Which Brand of Espresso Coffee Beans is Best? A Beginner's Guide to Selecting Coffee Beans! What's the Difference Between SOE, Blends, and Single-Origin Coffee?

Since many friends are just starting out, they can be said to be completely unfamiliar with various coffee professional terms. This makes them at a loss when purchasing coffee beans, not knowing how to choose coffee beans that suit their taste.

But actually, buying coffee beans isn't very complicated. As long as we understand some basic knowledge about coffee beans, we can easily choose our ideal coffee beans. So today FrontStreet Coffee will answer some common questions that beginners encounter when buying coffee beans, which should help everyone better select their desired coffee beans.

Should I Choose Arabica or Robusta?

Currently, there are two main types of coffee sold on the market: Arabica and Robusta. Different varieties have different prices, flavors, and characteristics, so many friends often ask FrontStreet Coffee questions like "What's the difference between Arabica and Robusta" and "Should I choose Arabica or Robusta."

Arabica

Arabica coffee is what we often call small-grained coffee. It is currently recognized as a representative of high-quality coffee. Varieties like Typica, Geisha, and Bourbon are all subcategories under the Arabica species. Compared to Robusta, Arabica has lower caffeine content and excellent flavor performance. So if you want to drink a cup of coffee that's easy to drink and has outstanding flavors, then pure Arabica coffee beans would naturally be the first choice~ (Left is Arabica, right is Robusta)

Robusta

Robusta coffee is medium-grained coffee, abbreviated as "Robusta beans." Compared to Arabica, Robusta has relatively lacking flavors and higher caffeine content, with a stronger taste when consumed. Therefore, Robusta is generally not sold alone but is used in the production of instant and canned coffee due to its low price. But Robusta is not as bad as everyone imagines. Because Robusta can bring rich oils to coffee, many merchants add a small amount of Robusta in their blends, which allows the extracted espresso to have more crema without affecting the flavor.

Moreover, the presence of a small amount of Robusta beans can bring a richer taste to coffee, which can compete well with the flavor of milk. Even with a large amount of milk added, the coffee taste won't be easily masked. For example, the Frontsteet Classic Blend in FrontStreet Coffee's bean list contains a small amount of Robusta beans. If you have certain requirements for coffee crema or prefer to drink a mellow and rich milk coffee, then blended coffee beans with Robusta beans will be a good choice~

How to Choose Between Blended and Single-Origin Coffee Beans?

Blends and single-origins are the most confusing issues for many friends when buying espresso beans, both because they can't distinguish the difference between the two and because both have their own merits.

Single-Origin Coffee Beans

Single-origin coffee beans refer to coffee beans from a single producing region, that is, coffee grown from the same region or the same field and then packaged for sale is called "single-origin." Because single-origin coffee beans are not mixed with coffee beans from other regions, their characteristic is that they can perfectly display the unique flavors and characteristics of their origin. Currently, single-origin beans are the mainstream choice for pour-over coffee. The espresso made from it is called "SOE," whose full name is Single Origin Espresso, which translates to espresso made from single-origin coffee beans. The roast level of coffee beans used to make SOE is generally deeper than that of single-origin beans used for pour-over, because it needs to reduce the acidity in the coffee and enhance the intensity of the flavor. Therefore, many merchants will set multiple roast levels when selling single-origin beans. For example, Frontsteet Ethiopia · Hua Kui in FrontStreet Coffee's bean list has both a lighter roast for pour-over and a deeper roast for SOE to choose from~

Blended Coffee Beans

Blended coffee is made from two or more beans from different regions or different processing methods mixed together. There are many purposes for blending coffee, such as giving coffee beans a quality far beyond their price point (high cost-performance), higher stability, and more diverse characteristics. In short, it can achieve a 1+1>2 effect.

So everyone can see that the characteristics of the two are completely different. Single-origin beans focus on the single traceability and single flavor of the origin. If you want to taste the characteristic flavors of a certain place, then single-origin beans will be a very good choice; while blended beans focus on higher cost-performance and more comprehensive expression. If your pursuit is higher cost-performance and richer characteristics, then blended beans will be a good choice.

