What's the Difference Between Black Coffee Beans and Ground Coffee? How to Choose Coffee Beans?

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, for more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

After deciding to brew your own coffee, the first choice you face when buying coffee is whether to purchase whole coffee beans or ground coffee beans. Excluding other personal factors such as equipment and time, our recommendation is clear: buy coffee beans, that's the right choice.

Why Choose Coffee Beans Over Ground Coffee

There are compelling reasons for this firm recommendation. Remember what we mentioned earlier? Coffee's aroma comes from the oils released during roasting. These oils are sealed within the pores of coffee beans. Once ground, the aroma and oils begin to evaporate, naturally diminishing the flavor of the brewed coffee.

Additionally, the increased surface area of ground coffee exposed to air makes it susceptible to moisture absorption and deterioration. Under identical conditions, coffee beans can be stored for nearly twice as long as ground coffee.

The sole advantage of ground coffee is convenience, especially if you often oversleep in the morning and lack time to grind coffee slowly, or if you haven't yet purchased grinding equipment. Ground coffee allows you to quickly enjoy a decent cup of coffee. If you decide to buy ground coffee, we offer these two recommendations: (1) Purchase approximately two weeks' worth at a time to preserve freshness, and (2) Store ground coffee in quality airtight containers.

The Joy of Grinding Your Own Beans

Think grinding your own beans is troublesome? Actually, it's quite enjoyable and helps maintain flavor!

Coffee beans are the best form to preserve coffee's complete flavor profile, ensuring freshness and original taste. Some manufacturers might mix coffee from different sources in the same package of ground coffee, making it difficult for consumers to verify the coffee's origin.

While grinding coffee beans is indeed a significant subject, trust us—once you start grinding your own beans, you'll never return to ground coffee days. Experimenting with different brewing methods using various grind sizes and experiencing the distinct flavors they produce is absolutely one of the greatest pleasures of home coffee brewing.

Coffee's Optimal Tasting Period

When buying coffee, do you still look at the expiration date on the packaging? We need to tell you something important: coffee's optimal tasting period is not the same as its expiration date. What you should pay attention to is the roasting date.

The roasting date of coffee beans indicates freshness. Typically, freshly roasted coffee beans within 2-3 days are excellent choices. However, buying freshly roasted beans doesn't necessarily mean they're at their best flavor. Besides the residual smoky flavors from roasting and the beans' own aromas, coffee beans continue to release nitrogen dioxide for about 48 hours after roasting. Therefore, brewing coffee beans immediately after roasting may actually result in suboptimal flavor.

We recommend purchasing approximately two weeks' worth of coffee beans at a time. For coffee beans stored at room temperature, using them within two weeks typically yields the best flavor and aroma.

Types of Coffee Beans

Currently, there are over 100 coffee varieties worldwide, with the two most common being Arabica and Robusta (Canephora). These two coffee types differ significantly in flavor, composition, and growing conditions. Below, we'll compare their differences.

Arabica: Premium, Smooth Flavor, Low Caffeine

Coffee advertisements often emphasize their use of 100% Arabica coffee. That's correct—judging by price alone, Arabica is indeed more premium. Generally, Arabica coffee beans cost twice as much as Robusta beans.

In terms of composition, Arabica has lower caffeine content (0.9-1.2%), 60% more fat than Robusta, and twice the sugar content. Consequently, Arabica tastes sweeter, smoother, with hints of plum-like acidity.

Additionally, Arabica has slightly lower chlorogenic acid content (5.5-8%). Besides being an antioxidant, chlorogenic acid is an important component that resists pests. Therefore, Arabica is more susceptible to pest damage and climate influences, typically grown at higher altitudes with fewer and slower-producing fruits. The beans are oval-shaped.

Currently, Brazil is the largest producer of Arabica, while Colombia exclusively produces Arabica coffee.

Robusta: Affordable, Bitter Flavor, High Caffeine

In contrast, Robusta has higher caffeine content (1.6-2.4%), lower fat and sugar content, resulting in a more bitter and intense flavor. Some even bluntly describe it as having a rubbery taste.

Robusta has higher chlorogenic acid content (7-10%), making it resistant to pests and climate influences. It's typically grown at lower altitudes, producing abundant fruit quickly. The beans are round-shaped.

Currently, Vietnam is the largest producer of Robusta, with Africa and India also producing it.

Price Doesn't Equal Quality

Due to its affordability, Robusta is often mixed into commercial ground coffee to reduce costs. Most inexpensive instant coffee on the market is predominantly Robusta. However, price doesn't equal quality. High-quality Robusta beans are often used in espresso because they produce richer crema. Quality Robusta can even taste better than poor-quality Arabica.

Therefore, the choice between these two coffee beans mainly depends on personal preference. Some might find Arabica's aroma too strong, while others enjoy Robusta's mellow bitterness. Our only reminder is to pay special attention to caffeine content if you're sensitive, as Robusta contains twice as much caffeine as Arabica.

Of course, coffee isn't limited to these two varieties. You can also try Java, Kona, Sumatra, and other varieties to add new dimensions to your coffee experience.

How to Select Coffee Beans

Although we can't see the actual product before purchasing and perform steps like looking, smelling, peeling, and chewing, when buying online, we can still select from the following aspects. These aspects also apply to physical store purchases.

A. Origin

Online, some stores might use coffee beans not from their claimed origin. For example, some Blue Mountain coffee might not actually come from Jamaica. Similarly, if packaging only mentions "Colombia" or "Brazil" without specific estate information, it's typically coffee from large production regions. Coffee from origins also has commercial grade and specialty grade levels. Therefore, not all Ethiopian coffee is necessarily specialty grade. It's best to find beans traceable to specific regions. Generally, beans traceable to their origin won't be disappointing. If you're not particularly particular, trying different regional flavors can also be enjoyable.

How to understand a coffee name like "Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Hambella Guji Grada 2.0"?

Coffee beans naturally have distinct regional characteristics. Before purchasing, understanding the coffee's flavor is beneficial. Like wine labels, coffee labels typically provide much information about the coffee's flavor. From a coffee name like "Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Hambella Guji Grada 2.0," we can gather: Country: Ethiopia, Region: Sidamo Hambella, Grade: G1, Processing: Natural, Name: Guji Grada 2.0.

If you buy beans that only mention "Ethiopia" without other information, they're typically from large production regions.

B. Packaging Date (Roasting Date)

Check if the packaging date is recent. Generally, raw coffee beans have a shelf life of one to two years, while roasted beans maintain freshness for about 2 months. Therefore, choose freshly roasted coffee beans and consume them within their freshness period to fully enjoy coffee's most captivating aroma and rich mouthfeel.

Freshly roasted coffee beans contain large amounts of gas and have active respiration. During extraction, gases release from the beans, creating the wonderful, full bubbles we observe. However, some lightly roasted beans may show less obvious bubbling.

C. Store and Brand

This goes without saying—some coffees might mix other coffee types to reduce costs, so be careful. Mixing expensive coffee beans with cheaper ones, or mixing high-quality beans with lower-quality beans of the same variety, can significantly affect taste. Therefore, when buying coffee beans, try to choose reputable stores or brands. Domestically popular home-roasting typically offers beans fresher than those from supermarkets. Choose trustworthy coffee shops.

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