How to Choose Good Roasted Coffee Beans
If you have decided to buy roasted coffee beans to grind at home, then you are halfway to getting amazing coffee. First, you need to find amazing coffee beans to get that amazing coffee. Just as you would get the freshest and best ingredients you can to make a meal the same goes for selecting coffee beans.
There are a couple of things that you can do to make sure that you are getting the best roasted coffee beans. Most of it will seem like common sense, but you'll realize that finding coffee beans are a very subjective thing. What one person likes, another might hate. So if you are not experienced, prepare for some trial and error.
Following Your Nose
Looking for the perfect roasted coffee beans is very much a sensory experience. Use your nose and eyes to judge coffee beans. If the coffee beans don't look or smell good then it will make bad coffee. The beans should also be whole and well formed. If they are broken and split in two then you should avoid these beans. The coffee from these types of beans will be awful.
The best place to find good roasted coffee beans is definitely not your local supermarket. The coffee here is probably not stored properly and might not be as fresh as you would like. The best place to go is a gourmet or specialty shop. A great advantage of going somewhere small that specializes in coffee is that the staff will be able to help you out and give you advice on selecting the right beans.
You want to have the freshest roasted coffee beans. Ask when the coffee was roasted and try and buy beans that have been roasted on the day itself. Anything older than five days is no good. Get to know the roasting schedule and try and get a bag as soon as you can. An alternative is to find a place that will roast coffee for you, purchase beans and get them to roast the beans for you.
Coffee like all foods is a very subjective thing. Some people love their coffee strong while others prefer something milder. The darker the roast the stronger the flavor. If you have no idea what your preferences are then experiment with different roasts. Start with lighter roasts and if you find this too light you can up the amount of coffee to get a stronger taste and then try a darker roast next time.
