Choosing Coffee Beans

FOOD & DRINK · GLOBAL

Choosing Coffee Beans

Roast date, roast level and origin, grinding and storing

The single biggest improvement most people can make to their coffee is buying it fresher, and the label tells you whether it is.

Roast date, not best before

Coffee is at its best from a few days to about a month after roasting. A bag with only a best-before date two years out is telling you the roaster does not want you to know when it was roasted.

Buy smaller bags more often rather than a kilogram that goes stale before you reach the bottom.

Roast level

Light roasts keep more of the origin character — fruit, florals, acidity — and need a finer grind and more care. Dark roasts taste of the roast itself: chocolate, caramel and bitterness, and they are more forgiving.

Neither is better. Espresso traditionally uses darker roasts because they are more soluble and forgiving, and light roast espresso is increasingly common.

Origin and process

Washed coffees are cleaner and more acidic. Natural process coffees are fruitier and heavier. Honey process sits between. This affects the taste more than most people expect.

Single origin shows one place; blends are built for consistency and for milk drinks.

Grind immediately before brewing

Ground coffee loses aroma within minutes and is stale within days. A burr grinder is the single most worthwhile purchase in home coffee, ahead of any machine.

Match the grind to the method — coarse for cafetière, medium for filter, fine for espresso.

Storing it

Airtight, cool and dark, away from strong smells, and not in the fridge where it absorbs odour and moisture. The freezer works for long-term storage in sealed portions.

Water and ratios

Coffee is overwhelmingly water, and very hard or very soft water both produce poor results. A filter jug improves the cup noticeably in hard water areas and protects equipment from scale.

Around 60 grams of coffee per litre of water is a useful starting ratio, adjusted to taste.

Decaf

Modern decaffeination, particularly the sugarcane and water processes, produces genuinely good coffee. It is worth having a bag for the afternoon.

Subscriptions

A roaster subscription delivers coffee close to the roast date, which is the single biggest factor in how it tastes. Check how far ahead you must skip a delivery and whether it renews automatically.

Ask for a range rather than the same bag repeatedly, which is how you learn what you actually like.

Adjusting

Sour and fast means grind finer. Bitter and slow means grind coarser. That one rule solves most problems.

Caffeine has a half-life of around five hours, so an afternoon cup affects sleep.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop Tiki Tonga Coffee? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop Tiki Tonga Coffee — official site

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