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 maybe looking for new espresso beans for your espresso machine? Here we will share some important points to consider when choosing espresso beans.

Rust date

The most important piece of information on a coffee bag is the roast date. Depending on the roastery, the roasting date is usually shown in slightly different places on the bag, but make sure there is a roasting date. Absolutely do NOT buy coffee that does not have a roasting date. Old coffee is very difficult to work with and is almost impossible to get good results with. Therefore, we recommend coffee that has been roasted within two weeks.

After the beans are roasted, it will begin to release carbon dioxide that was formed during the roasting process and is contained in the bean's cellular structure. Carbon dioxide gas is released slowly over time and the process increases when in contact with water or oxygen. The thick foam on top of your espresso 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 the coffee, we recommend keeping the coffee in a cool and dry space in the coffee bag or in an oxygen-tight container.

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

The rust profile

There is no set standard for how dark or light the coffee must be roasted. However, the level of roast 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 and thus will have a darker roast profile. For you who brew espresso, need to focus on the following aspects; brewing temperature, the degree of grinding, i.e. how finely or coarsely you grind your beans and last but not least the ratio between water and coffee.

Brewing recipe

Since light roasted coffee has a shorter roasting time, they have a higher density and thus 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, brew temperature of between 93 to 96 degrees with a grind that allows you to achieve a brew time of between 28 to 34 seconds.

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

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

Region and altitude

Most often, the 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, the 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 temperature, frequent rain and protected 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 there is, which in turn can slow down the cultivation process. The longer the cultivation process, the more time the coffee has to mature and form complex flavors. When the roasters write on the bag the altitude where the coffee was grown, it indicates how intense the coffee's flavors can be.

If you see roasters writing that the beans have notes of shock, caramel and blueberry, it means that if brewed correctly you can get those flavors without adding anything. To brew espresso and being able to feel these specific notes can be difficult and take you to learn. 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 whether 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 mixtures 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 as more geek coffee where you really want to enjoy the unique and specific notes and flavors that this farm can offer and is therefore recommended to drink in pure espresso form or as an Americano.

The processing process of the coffee

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, which is also called the natural method, and washed coffee. Coffee is originally a fruit. When the berries have turned red, sometimes yellow or yellow-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 gets this type of processing process usually gets the fruitiest flavors and is usually grown in the African regions. Washed coffee is the most common method because it requires the least labor and is an efficient and quick method. By washing the berries, you can separate the bean from the berries. Washed coffee usually gets a more rounded and balanced taste.

Summation

Next time you're thinking of buying a new coffee bag. Feel free to check out what the roasters have written, there is a lot of useful information about flavors, roasting date, roasting process, the roast profile and much more. By understanding what the different information means and how it can be implemented in your brewing, you can get rewarding results. Hopefully this article has provided something that can help you brew even better coffee in the future.

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.