If you want to turn your kitchen into the coffee shop of your dreams, you’ve got options. Channeling your inner barista begins with picking the perfect type of beans, but with so many different roast styles and flavors, there can almost be too much to choose from. While the complex world of coffee beans can seem intimidating at first, our fool-proof guide will help make it easy for you.
Key takeaways
- The best coffee beans for you depend on your preferred flavor profile, brewing method, and how much brightness, sweetness, or body you enjoy in a cup
- Arabica and robusta are the two main types of coffee beans, with arabica offering a sweeter, more complex profile and robusta producing a stronger, more bitter taste
- Roast level, origin, processing method, and tasting notes can all help you predict how a coffee will taste before you brew it
- Experimenting with different beans is the easiest way to discover whether you prefer bright and floral, nutty and chocolatey, or sweet and fruity coffee
What Are The Different Types of Coffee Beans?
There is an endless variety of coffee beans from around the world, which can be broken down into two main categories: arabica and robusta.
- Arabica: Arabica coffee has clear and present acidity and offers a sweet and complex yet sometimes delicate flavor. It is known for being sweet and flavorful and is a great go-to for everyday sipping as it suits most pallets.
- Robusta: Robusta coffee tends to produce a more bitter taste — a sharp contrast to the sweet flavors and pleasant acidity produced by Arabica beans. Robusta coffee is generally easier to obain, given its ability to grow in a wider variety of climates, at lower altitudes, and its greater resistance to disease.
It’s also important to understand where your coffee originates from due to the impact that the soil, topography, and climate – aka terroir – plays in producing various types of beans. Coffee in Central America, for example, is generally known to be mellower in acidity, smooth, slightly nutty, and slightly fruity in taste. Coffee in Africa is a bit brighter and more floral in taste with hints of berries. The tastes can be dramatically different based on climate and location alone.
Just like location, altitude plays a key factor when choosing coffee beans. Generally speaking, the higher a coffee plant is grown, the sweeter the overall flavor will be. Given the cooler temperatures at high altitudes, the growth of coffee plants slows the higher you go, resulting in distinctive, complex, and exciting flavors.
There’s one more important factor to note (are you writing this down?) – coffee can be single origin or a blend. Single-origin coffee means that it contains beans from one location only. Blend coffee is made up of beans from various locations. The difference? You guessed it – the taste.
Unlike single-origin coffee, blended coffee tends to be fuller-bodied because various beans are used to create a balanced profile. If you’re not sure which you prefer, try testing out different types to take your taste buds on a joy ride and find your perfect taste match.
What to Look for When Choosing Coffee Beans
The world is filled with an endless range of coffee varieties so to understand your personal flavor profile and preferences you need to do a bit of experimentation. However, trying every bean available to you would be a life-long journey. Luckily, we’ve got the secret to speeding up the process.
Learning to decipher the label is an easy way to select the type of coffee beans you want to brew. Factors like origin, varietal/cultivar, roast level, and tasting notes are the key to unlocking the taste profile before you give it a try! You can learn all about the different terms and what they mean here.
Lastly, some coffee beans are known for being high in brightness or complexity while others are a bit milder. It also helps to understand the various flavors advertised on each package, such as chocolate, citrus, and more – so pay attention to what it says on your bag of beans.
How Roast Level Affects Flavor (and Influences Your Choice)
Roast level gives one of the quickest clues to how your coffee beans may taste. Light roasts usually preserve more of the bean’s original character, which means they can taste brighter, more acidic, more floral, or more fruit-forward. If you like a lively cup with lots of nuance, a light roast is a great place to start.
Medium roasts tend to sit right in the sweet spot. They often balance brightness with a little more body, sweetness, and roundness, making them a beginner-friendly option if you’re still figuring out what you like.
Dark roasts, on the other hand, usually have a fuller body with deeper, roastier flavors like dark chocolate, toasted nuts, or caramelized sugar, but they can also taste more bitter or smoky.
If you’re not sure which roast level to choose, start with a medium roast and work your way lighter or darker from there. Think of it as a flavor dial: lighter roasts highlight brightness and complexity, while darker roasts emphasize richness and intensity.
How to Discover Your Flavor Profile
If you’re new to the world of coffee, discovering your flavor profile is the first step in brewing the perfect cup of coffee at home. Your preferred flavor profile helps you understand the different types of coffee that are suitable for your tastes.
One of the best ways to decide whether or not a certain type of coffee is right for you is by using your sense of smell. The coffee’s aroma can be a great indicator of its flavor profile.
If you’re still not sure, the best thing you can do is taste the coffee. Just like wine, a coffee tasting is a must if you want to curate a collection of coffee beans that make your mornings more delicious.
Here at Fellow, we’ve made discovering your flavor profile easier than ever. We’ve separated our coffee into three sections:
These categories give you a head start when picking out new types of coffee. With a bit of trial and error, you’ll find your personal flavor profile in no time.
Should You Choose Different Types of Beans for Different Coffee Brewing Methods?
Depending on the type of brewing method you’re using, you may prefer to stick with a certain type of bean. Here are some recommended grind settings to guarantee a great cup of coffee.
- Coarse: Coarse beans work well in a cold brew or a French Press.
- Medium-coarse: Medium-coarse coffee is great with an auto drip coffee maker or some pour-overs.
- Medium: Medium coffee pairs well with pour-over coffee or some smaller-dose machine drip coffee.
- Fine: Fine coffee is recommended in standard espresso makers.
- Extra-fine: Extra-fine coffee grounds work well for styles such as Turkish coffee.
Ready to start exploring different types of coffee? Sign up for a monthly coffee subscription for a different taste each month, or visit our online shop to pick and choose your coffee beans.
FAQs about Coffee Beans
What is the 15-15-15 coffee rule?
The 15-15-15 coffee rule is a freshness guideline that says green coffee is best used within about 15 months of harvest, roasted coffee is best within about 15 days of roasting, and ground coffee is best within about 15 minutes of grinding. For the best flavor at home, buy freshly roasted whole beans and grind them right before brewing.
How to identify good quality coffee beans?
Good quality coffee beans usually have clear information on the bag, including origin, roast level, tasting notes, processing method, and ideally a roast date. The beans should smell fresh and aromatic, look relatively consistent, and taste clean, balanced, and pleasant rather than stale, flat, or overly bitter.
What are the 4 types of coffee beans?
The four main coffee bean types are arabica, robusta, liberica, and excelsa. Arabica and robusta are the most common, with arabica known for its sweeter, more complex flavor and robusta known for its stronger, more bitter taste.
What is the best machine for cafe-quality drip coffee?
For true cafe-quality drip at home, you need a machine that offers to-the-degree temperature control and precise water distribution. We highly recommend the Aiden Precision Coffee Maker. It functions like an automated pour-over, allowing you to dial in everything from bloom time to exact brew temperatures, bringing specialty coffee standards straight to your countertop.
