How to Choose Coffee Beans - All You Need to Know

On this page…
1. Intro
2. Acidity, Body,
    Aroma & Flavor
3. Arabica / Robusta
4. Beans by Region
5. Degree of Roast
6. Coffee Blends
7. Flavored Coffee
8. Whole Beans
9. Coffee Pods
10. Preground Beans
11. Freshness
12. Storing Beans
13. Coffee Cupping
14. Links

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So, you have your own coffee maker and would love to sample some of the various beans available on the market. Should you buy green, a light-roast, or dark? Perhaps flavored coffee would be nice. In any case, how can you tell when they're fresh? Before you try, here's a look at what to consider when choosing your beans.

'Well Balanced' Coffee
- Bean Characteristics

What's in a bean? How do the pros judge their coffee? Here is a brief overview of the characteristics you should consider when choosing the perfect bean for you. The four terms "flavor", "aroma", "acidity" and "body" are used by professionals when evaluating coffee quality. Coffee beans that rate well in all four areas are described as "well-balanced". Once you understand these four bean characteristics, you will be well equipped to buy the right beans for your taste. One way to become familiar with the bean characteristics is to try coffee tasting, also known as "coffee cupping". To setup your own coffee tasting at home, click here to read our coffee cupping article.

1. Acidity

Coffee with good acidity tastes bright, with a pleasant sharpness similar to a dry white wine. Acidity is a desirable characteristic and can be fruity (try a Kenyan coffee) or metallic (Mexican). Without acidity, coffee tastes bland or 'flat'.

2. Body

Body is the word used to describe the way the coffee feels in your mouth. A full-bodied coffee, such as Kenyan or Ethiopian will feel thick, rich or heavy. A medium-bodied coffee, such as South and Central American, will feel lighter. If you like milk in your coffee, a heavier-bodied coffee will maintain more flavor when the milk is added. Adding milk also helps you to compare the body of two coffees - the one with more body will retain more flavor. With a mouthful of coffee, you can assess the body by running your tongue across the roof of your mouth. You will be able to feel oiliness and thickness, which together define body. Body can be thin, thick, dry, syrupy, etc.

3. Aroma

When coffee beans are roasted, they release the fragrant oils that make the coffee aroma. High quality coffee beans will contain up to 3 times more fragrant oils than inferior beans. South American beans have good aroma and are noticeably shiny after roasting due to the amount of coffee oils that are released.

4. Flavor

Flavor is the combined effect on the tastebuds of the acidity, body and aroma of the coffee bean. Terms used to describe flavor usually draw comparisons with other familiar tastes, such as 'nutty', 'spicy', or 'watery'. Here are some common terms used to describe the flavor of coffee beans -

     Positive Flavors: Nutty, Spicy, Fruity, Mellow, Caramelly,
                              Chocolaty, Winey, Floral, Smokey, Tangy

     Negative Flavors: Grassy, Chemically, Muddy, Watery, Rubbery,
                                Rioy (a medicinal taste)

Bean Flavor Factors
- Choosing Beans by Species, Region, Roast, Blend & Flavoring

Once you have your beans at home, you can influence the flavor of your cup by varying the grinder setting and the brewing technique; but it is what happens before you bring your beans home that has the most impact on coffee flavor and quality. The five things you will need to consider when buying are:

1. Species - Arabica vs Robusta

There are more than 50 species of coffee plant world wide, but only two species - Arabica and Robusta - are used in commercial coffee production.

Due to its preferred flavor, Arabica is the most sought after coffee. When buying single origin coffees, you will find that they are composed of 100% Arabica beans. In general, Robusta coffee beans are used only in blends. If you are looking to grind and brew your own coffee at home, look for either single-origin coffee, or blends of 100% Arabica beans. You might consider an Arabica/Robusta blend if you are seeking a sharper flavor, a higher-caffeine content, or a strong crèma on your espresso (Robusta helps in crèma formation).

The following table compares the features of the two species:

2. Region - Where in the world?

As you walk into a coffee market, you are confronted with numerous varieties and styles of coffee. Varieties include Kenyan, Jamaican Blue Mountain, Java and Ethiopian Mocha - just to name a few.

