6 Tips for Choosing Better Coffee Beans

Overwhelming — that’s often the first word that comes to mind when staring at the coffee selection of your specialty cafe, grocer, or online store. Just like wine, the label on a bag of coffee can only tell you so much — nothing quite compares to tasting it for yourself. To that point, think of us like your personal coffee sommelier. We’ve prepared some simple tips to help you pick the perfect coffee for you so it doesn’t have to be quite so intimidating.

1. 1. Are you near a coffee shop? Talk to the barista! Chances are, they have a pretty good grasp on most of the coffees on their shelf, and can help guide you in the right direction. This personalized service is a nice bonus to purchasing coffee from a local cafe.
   2. Check the roast date. If the coffee doesn’t have a roast date, that isn’t a great sign — most high-quality roasters put a roast date on their bags. What should you look for? In general, coffee tastes best within 2-3 weeks of being roasted — though we’ve hand plenty of delightful cups from coffee 1-2 months off roast. Personally, we like to buy coffee that’s 4-7 days off roast; that way we can enjoy it right when we get home… and for the next few weeks. Your mileage may vary, but often super fresh coffee (1-2 days off roast) tastes a little more vegetal and is more difficult to brew than coffee that’s rested a few days.
   3. Are there tasting notes? These can help you find flavors you like, though they’re not always completely accurate. If you like darker roasts, look for dark and roasty sounding notes — things like smokey, tobacco, dark chocolate. On the other hand, if you like lighter, fruitier coffees, look for fruity, floral notes. Somewhere in the middle? Milk chocolate is often a good giveaway for a balanced, approachable, medium-roast coffee.
   4. Blends vs. single-origin? Typically, blends are more balanced, less intense, and less fruity than their single-origin counterparts, which zero in on coffee from a specific country (and often specific producer, washing station, or lot). Buying coffee as a gift? Blends are often crowd-pleasers, and often cost a little less. If you can swing it, single-origin coffees will give you a better sense of the terroir and “place” from which a coffee comes.
   5. Speaking of single-origin coffee: in very broad strokes, coffees from Africa will be on the fruitier side, while coffees from Central and South America will be more balanced and potentially more chocolaty. Rules are made to be broken, however, and in the world of coffee these “rules” are broken all the time. Many coffees from Central and South America are vibrantly fruity and floral, and coffees from Africa can be roasted darker to bring out more chocolaty notes.
   6. Do you like really fruity coffees? Look for coffees labeled “Natural Process” (or ask the barista if they have any). These coffee beans are dried with their skin on before processing, which imparts an intense fruity and sometimes funky flavor to the end result. It’s definitely a divisive taste — many people love them, and others can’t stand them. Part of the fun is tasting one and deciding what you think!

We’re just scratching the surface here, but we hope it helps. As always, feel free to DM us on Instagram or email with any questions or thoughts you have.