Should Coffee Beans Be Dark Roast or Light Roast?

Next is the issue of roast level. The main difference between dark roast and light roast coffee beans lies in their flavor. So how to choose depends on our personal preferences.

Light Roast Coffee Beans

Light roast coffee beans stop roasting in the early stages of the Maillard and caramelization reactions, so they retain abundant organic acids. The coffee's flavor will be mainly acidic, with less bitterness. And because there isn't much bitterness to mask it, fresher flavors like floral and fruity notes will be more prominent. They are more suitable for making black coffee such as Americano and pour-over, very suitable for friends who like "sweet and sour" profiles and fresh flavors. The Frontsteet Ethiopia · Hua Kui mentioned above by FrontStreet Coffee is a good example. The espresso extracted from it has a relatively soft acidity, and you can clearly taste the citrus acidity as well as light cream and floral notes when drinking it.

Dark Roast Coffee Beans

Dark roast coffee beans, on the other hand, have undergone more thorough Maillard and caramelization reactions, producing many chocolate, caramel, and nutty notes, with bitterness being the main taste when consumed. There will be some acidity, but it will almost be masked by the bitterness. The darker the roast, the stronger the bitterness and the less the acidity. If you don't like acidity and prefer high body, rich aroma, and high aftertaste, you can try dark roast coffee beans. Although there aren't as many choices for dark roast coffee as for light roast, each one is very classic. For example, Frontsteet Brazil · Queen Manor in FrontStreet Coffee's bean list produces coffee with rich nutty, creamy, and chocolate flavors when extracted; or Frontsteet Indonesia · Golden Mandheling, which produces coffee with pine, spice, and chocolate notes, and has a strong aftertaste when extracted.

It should be noted that if you are pursuing coffee crema, it's best to choose dark roast coffee beans. Because coffee crema is affected by the degree of roast and freshness, the darker and fresher the coffee beans are roasted, the richer the extracted crema will be. The same applies in reverse.

Should I Check the Roast Date When Buying Coffee Beans? Do Coffee Beans Need to Be Degassed?

FrontStreet Coffee has always recommended that everyone buy freshly roasted coffee beans, that is, ones that haven't been roasted for long. Because coffee aroma is affected by freshness, if you want to experience the complete flavor profile in coffee, then it's best to choose freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing. And when buying fresh coffee beans, many friends will raise a question: do beans need to be degassed?

If you buy coffee beans that haven't been out of the roaster for long, then FrontStreet Coffee recommends degassing them for a while. Because the abundant carbon dioxide in fresh coffee beans will hinder the extraction of hot water, affecting the stability during extraction, and the brewed coffee may not taste as good, and may even have a dry, choking sensation, especially for espresso beans. Therefore, when we buy freshly roasted coffee beans, it's best to degas them for a period of time. A degassing time of 4-7 days is sufficient, depending on the roast level of the coffee beans, because the darker the roast, the higher the carbon dioxide content, and naturally the longer the degassing time.

Should Coffee Beans Be Ground?

Finally, whether to grind or not! Under the condition that everyone has the equipment, FrontStreet Coffee still recommends grinding by yourself, because only in this way can the brewed coffee have the fullest aroma.

After coffee beans are ground into powder, their surface area increases, and because the structure is broken, the coffee aroma will begin to accelerate volatilization. So unless you don't have grinding equipment or are traveling, FrontStreet Coffee still recommends grinding fresh and brewing immediately.

So the above are the five key points we can pay attention to when choosing coffee beans. Besides the selection of coffee beans, we also need to pay attention to a few details when buying coffee beans. For example, don't buy too much at once, otherwise it may lead to a situation where a bag of beans hasn't been opened yet but it's already approaching the end of its best-by date; and after buying and returning home, we also need to pay attention to the storage method of coffee beans, try to seal them, and it's best to store them in a dry corner without direct sunlight. Otherwise, the coffee beans will accelerate spoilage, and their best-by period will be significantly shortened~

When we have mastered the above content, if we want to further advance in selecting coffee beans, we can细分到产区、处理法, and variety. FrontStreet Coffee has already shared these contents in previous articles, and interested friends can understand them through searching~

- END -

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473