After species, the second biggest flavor determining factor of coffee is its region of origin. The altitude, soil type, climate and methods of harvesting for a particular region result in common flavors across coffee beans from that region. The easiest way to categorize the coffee regions is to divide them into these three locales: Asia-Indonesia-Pacific, Africa/Arabia and Central-and-South-America. Within these three locales, many different coffee beans are harvested. For in-depth detail on these coffees, click here for our "Coffee Beans By Region" article. Otherwise, as a brief guide, the tables below will serve you well:

If you want to buy coffee online, Peet's Coffee and Tea has a section that allows you to select coffee by region before ordering. Peet's delivers fresh coffee that is roasted to order. Try Peet's Coffee & Tea. Deep-roasted, delivered fresh, since 1966.

3. Roast - Light, Dark and Everything in Between

As well as species and region, the degree of the roast plays a large part in determining the flavor of your favorite coffee. The roasting process caramelizes the bean sugars and releases the coffee oils, chemically changing coffee beans from green and unappetizing, to shiny, brown and fragrant.

Roasts and Brewing Methods - each of the levels of roast listed below can be used for any method of coffee making, with the exception of espresso, for which you should use only a dark, or very-dark roast.

Roast Flavor vs Bean Flavor - the light, or pale cinnamon roast should only be used with very high quality coffee. This is because the lighter the roast, the more of the coffee bean traits you will taste in the cup. A light roast will mask none of the coffee's origin traits. A dark roast will take on the overall characteristic flavor of the roast, masking the flavor of the individual beans.

Milk? - High quality coffees, with their agreeable acidity, benefit from the light or medium roasts and generally taste good with milk. The darker roasts should be served black.

Levels / Degrees of Roast -

Coffee Roasting Process - Click here for more detail on home coffee roasting and the coffee roasting process in general.

Caffeine - Darker roasts contain slightly less caffeine than lighter roasts. Click here for more about coffee and caffeine.

When to Roast?, When to Blend? - Some coffees are roasted first, in single-origin batches before being blended. Others are blended first before being roasted together. Each technique has it's own advantages and disadvantages, with coffee buffs arguing the point either way. Some argue that since each variety of bean has an optimum level of roast, they should be roasted first and blended later. Others say that blending should occur before the roast to allow full integration of bean flavors during roasting. For convenience sake, many large coffee roasting factories will blend before roasting. For more information, see section 4 below, or read our article on coffee blending and coffee blends.



4. Blend - Single Origin, 100% Arabica?

So far we have discussed species, region and roast. The next flavor factor - coffee blending - has a large impact on the flavor of your cup. Although the most noble of intentions is to improve the flavor and quality of the cup by balancing the acidity, body and aroma of various beans, there are many other less noble reasons for blending. These include reducing costs and improving locational convenience.

Here are some tips when trying blends:

1. Choose 100% Arabica blends. These may be sourced from different regions, but will still be high quality.
2. Choose the correct blend for your brewing method. Espresso blends are quite different from drip/filter blends and one will not suit the other very well.
3. When selecting unblended, Estate or Single-Origin beans, be aware that you are entering aficionado-territory and may not appreciate some of the more 'unique' and intense characteristics that are highly prized by the critics.
4. Be wary of the terms "Gourmet Coffee" and "Specialty Coffee". These terms are often used to describe coffees that have been flavored. Check with the vendor to be sure of what you are buying.

For more detail , read our article on coffee blending.

5. Flavor Additives - Irish Cream, Hazelnut, etc.

For the purist, flavored coffee is not an option. But, if the thought of vanilla, pumpkin-pie, gingerbread, butterscotch or Irish cream flavored coffee appeals to you, then you're not alone. It seems flavored coffees are becoming more and more popular as small cafes and coffee shops attempt to capture their market with specialty flavors.

