Important things to consider when choosing espresso beans!

You have now bought a new bag of whole espresso beans and are wondering how it will taste or perhaps looking for new espresso beans for your espresso machine? Here we will share with you some important points to consider when choosing espresso beans. 

Roast date

The most important information on a coffee bag is the roast date. Depending on the roaster, the roast date is usually displayed in slightly different places on the bag, but make sure there is a roast date. Absolutely DO NOT buy coffee that does not have a roast date. Old coffee is very difficult to work with and is almost Aboutpossible to get good results with. Therefore, we recommend coffee that is roasted within two weeks.

After the beans are roasted, they will begin to release carbon dioxide, which was formed during the roasting process and is contained in the bean's cellular structure. The carbon dioxide gas is slowly released over time and the process is accelerated by contact with water or oxygen. The thick foam on top of your espresso is also called “Crema” and this is the result of the carbon dioxide that was in the espresso beans that gives the good aroma and texture. The older the coffee, the less crema and thus the coffee will be waterier and taste worse. Therefore, it is important to buy beans that are as freshly roasted as possible.

To extend the life of your coffee, we recommend keeping it in a cool, dry space in the coffee bag or in an oxygen-tight container.

Just because your coffee is getting old doesn't mean it needs to be thrown away. Before you decide to throw away precious coffee, you can first try grinding it finer to get more out of it. About If this doesn't work, you can try another brewing method that isn't as affected by how fresh the coffee is.

The rust profile

There is no set standard for how dark or light coffee should be roasted. However, the roast level can drastically change the density of the coffee beans, how easily the coffee can be extracted, and how you need to adapt your brewing to the characteristics of the bean. The longer the bean is roasted, the more the bean will lose its structure and become drier, resulting in a darker roast profile. For those who brew espresso, need to focus on the following aspects; brewing temperature, the grind level, i.e. how fine or coarse you grind your beans, and last but not least, the ratio between water and coffee.

Brewing recipe

Since light roasted Coffees have a shorter roasting time, they have a higher density and therefore it is more difficult to extract all the aromas, flavors and texture from the coffee. To counteract these difficulties, you need to brew with higher brewing temperatures, finer grinds and longer brewing times. We recommend starting with a 1:2 to 1:3 ratio of coffee to water, a brewing temperature of between 93 to 96 degrees with a grind level that allows you to achieve a brewing time of between 28 to 34 seconds.

For medium rust We can recommend a ratio of 1:1.5 to 1:2.5, a brewing temperature of around 93 degrees and a grind that allows you to brew in 25 to 30 seconds.

For dark roasted beans we would recommend starting with a ratio of 1:1 to 1:2, a slightly lower brewing temperature of 90.5 to 93 degrees with a grind that allows you to get a brewing time of 25 to 30 seconds. Just because it says dark rust on the bag does not mean you will get the best result by following our recommendation exactly, but it is a good start to experiment until you get the best result for your particular beans.

Region and altitude

Most often, coffee is named after the region where it comes from. The flavors of the coffee will also reflect the region where it comes from. Generally, coffee comes from these three regions, South and Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia which are regions that are close to the equator. Coffee plantations need rich and fertile soil, mild temperatures, frequent rain and shelter from the sun and high altitude to grow.

The best coffee beans grow between 600 and 1850 meters above sea level. The reason is that the higher the altitude, the less oxygen is available, which in turn can slow down the growing process. The longer the growing process, the more time the coffee has to mature and develop complex flavors. When roasters write on the bag the altitude at which the coffee was grown, it indicates how intense the flavors of the coffee can be.

About You see roasteries write that the beans have notes of chocolate, caramel and blueberry, this means that with proper brewing you can get such flavors without adding anything. Brewing espresso and being able to feel these specific notes can be difficult and take some learning. You are always working against the natural bitterness and acidity that comes with the coffee. The trick is to be able to get a balance between bitterness and acidity to bring out the good notes from the coffee by following the recommendations above and experimenting.

Espresso blend or single origin?

When choosing coffee, check About the bag is an espresso blend or single origin. Single Origin means that the coffee comes from only one farm. An espresso blend can mean that it is a blend from different farms and regions. Roasteries usually produce blends to get a good and well-balanced espresso beans and are a good start for those who are new to espresso brewing! Espresso blends are usually easier to brew than a Single Origin and go well with milk such as latte and cappuccino. Single Origin would be categorized more as a geek coffee where you really want to enjoy the unique and specific notes and flavors that this particular farm can offer and is therefore recommended to drink in pure espresso form or as an Americano.

The coffee processing process

After the coffee beans are harvested, they need to be processed before being shipped to the roastery. How the coffee beans are processed can determine the flavors of the coffee. The most common processing process is berry-dried coffee, also known as the natural method, and washed coffee. Coffee is originally a fruit. When the berries have turned red, sometimes yellow or yellowish-red, they are harvested and inside the berries is the coffee bean itself. In the natural process, the coffee berries are sun-dried for a few weeks until the berries are completely dry. The coffee that receives this type of processing process usually has the fruitiest flavors and is most often grown in the African regions. Washed coffee is the most common method because it requires the least labor and is an efficient and fast method. By washing the berries, you can separate the bean from the berries. Washed coffee usually has a more rounded and balanced flavor.

Summation

Next time you're thinking about buying a new coffee bag, take a look at what the roasters have written, there's a lot of useful information there. About flavors, roast date, roasting process, roast profile and much more. By understanding what the different pieces of information mean and how it can be implemented in your brewing, you can get rewarding results. Hopefully, this article has given you something that can help you brew even better coffee in the future.  

About If you are looking for something new, we can recommend our espresso beans on our website. We always sell freshly roasted beans from the finest roasteries in Sweden.