Enjoying a hot cup of coffee from a favourite cafe is a treat enjoyed by the masses, but there are many reasons why people are choosing home brewed over barista made. Perhaps they’re cutting back on spending in this expensive period, wanting to save time, or maybe they’re trying to master a new culinary skill - and yes, we consider the making of coffee both a science and an art!
In a time where there are more coffee varieties than ever before, new flavours and roasting methods, infinite information to sort through and an abundance of trendy packaging to distract from what’s most important (the contents within!), choosing the right coffee has never been so overwhelming. So whether you’re a seasoned home coffee connoisseur, or dipping your toe in the water for the first time, we’ve put together this foolproof 6 step guide to help you find the best specialty coffee beans for you, every time.
#1: Choosing the right roaster
Unlike home brewed beer, home brewed coffee does not mean a sacrifice on taste or quality. In fact, with a myriad of specialty coffee roasters in Melbourne and across Australia, the opposite is true if you know what to look for.
Which brings us to our first tip - always buy direct from a specialty coffee roaster. When you buy coffee bags from a supermarket, there’s a high chance they’ve been sitting there for weeks, maybe even months past their roasting date. Like all agricultural products, coffee beans are best when fresh and any good specialty coffee roaster will send out coffee shortly after it’s roasted. We recommend checking if it’s roasted on site (for better quality control) and that roasting date is clearly shown on each coffee bag.
One surefire way to decide on a specialty coffee roaster is to narrow it down to those whose values align with yours. You might be most concerned about paying farmer’s fairly, shopping local, supporting a social enterprise, consuming an organic product or finding a sustainable coffee roaster that combats carbon emissions. Personally, we like our coffee small-batch, ethical and regenerative, with a side of trees 😉
#2: What is the best type of coffee?
There are two coffee species that make up 99% of what we consume - robusta and arabica.
Robusta by name, robust by nature. As the name suggests, robusta coffee is more resistant to disease, climate change and harsh weather. Robusta plants are big and strong, and with many branches producing many cherries, each individual bean has less access to nutrients, causing a second-rate coffee. Because of this, most robusta beans are turned into low-grade blends or instant coffee.
On the other hand, arabica coffee is more susceptible to disease, impacts from climate change and harsh weather. However, with fewer branches and cherries, each bean gets more nutrients which leads to more complex flavour profiles. This diversity in flavours, from fruity to floral to rich, is why arabica coffee is the favourite of the specialty coffee industry, and the reason you should always look out for 100% arabica beans when buying coffee.
#3: Blend or single origin
A single origin coffee is one that’s sourced from a single geographical location, like a farm or region, allowing you to experience a more exotic and robust flavour profile. With single origin beans, drinkers also enjoy the unique characteristics from a particular growing area, and they know which farming communities their purchase is supporting. While frequently enjoyed with milk, single origin is the best pick for those who drink black coffee as it lets the subtle flavours of the region shine.
On the other hand, blends combine beans from different origins to manufacture flavour profiles that would be impossible to achieve with single origin coffee. The process of blending originated to help mask unfavourable flavours but the practice has since evolved to focus on producing complementary combinations. While blends can provide interesting flavours, they often lose the unique elements of a country or farm’s coffee. This is why blends are usually enjoyed with milk rather than black. A word of warning though - with blends you rarely know what percentage of which beans are contained within. This means you could get a “premium” blend with only 2% of the premium bean and the rest made up of cheaper coffee.
Call us biased, but we like our coffee how we like our wine and farmed produce - from a single source, grown in an area that lends itself to unique flavour profiles, and consumed the way the farmers intended.
#4: How to pick a coffee roast profile
Coffee starts as a cherry, before the bean inside is extracted and processed, leaving behind what's known as a green bean. But it’s not until these green beans are roasted that they start to resemble the coffee you know and love. This is where specialty coffee roasters and the science of coffee roasting comes in!
As a general rule, a lighter roast allows the natural flavour profile of the coffee to remain intact, resulting in a vibrant, acidic taste with minimal bitterness. As the roast gets darker, you start to lose the original flavours of the bean as they begin to take on flavours from the roasting process itself. A medium roast is a great middle point, as it maintains those original flavours while mellowing the acidity with an added sweetness.
If you’re not sure which option sounds more up your alley, don’t fret because there’s a simple way to choose. Generally, coffee is roasted to different levels depending on the intended brewing method - light to medium roasts are usually used for filter coffee (plunger, v60, AeroPress, cold brew, pour over and batch brew) while darker roasts are usually best for espresso (stove top, moka pot and espresso machines). So when in doubt, pick the roasting profile that’s best suited to your home coffee brewing method. Easy!
#5: Selecting a grind
Presuming you have your home coffee equipment all set up and ready to go, this should be the easiest part! Each brewing method uses a different grind, ranging from the finest (espresso) to the coarsest (cold brew), so you can select your grind accordingly. Bonus points if you have your own coffee grinder to do the hard work at home! Whole beans stay fresher for longer than ground beans so if home grinding is an option, you’ll definitely yield the best results, for longer.
#6. Which size is right?
Well that depends on how much coffee your household consumes in two to four weeks! If you store coffee correctly, you’ll enjoy peak flavour and freshness for up to two weeks, but it’s still good for another two weeks after this.
If we consider that around 20g of coffee goes into one cuppa (which equates to a single shot filter coffee or a double shot espresso), then a quick calculation tells us that a 200g bag will make roughly 10 coffees, a 500g bag will make 25 and a 1kg bag will make about 50 cuppas.
Simply guestimate how many coffees your household will consume in two (to four) weeks and voila, size sorted!
A cheat sheet to Corner Store Coffee!
After all that, if you’ve decided that a Corner Store Coffee is the one for you (go you!) follow this quick little guide to finding the best coffee for your cup. Head to our coffee shop to put it into practice!
FAQ
What is the best coffee for plunger?
The best coffee for plunger is a medium roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for your coffee ground for plunger. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for v60?
The best coffee for v60 is a medium roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for v60. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for AeroPress?
The best coffee for AeroPress is a medium roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for AeroPress. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for cold brew?
The best coffee for cold brew is a medium roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for cold brew. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for pour over?
The best coffee for pour over is a medium roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for pour over. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for batch brew?
The best coffee for batch brew is a medium roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for batch brew. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for moka pot / stove top?
The best coffee for moka pot / stove top is a dark roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for moka pot or stove pot. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.
What is the best coffee for an espresso machine?
The best coffee for an espresso machine is a dark roast. If you have a coffee grinder at home, go with whole beans, otherwise ask for coffee ground for espresso. Both our Tasakina and Letefaho would be a great choice but we recommend trying our Tasakina if you like your coffee black or Letefaho if you drink your coffee with milk.