How to choose coffee beans: tips

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

It's hard to find someone who doesn't like coffee. Almost every one of us is used to starting the morning with a fragrant drink. How to choose natural coffee beans? This is a frequently asked question. On the shelves of shops there is a good assortment of grains, but they are all of good quality, and the prices are very different. Let's understand the question, how to choose coffee beans?

Why choose coffee beans?

Of course, an instant drink is much easier and faster to prepare. But real gourmets say that real coffee can only be in beans. And this is true, since low-grade raw materials are used to produce an instant product - fragments and fragments of grains, sometimes even affected by weevil. Even the sediment formed during harvesting can go into production. It is worth knowing that manufacturers, so to speak, "enrich" the mixture for the drink with all sorts of additives of crushed chicory, oats, barley, acorns.

Then all thisthe mass is boiled for three to four hours, after which the same amount is evaporated. Knowing the entire production technology, it is easy to understand that there is very little natural coffee in an instant drink. It is for this reason that connoisseurs recommend using a drink made from natural grains. Let's now figure out how to choose coffee beans in the store and what you need to know.

Best coffee

In order to know how to choose coffee beans, you need to navigate in its types. There are only two types of grains in the world - Arabica and Robusta, which are fundamentally different from each other. Arabica gives the drink a very refined taste and incredibly refined aroma. Such grains are used to make soft, invigorating drinks with a nutty, creamy or chocolate aftertaste. This is the coffee that many of us love.

Robusta itself is not very good. As a rule, it is used to prepare mixtures with Arabica. She gives the drink some bitterness and everyone's favorite creamy foam. Robusta in its pure form is not used, because the drink from it is very bitter and strong. It contains three times more caffeine than Arabica. Expensive varieties of Robusta have a very specific taste, but still there are people who like it.

All varieties of Arabica are much more expensive than Robusta. This is due not only to taste, but also to the fact that it has a lower yield. Its dense grains contain much more aromatic oils, which is why the ripening process proceedslonger.

Coffee roasting

The taste of the drink largely depends on the roasting of the beans. Unroasted beans are light green in color. Depending on the degree of heat treatment, they change color. In general, there are ten degrees of roasting. The stronger they are thermally processed, the more intense aroma they exude. Therefore, in order to decide which coffee beans to choose, you need to pay attention to the label, which should indicate the degree of roast.

Light Roast

Light roast has several degrees:

1. Scandinavian. Grains languish at low temperatures. In this case, the beans do not open, but slightly increase in size. As a result, the grains have an aroma slightly similar to the smell of fresh bread. This roast is suitable for Arabica beans from Kenya, Nicaragua and Jamaica.
2. American. The grains have a light brown tint, and the drink turns out to be inexpressive in taste.
3. Urban. Coffee from such beans turns out darker, and sourness prevails in the taste of the drink.

Universal Roast

Medium roast, or, as it is also called, universal, is ideal. This is how beans brought from Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Colombia and Brazil are roasted.

Middle heat treatment also has its degrees:

1. Full urban. Such roasting is carried out until the second cotton. During processing, oily droplets appear on the beans. But the drink from such grains has an amazing aroma anda certain viscosity.
2. French, velvet or Viennese. The beans are roasted to a dark brown color, resulting in smoke from burning oils above them. A drink made from such grains is very strong and rich, with a characteristic bitter taste.

Heavy roast

Heavy roasting gives the beans a dark brown hue. A drink made from such grains has a very rich aroma and a noticeable bitterness. Brazilian varieties, Cuban and Guatemalan Robustas and Arabicas are fried in this way.

There is also a dark roast, it is also called Mexican, Cuban or Spanish. There is practically no water left in the grains after heat treatment. Bob is used to make blends to create a new flavor palette.

But Italian roasting is used to make espresso blends. The beans are first strongly fried and then doused with air. After that, the grains remain open to rest, since carbon dioxide is still actively released from them. In the future, coffee is packed in paper bags with foil. It is this packaging that slows down the oxidation process and allows you to maintain an acceptable level of humidity.

Knowing all the options for processing coffee beans and focusing on your preferences, in the store you will not have a question which coffee beans to choose.

Packaging beans

When you come to the store, knowing how to choose a good coffee bean, you can safely start looking for the right option. Rangegoods in supermarkets is quite impressive. What should you pay attention to when making your choice? Of course, for packaging. It is she who is very important for maintaining the quality of the product.

