The different coffee flavors available in the market today has been the driving force why this type of drink is continuously growing up until today. Coffee makers have tried to experiment with various mixes and blends, until they come up and discover a taste that people would love as well. But all these, including the entire coffee production, lie in a process. From choosing the right equipment in grinding, brewing, and blending, to choosing the best coffee beans that guarantees you a rich flavor and savory aroma.
If you want to make good and better-tasting coffee, you have options, boiling down to the beans and your preference. And one of the most important decisions you will be making for your coffee making venture is having to choose the best coffee beans — its quality, taste, freshness, and more. It is as important as having the right equipment and training to produce great coffee. You have to understand each aspect and characteristics of the beans available before purchasing them, to ensure that it will give you the best coffee experience.
While it is true that coffee is a matter of taste, there are still guidelines to follow, particularly if you want to create a unique coffee taste that you will surely love. From having to check the freshness of the roast, to knowing your preference and how much caffeine you would like, all these will matter the most in terms of choosing the best coffee beans suitable for your palate. It might be challenging at first, but once you have known what roast and caffeine level, as well as the blend of the coffee you prefer the most, it would be easy to pick one.
Check the Freshness of the Roast
Coffee is an extremely perishable food product, given the chemical changes and reactions when it is exposed to oxygen, moisture, and heat. It ages and goes stale quickly, which frequently makes the entire coffee flavor dull. You will instantly know whether it is freshly roasted and ground when aromatic oils, sugars, and soluble are present when extracted. And though coffee commonly does not have an expiration date, it is best to have the beans consumed no later than three weeks from its roasting date. Which is why it is important to double check the date when it is manufactured and roasted.
However, most coffee from supermarkets would not indicate a roasting date on the packaging, as sometimes it has been roasted weeks before it was actually bagged, shipped, and displayed on the racks. Thus, it might be stale, flat, starchy, and even muddy, which lacks the complexity, vibrancy, or balance in your coffee. In this case, you might want to avoid purchasing the coffee without proper indication and label when it was roasted. This is the most important factor you must always remember, as your overall coffee experience is on the line here. You might not be able to enjoy many flavors at all with these types of coffee.
Consuming coffee would always be the best when it is fresh, thus, always check the roast date. And also, remember to avoid coffee that is already packed as ground, as it may not have gone through an exceptional treatment process.
Know Your Preference
When choosing coffee flavors, of course, you will be picking out the coffee you think you would like the best. You will certainly be picking the flavor of your preference. But then, before you discover what type and flavor you prefer, you might have to go through a bit of trial and error, until you recognize a consistent, delicious taste, which suits your palate the most.
For instance, if you prefer a coffee flavor that has a smooth taste while having varying acidity levels, then go for dry, light colored coffee beans. This type is roasted for a shorter period, thus, it tends to not have a bitter taste. If you prefer a stronger taste of coffee, on the other hand, then pick those coffee beans that have been roasted for a longer period of time. These beans look shiny and dark in appearance. Thus, when brewed, they produce a bold and bitter taste, which brings more coffee oils to the surface.
Arabica and Robusta Beans
There are two broad and primary categories of commercially-produced coffee beans available in the market these days, which are referred to as the Robusta and Arabica beans. It is also essential to be able to understand the difference between these two types, to help you more in picking the coffee taste you would want. The Arabica type of coffee grows in high altitude areas, presenting a delicate cup, but is known for its slightly acidic and smooth taste. This is considered to be of a higher grade than the other. However, though this is the case, it still depends on how it went through the growing process and the treatment it received before the harvest.
Robusta beans, on the other hand, commonly grow in lower altitude areas. They are stronger and more bitter in taste, in contrast with Arabica. It tends to be a harder bean with a bigger body, which lacks complexity and refinement in terms of its taste. And given that modern technology had the ability to discover a process of producing a higher quality of Robusta beans, it is still quite limited, and not as refined and popularly used in several blends rather than its own.
Given these types, it is still important to have to try and taste different kinds, to be able to determine which you would enjoy the most. Some enjoy a more bitter taste, and some prefer theirs to be sweeter. It all lies on one’s preference. Which is why it is essential to have a taste of several kinds, to know which one actually suits your palate.
Determine How Much Caffeine You Want in Your Cup
Part of choosing the best coffee beans is knowing how much caffeine level you want in your cup. The degree to which the beans are roasted is actually one of the most important considerations to keep in mind, in determining the taste of the coffee in a cup. Given this, there are different roast levels in which you can choose from. They all give out individual characteristics as to how they taste. The roast levels include light, medium, medium-dark, and dark roasts.
Though most people believe that dark roasts give out the strongest taste and highest level of caffeine, it is actually the opposite. Dark roasted coffee beans contain lower levels of caffeine than the light and medium ones. The caffeine levels actually decrease as the roast gets darker, and the shorter the time of roasting it, the stronger the levels of the beans. Which is why light roasts have the highest level of caffeine, have more acidity, and contain the origin flavors of the beans to a greater extent.
Furthermore, medium roasted coffee beans have more body than the lighter ones. However, they lack the grainy taste of the light roasts. This makes it the option that most people prefer, as it exhibits a more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity. Though the caffeine level is somewhat decreased, it still holds quite of those natural flavors of the beans, unlike with darker roasts.
Key Takeaway
If you will be choosing the best coffee beans that will suit your palate, you might have to try several flavors with different caffeine levels. The more you try, the more you explore a variety of tastes as well. This will help you determine which one you prefer the most. Moreover, it will narrow down the choices you have, until you find out the exact one you actually like, which will certainly give you the best coffee experience of all.
