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Finding Quality Coffee Beans Online

Finding good coffee beans online definitely requires certain skills. Let's practice together to develop a discerning eye. What is the relationship between coffee bean "oiling" and freshness? Should we choose fresh coffee beans that appear "oily" or "non-oily"?

The standards for selecting coffee beans are similar to selecting tea. For the most expensive and exquisite tea, you need to go to the origin to purchase the highest quality new tea from that year. The same applies to coffee. The highest quality coffee beans often require you to select them at the variety's origin or entrust specialized overseas suppliers to purchase them.

Therefore, to select good fresh coffee beans, physical store options are relatively limited, while online shopping is an excellent method. But after receiving online-purchased beans, how do you determine if the beans are fresh?

1. Visual Inspection

If you're buying single-origin coffee beans, grab about 10 beans and check if each bean's color is consistent, whether the particle sizes are uniform, and if the shapes are identical, to avoid buying inferior products disguised as mixed beans. However, for blends, different sizes and colors are normal. Dark roasted coffee beans will produce oil. However, if lightly roasted beans show oil, it indicates they have deteriorated—not only has their richness decreased, but they will also develop astringent and sour tastes.

Have you seen coffee beans with oily surfaces? Why do some coffee beans appear shiny and oily on the surface while others look "dry and comfortable" without grease? What is the relationship between coffee bean "oiling" and freshness? Should we choose coffee beans that appear "oily" or "non-oily"?

Not Actually Oil

The "oil" evenly distributed on coffee bean surfaces is not actually "grease" but a water-soluble organic substance that appears oily. "Coffee oil" itself contains many aromatic coffee components that can dissolve in water, so your brewed coffee won't have a greasy layer floating on the surface.

Two Reasons for "Oily Beans"

Two reasons cause "oily beans": a) stale light roast beans, and b) fresh dark roast beans. Let's explore these in detail.

a) Stale Light Roast Beans

Light roast beans, roasted with lighter heat and appearing light brown in color, have dry surfaces after roasting and do not produce oil. Around five days after roasting (may shorten to one or two days during hot summer), they begin to show "spot oiling" (oil droplets appearing on one side of coffee beans). Please note: a small amount of "spot oiling" doesn't indicate staleness; sometimes it actually represents the peak flavor state of light roast coffee beans. If left to continue, after more than two weeks post-roasting, light roast beans gradually develop a uniform, thin, shiny layer on their surface. When smelled, the aroma isn't sweet and fragrant but carries a rancid oil smell. At this point, the "light roast beans'" flavor has declined, and you should avoid purchasing them.

b) Fresh Dark Roast Beans

Dark roast beans, roasted with deeper heat and appearing dark brown in color, show a slight sheen on their surface after roasting, and begin to produce significant "oil" from the first to the second day post-roasting. Oily-looking "dark roast beans" not only don't indicate staleness—on the contrary, dark roast beans' surface oil will gradually dry out after three weeks post-roasting, eventually becoming dried, flavorless beans. Therefore, if you see dry, non-oily beans that appear dark brown, please pay special attention to whether they're marked with a roasting date, as they're very likely already spoiled, flavorless beans.

Even stale, oily "light roast beans" will gradually dry on the surface after long-term storage (such as three months), eventually returning to a dry, non-oily appearance. Thus, surface oil presence is only a reference for judging coffee bean freshness, not an absolute indicator.

First, please purchase from professional coffee roasters who clearly mark dates, have brand credibility, and emphasize fresh roasting. Additionally, high-quality coffee packaging bags usually feature "one-way degassing valves" (button-like small holes on coffee bags) to allow natural carbon dioxide release from coffee beans. Point the one-way degassing valve at your nose, gently squeeze the coffee bean bag, and smell the released gas. If it's a charming, rich coffee aroma, freshness is not an issue. Conversely, if it doesn't smell rich enough or even has a rancid oil smell, it indicates this coffee has long spoiled and lost its flavor—avoid purchasing.

Why Use One-Way Valve Packaging?

1. Protection from Elements

Freshly roasted coffee beans sealed in aluminum foil bags prevent rapid aroma dispersion and oxidation caused by contact with light and air.

2. Freshness Preservation

"One-way degassing valve" coffee bags block external light and air intrusion, allowing coffee beans to maintain their original fresh flavor in optimal packaging conditions.

