How to choose coffee beans? What should I pay attention to when buying coffee beans? What do you think of fresh coffee beans?

Guide reading

Today, when the coffee market is booming day by day, more and more friends open the door of the coffee world and see that there are so many kinds of coffee beans that they can't help but sigh, "this question is too difficult, I won't!" The front street of this article will teach you how to choose coffee beans.

The extraction method determines the type of coffee beans.

At present, the two most common types of coffee beans in the coffee market are Italian coffee beans and hand-brewed coffee beans. The reason for these two kinds of coffee is that Italian coffee and hand-brewed coffee are popular in the market, which have different extraction models. This is not to say that Italian coffee beans cannot be brewed by hand, and hand brewed coffee beans cannot be used on Italian machines, but stores will make different baking curves according to different extraction methods (roasting degrees are different). So Italian special coffee beans can perform well in making lattes and American coffee, but they may not be delicious when used for hand brewing. Similarly, hand-brewed coffee beans have the same effect in making espresso (so it is not necessarily good for individual coffee beans to make espresso).

Therefore, in the first step of buying coffee beans, the first step is to determine how you extract coffee. If you use Italian coffee machines, mocha pots, Turkish pots and other pressurized or heated extraction, it is recommended to use Italian coffee beans. For example, hand brewing, French presser, ice drop, cold extraction and other methods are recommended to use hand-made coffee beans.

Choose the flavor you like.

In front of the street, take hand-brewed coffee beans as an example, coffee beans from different producing areas, coffee beans with different treatments, and coffee beans with different roasting degrees show different flavors. As a consumer, you can look at the flavor description in the label of ripe coffee beans to find your favorite flavor. For example, light-roasted coffee beans described as lemon, citrus, flower, etc., deep-roasted coffee beans described as nuts, dark chocolate, cream, etc., such as wine, strong jam flavor and other special treatment coffee beans.

Of course, if you have some knowledge of coffee producing areas or manors, you can also buy coffee beans with their own favorite flavor of the producing areas.

Choose coffee beans or coffee powder?

Some shops that sell coffee beans also provide bean grinding service, so customers can buy coffee cooked beans and coffee powder. Both of them have their own advantages. Coffee beans can better preserve the flavor substances of coffee and show a complete flavor through fresh grinding and flushing. On the other hand, coffee powder is easier, and it is undoubtedly the best choice for those who do not have grinding equipment (some good quality grinding machines are expensive and bulky). However, pre-ground coffee powder will lead to the loss of flavor substances faster, which will certainly be inferior to freshly ground coffee in flavor.

In fact, if you have the habit of drinking coffee regularly or want more exquisite coffee, you can first be equipped with a hand mill or a small electric mill. If you have compared the taste of pre-ground coffee with freshly ground coffee, you will definitely choose freshly ground coffee when there is a choice.

Pay attention to the baking date

One more thing to note when buying coffee beans is to check the baking date. The coffee beans on the front street will be printed with the baking date on the back of the package.

In general, the best taste period of coffee is reflected in the roasting of coffee, the peak of flavor after 3-7 days of soy cultivation, and then it will be lost over time, leaving only woody flavor. The first flavor compounds lost are mainly volatile compounds such as flower and fruit aroma, while water-soluble compounds such as sugars, nuts and chocolate are relatively difficult to volatilize.

Therefore, the general coffee appreciation period is recommended in the 4th to 30th day after the baking date. Just because the taste period is over doesn't mean the coffee can't be drunk, but it will be slightly inferior in flavor. This should be distinguished from the shelf life of coffee. Generally speaking, the shelf life of ripe coffee beans is between half a year and a year.

So coffee beans are not as fresh as possible, but they don't need to be stored for too long. So pay attention to the baking date when buying coffee beans, make sure you can finish them within a fixed period of time, and avoid waste.