For an in-depth discussion of how to buy high quality syrups and flavored coffees, see our "Flavored Coffee Beans & Coffee Flavoring Syrups" article. The article goes in-depth on these options for flavoring coffee:

1. Use Coffee Syrups to flavor your drink after it has been brewed
2. Buy pre-flavored coffee beans
3. Flavor your own beans at home with spices or liqueurs

If you would like to buy flavored coffee online, we recommend CoffeeAM.com. They are running a promotion at the moment where you will get Free Coffee With Any Purchase! So you could by a flavored coffee, or syrup and get coffee free.

Bean Buying Options
- About Coffee Maker Pods, Preground Beans and more…

Another flavor-factor that affects coffee bean is the way they are packaged. The flavor-factors we have mentioned above – species, region, roast, blend and flavorings – apply no matter how your coffee is packaged; but the packaging will either maintain or worsen the flavor.

1. Whole Beans - this is the best way to buy your beans in order to maximise the flavor of both the bean and the roast. Being whole, you get to grind them at home. About the only time you might not want to buy beans whole is if you are buying flavored coffee. This is because the flavoring can taint your grinder – but, as long as you clean the grinder properly immediately after grinding the flavored beans, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. We recommend buying your whole coffee beans from Peet's:

2. Coffee Maker Pods - today's pod coffee machines make use of pods (small, usually round packages) of pre-ground coffee beans. If you have a pod coffee machine, then you are restricted to buying your coffee in pod form. You can also use coffee maker pods in a mug of hot water, as you would a tea bag, though you won't get as good a flavor as you would from the machine. Although coffee pods are not as flavorfull as whole beans, you benefit from the fact that they are specially packaged to retain flavor and aroma. They are also properly measured and ground to the correct size for the machine – meaning you get a great cup of coffee.

3. Preground Coffee - if you don't have a grinder, or prefer not to bother with one, then you will have to settle for pre-ground coffee. Here are some tips to make sure you get the best flavor from your pre-ground coffee:

1. DO find whole beans from a coffee market and ask them to grind them just before you buy.
2. DO make sure the beans are packaged in one-way bags (via a valve or special paper) that allow carbon dioxide and coffee-gasses to escape, whilst keeping air out.
3. DO check the use-buy date and packing date if available.
4. DON'T buy supermarket preground coffee that has not been vacuum sealed. A soft bag may indicate the vacuum sealed bag has been pierced.
5. DON'T use the grinding machine in the supermarket. These machines have likely never been cleaned and will be tainted with rancid coffee oils.

Freshness and Storage

The freshness of coffee beans is extremely important to the taste of your coffee. In fact, as coffee loses it's freshness and becomes stale, even the finest, most expensive estate coffee in the world will begin to taste like any other stale coffee. Stale coffees tend to all taste alike - no matter what the region.

1. Freshness Indicators

There are four indicators that will let you know you are buying fresh coffee. The beans should appear shiny, taste rich and full, have a wonderful aroma and produce a froth, called bloom, when brewed. For tips on how to be sure you are buying fresh beans and how to keep them fresh, see our bean freshness & storage article and take the freshness test.

If you are looking to buy coffee beans online, Peet's delivers fresh coffee that is roasted to order. Try Peet's Coffee & Tea. Deep-roasted, delivered fresh, since 1966.

2. Storage Tips

The way you store your beans can slow the deterioration process. Since the main enemies of fresh beans are oxygen, moisture, heat and light, you should store your beans in an air-tight container (preferably vacuumed) in a cool-dark place. For more storage tips and details on nitrogen-flushed valve packaging see our bean freshness & storage article.

Cupping - Your guide to Coffee Tasting

'Cupping' is the term for coffee tasting. Just as there is a proper way to evaluate the flavor of wine, there is a professional way to evaluate the body, aroma, acidity and balance of coffee. For our detailed guide to coffee tasting, please see our coffee cupping article.

Related Links

Click for more about coffee cupping/tasting.
Click for more about coffee beans by region.
Click for more about caffeine and decaffeination.
Click for more about coffee roasting.
Click for more about coffee blends.
Click for more about coffee flavoring and coffee syrups.
Click for more about pre-ground coffee.
Click for more about coffee maker pods.
Click for more about freshness and storage.