3. Natural Gas Release

Roasted coffee beans naturally release carbon dioxide. If this accumulates in the packaging bag, it affects coffee bean quality. The "one-way degassing valve" on the bag allows excess gas to escape, while allowing you to smell the aroma when squeezing the bag during selection.

This packaging features a valve designed with a double-layer structure made of film at the bag's seal. After adding roasted beans, the carbon dioxide produced during roasting escapes through the valve, while external gases cannot enter the bag, effectively preserving the original aroma and essence of roasted coffee beans. This is currently the most recommended packaging method for roasted coffee beans, and you should try to choose coffee products with this type of packaging when purchasing.

To put it more simply, this valve only allows exit, not entry. After coffee beans are roasted, they produce gases like carbon dioxide that need slow release. The one-way degassing valve sealed on the coffee bag, with holes punched in the bag surface at the valve location, automatically releases carbon dioxide extracted from roasted coffee beans to outside the bag, while preventing external air from entering. This effectively ensures the coffee beans remain dry and retain their original rich flavor, while also preventing bag expansion due to carbon dioxide accumulation and preventing oxidation from external air.

2. Smell

Smell the beans to check if they have coffee aroma. If they do, it indicates the coffee beans are fresh enough. If the aroma is very weak or even shows a greasy smell similar to peanuts stored for too long, it means the beans are completely stale—definitely don't choose them, because no matter how much effort you put in, you won't be able to brew good coffee.

3. Peel

Peel the coffee beans by hand. If the beans are fresh enough, they'll peel easily with a crisp sound. If the beans aren't fresh, considerable effort is needed to peel them. After peeling, you can check if the roasting is even. If it is, the coffee bean's surface and inner layer will be the same color. If the surface color is much darker than the inner layer, it indicates the roasting heat might have been too intense, which will also affect the coffee bean's aroma and taste.

4. Chew

When selecting, it's best to put one or two beans in your mouth and chew them. If the beans are crisp and make a clear sound when chewed, it indicates the beans haven't been affected by moisture. Additionally, if they leave a lingering fragrance in your mouth, that's top quality!

5. Bubble Formation During Brewing

Freshly roasted coffee beans contain large amounts of gas and have active respiration. During extraction, gases released from the beans create the wonderful, rich bubbles we see—a vivid description is "blooming." Yes, when extracting fresh coffee beans, clusters of rich bubbles resemble flowers blooming in this season. Accompanying this is the intense aroma of fresh coffee beans.

Deep Analysis of Bubble Richness

During extraction, bubble richness correlates positively with freshness—the fresher the beans, the more bubbles produced. However, this premise applies to the same coffee bean variety. Specifically, it's the same green beans, same roast, same operation.

Between different coffee beans, or between different roast levels of the same coffee bean, or between different operation parameters for the same coffee bean, bubble richness will show different performance.

To summarize simply: for the same coffee bean, fresher means more bubbles; for the same coffee bean, dark roast produces more bubbles than light roast.

Important Notes

Although we can't see the actual product before purchase and cannot perform selection steps like looking, smelling, peeling, or chewing, when shopping online you can still select based on the following aspects. Of course, these aspects also apply to physical store purchases.

A. Origin

Some online merchants might use coffee beans not from the original origin. For example, some might be Blue Mountain coffee, but their origin isn't Jamaica. However, this doesn't mean non-origin coffee is necessarily bad. Due to climate differences, flavors might vary slightly. Often, non-origin coffee is cheaper. If you're not overly particular, trying flavors from different origins can be interesting.

B. Packaging Date

Pay attention to whether the packaging date is recent. Generally, green coffee beans have a shelf life of one to two years, while roasted beans stay fresh within one month. To select freshly roasted coffee beans, use them within their freshness period after purchase to enjoy coffee's most charming aroma and rich flavor.

C. Store and Brand

This goes without saying—some coffee merchants might mix other coffee varieties to reduce costs. Be careful! For example, mixing cheaper coffee beans into expensive ones, or mixing poor-quality beans of the same variety into high-quality ones will seriously affect taste. When buying coffee beans, try to choose guaranteed stores or brands, or check online customer reviews.

Fresh Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted single-origin and espresso fresh coffee beans: Yirgacheffe coffee, Brazilian coffee, Mandheling coffee, etc., 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 (227g) package costs only about 80-90 yuan. Calculating at 15g per pour-over coffee, one package makes 15 cups of coffee, with each single-origin coffee costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to café normal prices of 30-40 yuan per cup, this represents excellent value.

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based roastery with a small storefront but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online services at: 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