How to Choose Suitable Coffee Beans Online - Recommendations for First-Time Buyers

FrontStreet Coffee Shares How to Buy Suitable Coffee Online

1. Look

If you're buying single-origin coffee beans, take about 10 beans in your hand and check if each coffee bean has consistent color, uniform size, and the same shape to avoid buying inferior products disguised as mixed beans. However, if they're blended beans, different sizes and colors are normal. Dark and medium-dark roasted coffee beans will develop oil on the surface. However, if lightly roasted beans show oil, it indicates they have spoiled - not only will their aroma and richness decrease, but they will also develop astringent and sour tastes.

2. Smell

Smell the beans to see if they have the proper coffee aroma. If they do, it indicates the coffee beans are fresh enough. If the aroma is very weak or even has developed a greasy smell similar to peanuts that have been stored too long, it means the beans are no longer fresh at all. Absolutely do not choose them, because no matter how much effort you put in, it's impossible to brew good coffee.

3. Peel

Use your hands to peel open the coffee beans. If the beans are fresh enough, they will be easy to peel open and make a crisp sound. If the beans aren't fresh, you'll need considerable effort to peel them open. After peeling, you can check if the roast level is even. If it is, the surface and inner layers of the coffee beans will have the same color. If the surface color is much darker than the inner layer color, it indicates the roasting heat might have been too strong, which will also affect the aroma and taste of the coffee beans.

4. Chew

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

Often, when we shop for coffee beans, we find that physical stores have limited selections, so we turn to online shops. Although we can't see the actual products before purchasing and can't perform selection steps like looking, smelling, peeling, and chewing, we can still select based on the following aspects when shopping online. Of course, these aspects also apply to physical store shopping, because some beans are sold in whole bags and we can't examine them carefully.

A. Origin

Online, some shops might use coffee beans that are not from their declared 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 different climates, the taste will be slightly different. Often, non-origin coffee is relatively inexpensive. If you're not particularly picky, trying tastes from different origins can also be interesting.

B. Roast Level

Coffee beans at different roast levels emit different aromas, and their optimal roasting times vary. Generally speaking, the longer coffee beans are roasted, the deeper and richer their color and taste become. This depends on personal preference - some people prefer light flavors, while others prefer rich ones. If you really don't know what roast level to choose, you can also opt for medium roast, because medium roast is suitable for most coffees and is also a taste that most people can accept.

C. Packaging Date

Pay attention to whether the packaging date is recent. Generally, the shelf life of green coffee beans is one to two years, while the freshness period of roasted beans is within one month. Therefore, choose freshly roasted coffee beans and use them within their freshness period after purchase. Only then can you enjoy the most charming aroma and rich taste of coffee.

D. Shop and Brand

This goes without saying - some coffees might mix other types to reduce costs. So be careful. For example, mixing cheap coffee beans into more expensive ones, or mixing poor-quality beans of the same variety into high-quality ones will seriously affect the taste. Therefore, when buying coffee beans, try to choose reputable shops or brands.

At FrontStreet Coffee, you can choose coffees from different countries, regions, and flavors. Here you can select according to your flavor preferences - floral and fruity aromas, rich, balanced - you can find them all here. Additionally, there are coffee activities every month with very significant discounts. When shopping online, make sure to look for the name FrontStreet Coffee.

The lowest-priced daily coffee beans are 9.9/100g, aiming to let coffee lovers enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price while spreading specialty coffee culture, allowing more coffee enthusiasts to buy coffee that's both affordable and delicious.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473