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How to Select Fresh Coffee Beans

Many friends have commented that they don't know how to select fresh coffee beans, or they're unsure how to determine if the coffee beans they've purchased are fresh. Today, the editor will explain how to select fresh coffee beans, so you won't have to worry about buying poor-quality or stale coffee beans next time. Let's look at the four basic steps to understand when selecting coffee beans: smell, observe, peel, and taste.

Detailed Explanation of the Four Steps

Below, we'll explain step by step how to use the above four methods to determine the quality and freshness of coffee beans.

Smell

Get close to the coffee beans and take a deep sniff. If you smell a strong aroma, it indicates that the coffee beans are fresh; if the aroma is weak, or even starts to have a rancid smell, it means the coffee beans are no longer fresh.

Please note that when I mention "rancid smell," I'm referring to the odor, not the appearance. Otherwise, all dark-roasted coffee beans would appear oily, making them all seem un fresh.

When we buy coffee beans, we usually encounter pre-packaged ones. We can only press the one-way exhaust valve to smell whether the aroma inside is strong enough.

Observe

Examine the quality of coffee beans from several perspectives: shape, color, and size.

First, the shape should be complete. The presence of defective beans will affect the coffee's taste.

What types of beans are considered defective, and what are their causes?

Round Beans: As mentioned in previous coffee knowledge Q&As, round beans occur when there's only one round seed inside a coffee cherry, caused by the growing environment of the coffee tree. When round beans are few in number, they don't affect the coffee's taste.

Black Beans: Prematurely mature coffee beans that fall to the ground before harvesting are prone to fermentation and turn into black beans. These are relatively easy to sort out.

Insect-Damaged Beans: Caused by insects drilling into coffee fruits to lay eggs.

Shell Beans: Result from improper handling during the drying process.

Broken Beans: Produced when machines are used for hulling and removing pulp.

Underdeveloped Beans: Climate conditions, rainfall amounts, and soil nutrition status in coffee-growing countries all affect the growth of coffee beans. When nutrients are insufficient, underdeveloped coffee beans are easily produced.

Other causes of defective beans:

When using the natural processing method, encountering rainy weather, or failing to turn the coffee beans promptly and evenly with a rake can easily produce over-dried and moldy beans.

During transportation and storage, if the environment is too humid, it can also cause moldy beans.

When using washed processing, if the water tank is not clean, it can produce fermented beans. The impact of fermented beans is much worse than other defective beans because they can make good coffee beans also acquire a foul odor. The saying "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" perfectly describes this situation.

Next, look at the color. Different coffee beans are suitable for different roasting levels. The darkest (or most heavily roasted) is Italian coffee, followed by Mandheling, Brazilian, Colombian, and Mocha. Coffee beans from the same origin should have roughly the same color; otherwise, it indicates uneven roasting.

Finally, look at the size. Various coffee beans have different sizes, ranging from large Blue Mountain coffee to delicate Yunnan small-grain coffee. It's difficult to compare coffee beans from different origins, but among coffee beans from the same origin, we still consider large and full ones to be superior.

Peel

Use your hands to peel open the coffee beans. If they can be peeled easily and feel crisp, it indicates the coffee beans are very fresh. If they are old beans, considerable effort is required to peel them open.

Additionally, after peeling, if the outer skin and inner layer have similar color shades, it indicates even heat during roasting; if the surface color is much deeper than the inner layer, it means the heat was too strong during roasting.

Taste

Lightly bite the coffee bean. If it feels crisp, it indicates the coffee bean is fresh.

Through learning the above steps, you should now be able to successfully select delicious, fresh coffee beans.

Fresh Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted single-origin and espresso fresh coffee beans: Yirgacheffe coffee, Brazilian coffee, Mandheling coffee, and others all have full guarantees in terms of brand and quality, suitable for brewing with various equipment. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227 grams) package costs only about 80-90 yuan. Calculating based on 15 grams of coffee powder per cup of pour-over coffee, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup of single-origin coffee costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to the normal cafe price of 30-40 yuan per cup, this represents extremely high value for money.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small storefront but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473