How to buy, choose and prepare the best coffee beans

When we talk about a good coffee, we are giving a subjective opinion, because colors and coffees are to taste. There is a great variety that, depending on the preferences of each person, will occupy a more or less high place in the personal ranking of the best coffees. And it is that the best way to recognize a good coffee will be trying all its varieties to discover its nuances, textures, aromas and flavors and learn to enjoy it.

Here are some tips for choosing and preparing a good coffee bean.

Coffee beans, mix and types

The best coffee beans are Arabica, above robusta, so when buying a package look at the label and make sure it says 100% Arabica beans . This general rule has two exceptions:

• Use a mixture of arabica and robusta for expresso coffee, it will give it a different body and more aroma
• If you need an extra dose of caffeine, robusta has twice the caffeine of arabica .

Origin of grains

The geographical area, altitude, temperature, rain and sun, terrain and method of harvesting will cause the flavor of the coffee beans to vary greatly. The main coffee producing areas are:

• Costa Rica: it is one of the privileged areas and highly recognized by experts who distinguish this coffee as a "perfect balance". It only produces Arabica coffee, with strong acidity and medium body.  

• Colombia: the Supreme grade is of great quality, with a good aroma and a sweet touch . The Excelso grade is softer and somewhat more acidic .

• Brazil: It is a light, sweet coffee with low acidity and medium body . Also highly appreciated along with Costa Rica and Colombia, three of the countries with the best coffee in the world.

• Ethiopia: It is probably the cradle of this plant, so its coffee is also of great quality. It is a coffee with a great flavor, with marked touches of earth , with a lot of body.

• Ivory Coast: they are very aromatic coffees , with a light body and some acidity.

• Kenya: it is a coffee with unique characteristics. High acidity , good aroma and body . Coffee trees that receive morning sun add a floral flavor to the cup, while those that receive afternoon sun transfer fruit flavors.

• Indonesia: they are characterized by being full- bodied and mild acidity .

• Vietnam: is another of the Asian countries that are bidding to have their space within the coffee producing countries. They are medium-bodied, well-balanced coffees with a slight acidity. .

The best coffee is to buy it in grain

When preparing an Italian coffee , it is best to grind the beans just before preparing it so that it does not lose flavor.

Most of the flavor in coffee comes from the oils in the bean . This oil is highly volatile and when it comes into contact with the air it begins to degrade , to be lost. When buying the coffee beans, make sure that the bag is hermetically sealed, if it has a valve, that it is one-way. If you buy your coffee already ground, these volatile oils may have evaporated during the grinding process.

 

When buying coffee

When you go shopping, look for a store that has a roaster. This is ideal, since the coffee beans begin to lose aroma from the moment they leave the roaster . Currently there are specialized shops that have their own roaster, if you like coffee, take advantage of it. In addition, they can advise you according to your tastes.

Coffee: strong or mild

When we refer to a strong coffee, we can understand it in several ways: strong by flavor, by caffeine content, by aromas or by color. If what you want is a strong coffee you can increase the proportion of ground coffee with respect to water . The more ground coffee, the stronger it will be, also, depending on the coffee beans you use and whether it is 100% Arabica or blend, the flavor will change, being stronger or softer.

If you are looking for a mild coffee, do not add more water, choose one that is mild in origin, for example, from Colombia .

If you're looking for a very dark coffee, you'll need to use heavily roasted coffee beans , but then some of the more subtle flavors will be lost.

Attention to roasting

A good brand of coffee beans will put the date of roasting on its label, because the fresher the better. Look for it to have a close roasting date, that is not many months ago so that it can be used within a month and thus not lose its properties in terms of quality, intensity of flavor and aroma.

On the other hand, depending on the coffee maker you are going to use, espresso or filter, you will need one type of roast or another. For filter coffee machines, roasting must be less processed so that the coffee is more acidic. For the espresso, a longer roast , which will give more body and a flavor with a hint of caramel.