For a long time, coffee beans have been abandoned for ground coffee or capsules, and are now back to their former popularity. Lovers of hot beverages have understood that it is in this form that they have access to the best flavors. The fresher the grind, the more powerful and complex the aroma, provided the coffee beans have been carefully selected.
Between where it comes from, its strength, variety and roast, it can be particularly difficult to navigate. Experts tend to say that growing coffee is like growing wine. Understanding grape varieties and terroirs is therefore essential for those who are new to coffee. How do you choose coffee beans? You will probably have to try several before you find the one that perfectly meets your requirements, however some criteria can help you.
If it is difficult, at first glance, to recognize a high-end coffee bean, its visual aspect gives you several clues. It allows you to determine its freshness and quality:
Roasting is a crucial step, it refers to the cooking of green coffee beans to make them edible. The roasted beans must have a homogeneous color, so you can be sure that all the treatment processes, from harvest to cup, have been respected. There are four levels of roasting:
Coffee is first and foremost a matter of taste: to choose it well, you must taste it. If you are not an expert, you can ask yourself these three criteria while tasting your drink:
The two most common types of coffee are Arabica and Robusta. Each of them comes in a multitude of varieties that can be blended together to balance their flavors.
Refined and well-balanced, Arabica is without a doubt the most appreciated by coffee lovers. This type of coffee represents nearly 70% of the world production. Coffea arabica grows at high altitudes and is renowned for its delicate cultivation. It comes in more than 200 varieties, some of which are considered the best and most expensive in the world. Its caffeine content is moderate and its aromatic palette extremely diverse depending on the origin and terroir of its cherries. The bourbon pointu from Reunion Island and the blue mountain from Jamaica are the most famous arabica coffees.
Robusta takes its name from the robustness of its species. It is the fruit of Coffea canephora, whose cultivation is less demanding than Coffea arabica. It can be grown on the plain, at low altitude, in warmer and sunnier regions. This type of coffee is more full-bodied and bitter, it contains twice as much caffeine as Arabica and has less developed taste properties. So, is robusta not as good? It's all a matter of taste, and 100% Robusta coffee beans tend to be more popular. The Italians swear by it to make their full-bodied espressos and their famous cappuccinos.
Even if the great vintages made up of 100% of the same variety are very popular, the blends, called Blends, make it possible to find a balance of flavors between the aromatic notes of arabica and the power of robusta. The range of possibilities is immense, to the point that some coffee lovers create their own ideal blend. For novices, it is best to turn to a good roaster who works with passion to find the best possible harmony.
The cultivation of coffee is centered around an area known as the " coffee belt " located between the two tropics. The geographical location and climatic conditions of its region of origin strongly influence its flavor and price. The most famous coffee producing countries are Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil in Central and Latin America. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia and India are the top producers, while in Central Africa, great vintages are produced in Côte d'Ivoire and Ethiopia.
The choice of origin, species and flavors of the coffee bean is inseparable from its extraction method. Whatever the type of coffee, grinding your beans by the minute offers incomparable aromas depending on the preparation of the grind and the type of machine used:
Whether it's organic, biodynamically grown or fair trade, choosing a coffee bean can depend on a number of additional criteria. Don't hesitate to seek professional help to begin refining your coffee culture. Be aware that the flavors of decaffeinated coffee beans also offer excellent properties. To choose it, the same principles apply! Decaffeination takes place on fresh cherries, regardless of variety or species.
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