Have you ever just walked into a coffee roastery and been overwhelmed with the abundance of options presented before you? Staring at them pretending to know exactly what all the words mean? Neither 😉 However, pushing my pretentious inner barista aside for a hot minute. Let my pro barista tips help you walk in to your next roastery purchase with a new wave of confidence knowing exactly what all these big words mean and what coffee is right for you.

ROAST FRESHNESS

A great myth and somewhat sensitively debated (depends on who you ask) is the freshness of coffee. “Fresher is better!” Um yes but also no. This is an easy conclusion for many as at the end of the day, coffee is a fruit, well a cherry to be exact which is a carefully processed agricultural product. So surely fresher is better? Freshly roasted coffee beans preserve CO2 and other elements from the roast process, which can initially affect the quality of your brew. CO2 escapes the bean rapidly at first after roasting, then gradually over the course of the next few days. Coffee bags that contain one-way air valves allow the CO2 to easily leave the bag without the unwanted side-effect of oxygen entering the bag and accelerating the staling process. On the back of your bag will have a date, ideally something from this month god forbids anything out of this year… if that’s the case, in the nicest way possible… bail on that. We love our coffee between the 7–14-day mark after roast date. During this window we get the maximum intensity and quality from the roast. Don’t stress, after 14 days the coffee isn’t just going to decide to no longer be good. However, once we reach the 21 days mark you will begin to notice your coffee intensity and flavour fade.

BLEND OR SINGLE ORIGIN?

Almost 10 years ago nobody would have ever thought of asking the question, most coffee just tasted like coffee, right? However, as the industry evolves, more education comes with it. Hence why you are here reading this, truthfully, I am entering into a hazy territory, so I am going to make this choice as easy as possible. If you’re going to drink coffee with milk, choose a blend. If you’re superior and want black coffee, choose a single origin ;).

You are probably thinking, why though? Hold ya horses I am getting there.

A blended coffee is a careful selection of specific single origins blended together to create body, complexity and balance. Generally, roasters will select origins that compliment each other with the result of round flavours, natural sweetness and floral complexity to help balance the espresso.

A single origin is from a geographic region, this sometimes means a single farm or a collection of farms from the same region. As a single origin, there is an amazing amount of flavour diversity which creates excitement for the coffee drinker to appreciate the specific touch that a particular region provides.

Having said all that, does that mean I can’t have a single origin milk-based coffee? Absolutely you can! Can I have a blend as a long black? For sure mate. There are no rules to what you’re allowed to drink, only opinions and advice to guide you on your coffee journey.

THE ORIGIN SELECTION

To choose the right coffee origin for you, you need to understand what each origin is known for producing. For example, you have probably heard that Ethiopians have a reputation of floral and fruit notes. Farming, growing environments and economic factors will fluctuate across the world, therefore it’s no surprise that coffee grown in Ethiopia will be different from somewhere like Papua New Guinea.

Ultimately growing coffee includes several important factors, for example coffee growth responds best in warmer climates around the globe. There are a vast range of other variables to consider for the outcome how your coffee will taste. For example, the rainfall, soil conditions, altitude, and sunlight. So how do we narrow it down to what we are looking for? In short, as mentioned above for natural fruity and complexity you will want to steer towards an African coffee. Entering a more hesitancy territory, the “earthy flavours” which in a bracket of you either love it or hate it. If you’re down to explore syrupy, muscat and herbal flavours you will want to look at Asia. If caramel chocolate and nutty combinations are your thing you might explore options from central and South America.

GOING DEEPER – CHOOSING THE RIGHT PROCESS FOR YOU.

Let’s take a dive into a deeper topic, one that most coffee lovers are still not fully educated on but definitely should be. Processing of the origins. You’re probably thinking “Katie, is going this deep really going to help me choose fantastic coffee?” Shh, yes and now read and thank me later.  When you’re choosing your coffee, you might notice that a “process” is noted on the bag/label. This is worth considering when choosing your coffee as the process will exceedingly change your experience per process. Let’s discuss two commonly used processes – Washed and Natural.

Basically, without complicating this too much a Washed coffee process consists of the outer pulp of the cherry being removed, with the mucilage (variety of sugars etc) still on the bean they are fermented for 24-72 hours followed by washing the bean again. This process highlights and creates brighter and more complex flavours in your cup. A very popular method with coffee producers as this process generally leads to less defects in the coffee.

Natural processed coffees also referred to as a “dry process” is pretty much the OG in processing coffee. Once the cherries are picked, with the skin remaining they are dried on parchment. Throughout the drying process, they constantly turning the beans allowing the bean to absorb all the sugars from the fruit flesh into the bean. This process will influence stronger fruity flavours and intense winey/boozy characteristics making this process a “you love it or hate it” cup.

So, before we wrap this up, lets summarise briefly for you.

1.       Roast Freshness – ideally start using your beans from the 7 day mark after roast date.

2.       Blend or Single O

-          Milk based coffee, try a blend.

-          Enjoying it Black, try a Single Origin.

3.       Origin

-           African – Fruity and Complex.

-          Central and South American – Sweet and clean.

-          Asian – Earthy.

4.       Process

-          Washed – Complexity and bright flavours

-          Natural – Intense fruity and wine flavours.

Well, there you go my friends, you are now educated, you’re confident and you’re ready to walk in to your next coffee roastery and nail your purchase. Always remember, if you love a coffee, take note on the above information. This will help understand what you like, don’t like, and hopefully open you up to a whole new world of flavours you never knew even existed.