Are Oily Coffee Beans Good or Bad: Which Coffee Brands Have More Oils

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Are Oily Coffee Beans Good or Bad?

Some believe that oils are an indispensable part of coffee flavor, but there are also concerns about the health risks associated with these coffee oils.

So are "oily coffee beans" good or bad? Should you choose coffee beans that appear "oily" or "non-oily" on the surface? Starting from the coffee beans themselves, let's explore how roasting and extraction processes affect these oils to understand the pros and cons of coffee oils.

Coffee Oil That Isn't Actually Oil

Coffee beans, like other seeds such as corn and soybeans, contain oil. However, the oil on coffee bean surfaces is different from the crema on espresso. The oil on coffee bean surfaces is a water-soluble organic substance that appears oil-like, while "coffee oil" itself contains many aromatic coffee components that can dissolve in water. Therefore, your brewed coffee won't have a greasy layer of oil floating on the surface.

After coffee is ground, aroma and oils begin to volatilize and release, and the flavor of brewed coffee gradually decreases as they are released. Therefore, the presence of coffee oil is the simplest way to judge coffee quality.

The two most well-known types of coffee are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica has lower caffeine content (0.8-1.4%) and about 10% fat content, while Robusta contains 1.7-4% caffeine. Robusta's coffee oil content is 60% less than Arabica's. Due to Arabica's lower caffeine content and higher fat aroma, it has become the preferred choice for connoisseurs.

Two Reasons for "Oily Coffee Beans"

Generally speaking, the oil on coffee bean surfaces is influenced by the roasting method.

1. Stale Light Roast Beans

"Light roast beans" with lighter roasting levels and light brown appearance are dry on the surface after roasting and won't show oil. About six days after roasting, they begin to show "spotting" (oil droplets appearing on certain sides of the coffee beans). Slight "spotting" doesn't indicate staleness; sometimes it actually represents the peak flavor state of light roast beans. If they continue to be stored, after more than two weeks from roasting, the surface of light roast beans gradually develops a layer of shiny oil. At this point, the flavor of "light roast beans" has begun to decline, and you should avoid purchasing them or drink them quickly.

There's another situation where, during the roasting process, coffee beans experience excessive dehydration in some areas due to uneven heating, and oil appears in a spotted pattern about two to five days after roasting, which is different from the overall surface oiliness of dark roast coffee.

In any case, if light roast beans show either of the above two situations, it either indicates poor roasting or lack of freshness, and purchase is not recommended.

2. Fresh Dark Roast Beans

"Dark roast beans" with deeper roasting levels and dark brown appearance show a slight sheen on the surface after roasting, and begin to show significant "oiliness" on the surface about two to five days after roasting. When coffee beans undergo dark roasting, they produce oil due to high dehydration rates, so if dark roast beans start to show surface oil within the first one or two days of storage, this is a normal phenomenon.

The shiny appearance of "dark roast beans" doesn't indicate staleness. On the contrary, after three weeks from roasting, the surface oil of dark roast beans will gradually dry out, eventually becoming dry, non-oily, and stale dark roast beans. Therefore, if you see coffee beans that are dry and non-oily but appear dark brown in color, please pay special attention to whether they are marked with a roasting date, as they are very likely already spoiled and stale beans.

Recommended Brands for Oily Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee, a coffee roasting brand located at Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, offers freshly roasted espresso blend coffee beans with full guarantees in both brand and quality, with good oil content suitable for making specialty coffees and latte art coffees. The latte art turns out beautifully. More importantly, the cost-performance ratio is extremely high. Taking their commercially recommended model - commercial blend coffee beans - as an example, one 454-gram pound package costs only about 60 yuan. Calculating based on 10 grams of powder per espresso shot, one package can make 45 cups of coffee, with each cup costing less than 1.5 yuan. Even if using double shots for each espresso, with 20 grams of powder per serving, the price of one double espresso doesn't exceed 3 yuan. Compared to certain well-known brands that sell packages costing over a hundred yuan, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roasting shop 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