Currently, there are several packaging options on the coffee market. One of them is paper bags. They pack beans purchased in coffee shops or in coffee houses. Buying goods in such places is a great option, but you should not take more than 200 grams, since grains are stored in such a package for no more than two weeks. So, it's always better to take a portion of fresh.

Vacuum packed

Vacuum packaging can be made in two versions - cans and pacts. How to choose high-quality coffee beans if it is already packaged? It is worth focusing on the quality of the packaging material. After all, its main task is to protect the grains from exposure to air. If the beans come into contact with the environment, they will react and lose their original taste.

The most popular gas-filled packaging with a vent valve, through which vapors escape, but at the same time air does not get inside. The valve makes it possible to feel the aroma of the grains after pressing the pack. In such sealed packaging, coffee can be stored for 18 to 24 months. Packs are made of durable material that should not tear at the folds. Sealed bags with valves and cans are used by those companies that value their reputation. Most of the enterprises pack grains in morecheap foil bags. Now, knowing how to choose coffee beans in a package, you can easily navigate a large assortment of products.

Labels

Good quality packaging is not the only thing worth paying attention to. Experts in this matter recommend looking at the label. On it, the manufacturer must indicate the maximum amount of information about the grains, indicating the country of origin, type of grinding and roasting. The degree of grinding can be indicated schematically. The presence of such information allows us to hope that the manufacturer cares about the buyers and provides information about the production technology.

You should also pay attention to the data on the shelf life, packaging and roasting. You can recognize a low-quality product by the deadlines. If the package has a check valve, then you can smell the grains. In the event that you feel a rancid aroma, coffee should not be taken, as it is stale. Knowing how to choose coffee beans, you can thoroughly approach the purchase, paying close attention to all the nuances.

Appearance of grains

How to choose the right coffee beans if you buy them by weight? In this case, you should pay attention to the appearance of the grains. Recall that Arabica and Robusta differ even in appearance. Their beans have not only different sizes, but also shapes. Arabica grains vary in size within 5-8 millimeters. Large beans of this type are an indicator of excellent quality. But even here there are exceptions. So,for example, there are varieties that have excellent characteristics but are modest in size (Yemeni Arabica).

How to choose coffee beans in appearance? In any mix, all beans should be about the same size and shape. If you see that the grains are different, then there is a high degree of probability that a cheaper robusta was added to the mass.

Good coffee should have the correct shape of the beans, which even feel velvety to the touch. In the mixture, all beans should have the same color. The presence of pieces of grains and spots on them is not allowed. All these flaws speak of poor quality.

Only blends of melange can contain beans that differ in color, since they combine species with different degrees of roasting.

Another indicator of quality is the aroma of coffee. Good grains have a strong aroma, in which there are no burnt and rotten impurities. Those beans that have long expired have a rancid smell.

Cost of coffee

Which inexpensive good coffee bean to choose? Any barista will tell you that in this case it is not worth saving. The higher the price, the better quality drink you will get. This statement unequivocally works for elite species. Good coffee can't be cheap. Rather, the low cost should raise doubts about the origin of such grains. The most inveterate coffee lovers prefer elite varieties.

However, ordinary people, as a rule, pay attention to a product of average cost. ATIn this price range, you can also find quite decent coffee. Any barista recommends purchasing grains in a speci alty store. Of course, this is not a guarantee that you will not come across low-quality goods, but nevertheless, in such places, sellers can help you choose.

In addition, in such places, coffee does not come into contact with foreign products, the smells of which can adversely affect the aroma of coffee. In specialized places you will be offered a larger selection of mixtures and varieties. In addition, you will have the opportunity to visually look at the beans and smell their aroma. To prepare a quality drink, you need freshly roasted coffee, which was stored in accordance with the norms. Supermarkets do not pay attention to this fact, and in specialized points the beans are stored in containers that allow you to save all the properties.

Coffee for Turks

How to choose coffee beans for Turks? It is worth paying attention to the grinding of coffee beans. Coffee for the Turks needs to be ground into dust. Not every professional coffee grinder can cope with such a task, and not just a home one. The finer the grinding, the greater the degree of solubility of substances inside the coffee, which means the more aromatic and stronger the drink will be. The process of cooking in a Turk takes just a couple of minutes. During this time, the substances should have time to dissolve and give off taste and aroma. This effect cannot be achieved using coarse coffee.

Instead of afterword

The right choice of coffee beans is not easy. And yet it's worth itTogo. If you have established coffee preferences, then you need to make a reasonable choice. By following simple rules, you can learn how to choose the right grains, from which you can later make a wonderful drink.