Buying Your Own Coffee Beans

Buying coffee beans is without a doubt, the most important part of being able to make a good cup of coffee. If you start out with beans of an inferior quality (in other words, those that aren’t toasted right or gone off etc,) you will never be capable of making coffee with successful results. The easiest way to buy it is by sticking to the safe way and choosing a variety of brands, a lot of which are very good and which will always be this way, or should be this way. Trying out different types of coffee at the same time can be very fun and interesting. The problem is that once you have taken the step and entered into the world of coffee specialties, you will discover that you are all of a sudden confronted with many different names, mixes, different descriptions (just like when you are going to buy wine) and it is often times difficult to know where to begin from, so, buying coffee is, up to certain point, based on trial and error.

The first thing to remember is that the coffee must be fresh. Buy it in a store where they toast it themselves or in the case that they buy it already toasted, that it gets sold quickly. If the coffee has been packaged by the empty method, obviously it will stay fresh for a longer time; but if this is not the case, the beans must be used in a month’s time after having been toasted. If you buy coffee beans and ask to have them ground, don’t store them for more than a week.

It would be impossible to give a description of mixed coffees, since this depends on what fancies each individual mixer and they vary considerably from one supplier to the other. However the following descriptions from the London Coffee Information Center are a good guide of the of the most common pure coffees.

Santos of Brazil: This is a high quality coffee that is cultivated in the region of Sao Paulo, and it has a very individual and particular taste and aroma. It is considered to be a soft coffee with body; and is not very bitter or acidy.

Excelso of Medellin, Colombian: This fine coffee is cultivated in the high lands of the Medellin area in Colombia. It has a lot of body and is less acidy than most Colombian coffees. It is soft and delicious and has a slight dry fruit flavor.

Tapuzza, of Costa Rica: A deliciously soft coffee that has a slightly acidy taste. This coffee is especially good in the morning with breakfast.

Moka of Ethiopia: The cradle of the original coffee plant still produces a sober coffee as this one is. It has an aroma and flavor that is very different and is often times described as “rancid”. It is traditionally used in Turkish coffee.

Jamaican Blue Mountain: One of the most celebrated and expensive coffees in the world. Since it is relatively difficult to acquire the real one, it would be convenient to watch out for copies. This coffee has a perfect and very subtle balance; it is a coffee with body, a rich flavor, incredible aroma and a slightly acid taste. There are many mixes that might or might not have the authentic ingredient.

Java: Java coffee is relatively difficult to find. It is normally toasted when it is well matured, giving it a unique flavor that is slightly “smoked”. It is a very distinguished coffee, and is frequently chosen as the elite of the gourmet coffees.

Kenya: A very fine African coffee and probably the most known in the United Kingdom. It is famous for its fabulous aroma, its strong flavor and its pronounced acidity. This is a great coffee that can be drunken any time and occasion.

Mysore: This coffee is cultivated in the south of India and it has a lot of body and a rich flavor, it is often times described as having a “wine” taste to it. Mysore coffee is often times mixed with Moka coffee and is then known as Moka of Mysore.

Nicaragua: This delicious natural Central American coffee is very popular in the continent and is often times used for mixing. It is excellent “pure” and has soft characteristics that are not acidy and is ideal as a coffee for breakfast.

Tanzanian Kilimanjaro: Tanzanian coffee tends to be stronger than Central American coffee, but does not have the acidity of Kenyan coffee. The coffee that is cultivated in the Kilimanjaro area is known by the name of Chagga coffee, the mountain air and the volcanic ground in this area give this coffee a very distinctive and balanced taste.

Sumatra: The coffee of the Dutch East Indies, famous because of its particular flavor. This is often toasted pretty dark and has a strong matured flavor and very little acidity. It is similar to Java coffee.

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