and make sure they have a good appearance and importantly the smell, if it smells good, then it’ll taste good.

Supermarkets can offer some great beans, when buying supermarket beans look for beans that have been vacuum packed; this will ensure freshness from the moment they are sealed. Some packs will feature a sell-by date, check the date and make sure it isn’t over.

Online coffee bean stores also offer some great beans, but this is down to how often they roast their beans, make sure they give assurances on shipping freshly roasted beans.

That’s why we have reviewed some best coffee beans for espresso, I hope they will satisfy your desire. 

Shopping for Beans? Try these:

• Supermarkets – Big range, make sure they are vacuum packed and in date.
• Coffee Houses – Can provide excellent beans that aren’t stocked in supermarkets.
• Online – Amazon can offer some great deals with unique beans on offer.

You can watch this video from My Cafe and JS Barista Training Center. They have given some awesome tips. Hope you’ll enjoy.

How to Choose Coffee Flavours

If you love to drink coffee, it is worth being a bit more adventurous and trying the flavors of ground coffee.

The beans taken from the coffee cherries are sometimes roasted and ground to produce easy to use coffee which can be used to make delicious drinks throughout the day. Coffee has increased in popularity over the years and is seen as a fashionable drink. It has stimulating effects thanks to the caffeine found naturally in the bean, and it can give you a kick to get you through your busy day.

Experiment with the Flavours of the Beans

Ground coffee is produced in different ways to make sure each pack delivers unique flavours. The beans are grown in different climates and locations which give the coffee a flavour its properties. Some of the words associated with ground coffee are rich, smooth, and dark, but this is just skimming the top as the world of flavours goes so much deeper. Here are only a few of the different types of ground coffee to help you choose which one to try next.

It’s all in the Blend

Africa, Latin America, and Indonesia are huge producers of coffee, and each one on their own is a popular choice to make when selecting your next cup. When you blend beans from these locations together, you can get something exceptional. A combination of these three can give you a smooth and velvet drink which has a slight chocolaty taste. If you are looking to impress your loved one, then serving this sensual coffee is highly recommended.

Brazilian beans mixed with Arabica beans can give you the perfect mug of coffee to sit back at the end of a hard day and relax. But if you want a bit of a lift, then an espresso will undoubtedly give you the lift that you need. The perfect espresso needs to be smooth yet creamy and give you delicious taste experiences over your taste buds.

One of the most delicious blends has the perfect balance brought by the Brazilian beans with Indonesian beans that deliver chocolate tones. These are then mixed with sweet Kenyan beans and the flavourful Ethiopian beans to produce an espresso of pure indulgence.

Give Something Back

If you are a world conscious buyer, it is always good to know that the farmers and workers that all go into making your ground coffee are paid well for their labour. There is a wide range of Fair-trade products that allow people to be paid well and also help to put something back into the local communities where the beans are grown. You can choose to have organic or decaffeinated and even go for pure indulgence with gourmet ground coffee.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I wish you success in your hunt for the perfect bean. Happy Coffee!!!