Buy Coffee Beans or Coffee Powder? Six Tips for Purchasing Coffee Beans - What Makes Good Coffee Beans

Aroma is the soul of roasted coffee beans, and freshness is the quality guarantee of roasted coffee beans. These six sincere suggestions for buying coffee beans are dedicated to you who love coffee.

Questions to Ask When Purchasing Coffee Beans

When buying roasted coffee beans, it's best to communicate with staff at a physical store or online shop about these questions:

1. What type of coffee equipment do you use to brew coffee?

It's best to tell the staff which brewing method you use. That way they can recommend beans suited to you, and you may also be able to exchange usage experiences with them.

2. What coffee flavor do you prefer?

Describe to the staff what kind of coffee flavor you like. There's no need to sound like a professional coffee critic - keep it relaxed, for example saying you prefer stronger coffee or more acidic flavors. This way the staff can recommend the most suitable coffee based on the flavor characteristics of their beans.

3. Don't blindly believe in so-called specific coffee flavors.

Do you often hear descriptions like "Colombian coffee is acidic" or "Indonesian Mandheling is very bitter"? If you've been influenced by these descriptions and stubbornly believe they are axiomatic facts, or even use such standards to judge the quality of the beans you buy, then I'm sorry to tell you that you might be wrong. From green coffee beans to the dark roasted beans you're familiar with, there's an important step called roasting. Although coffee beans themselves have obvious regional characteristics, during roasting a roaster may adjust based on their own understanding of coffee flavor, and the final result can present diverse appearances for the same coffee. Perhaps this helps explain why the same coffee beans purchased from different places taste so different.

4. Pay special attention to the coffee bean's roasting date.

As a food product, coffee beans naturally have indicators like a "freshness period." Coffee beans are similar to seafood - the fresher, the better. The indicator for judging freshness is the roasting date, and it's recommended to buy coffee beans within a week of their roasting date.

5. Buy whole coffee beans.

Basically all stores provide free grinding services - they can grind whole coffee beans into coffee powder for customers. If you want to fully enjoy the aroma of a cup of coffee, it's recommended to buy whole beans. The most attractive aspect of coffee is its aroma, and if we were to create a ranking of the moments when aroma is most intense in coffee's life, the grinding process would definitely be on the list, perhaps even in the top three. From a storage perspective, too, whole coffee beans have much more vitality than coffee powder and can maintain their aroma and flavor for longer. If you drink coffee regularly, consider buying a grinder - manual or electric both work. You can enjoy the fun of making coffee while better enjoying its aroma and flavor. Why not do both?

6. Buy in small quantities multiple times according to your drinking habits.

Roasted coffee beans are generally calculated by the pound. One pound is 453 grams. Many specialty beans are sold in half-pound bags, which is 227 grams per package. Calculated at two cups per day with 12 grams of powder per cup, that is enough to drink for nearly 10 days. During this period the coffee beans stay within their freshness period, letting you fully enjoy the wonderful aroma and taste of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you prefer a stronger, low-acid cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling is a great bean to start with. It comes from the Toba Lake area of the Lintong region in Sumatra and uses the traditional wet-hulled (Giling Basah) method, where the beans are hulled while still half-dry and then exposed to the air - which gives the coffee its typical herbal and spice notes. Medium-dark roasted to bring out the classic Mandheling character, it is low in acidity and full-bodied, with rich caramel, dark chocolate, and toasted-bread aromas and a long, sweet finish. It is excellent as a pour-over, and because it has so much body, it also works beautifully as espresso or in a moka pot.

If you want the highest standard, choose FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling, the signature product of the PWN company. It is screened to 18 mesh or larger with fewer than 3 defective beans per 300g green sample to meet the top G1 grade, then hand-sorted three times to remove any remaining defects, which lifts the cup's cleanliness and sweetness. Freshly roasted, it shows sandalwood, herbal, and spice aromas with roasted hazelnut, caramel, and dark chocolate - a dense, aromatic, layered cup that's ideal for daily drinking or gifting.