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Buying coffee beans online

Choosing the right coffee beans

Deciding which coffee bean to try is like deciding which aftershave or perfume to try. It’s all down to personal taste. Having said that, there are some factors at play which will help you decide what to try. Coffee beans come in all different types of single origins, meaning they’re from a single farm – essentially 100% pure breed. When single origin coffee beans are mixed with cheaper beans (known as robusta and Arabica beans), they’re then classified as a blend of coffee beans.

Whole bean or ground coffee

Buying whole bean coffee is always the recommended approach. With whole beans, they stay fresher for much longer. Ground coffee will last around a week before it starts to go stale, whereas beans will last for a month.

Differences in dark roast, medium roast and light roast

If you’re unsure on what the different type of coffee roasts are and how to roast green coffee beans, we wrote an article on it. It’s good to understand what the differences are in roasts. Essentially, the darker the roast, the more it’s masking the flavours meaning the bean might be cheaper and lower in quality. It’s always better to go for a lighter or medium roast and to avoid dark roasts. You can also learn more about quality by reading our article on speciality coffee.

Single origin coffee beans?

We’ve explained before the benefits of single origin beans over a blend of beans. Though the general recommendation is to always buy single origin beans, blends to have their place, depending on the make-up of the bag. For example, you could buy a bag which have 65% Colombia and 35% Brazil, this will give the overall taste a unique profile.

Brewing your coffee

Another thing to consider is how you’re going to brew your coffee. Often, people choose certain types of coffee beans depending on how they brew their coffee. For example, you may love brewing an espresso type coffee which tends to be a stronger taste due to the pressure of the water going through the ground coffee. On the other hand, you may love using a Chemex to brew your coffee. Brewing your coffee in different ways gives the overall flavour a slightly different taste. We always encourage our customers to try different ways of brewing, that way you’ll truly find your favourite profile.

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