How to Buy Coffee

Coffee is one of our favorite legal addictions-- the rich scent, fullbodied flavor and jolt of caffeine that everyone from paralegals to poets relies on to kick start their morning. Follow this guide to find a daily grind that suits you best.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Select a grind that is suitable for your brewing method or coffee maker (See How to Buy a Coffeemaker or Espresso Machine). Whole beans retain their flavor better during storage but you will need to have a coffee grinder in your home.

2. Experiment with different roasting techniques. Coffee beans are roasted to remove moisture and add flavor, and different roasts produce different flavors. French roast results in a full-flavored, dark bean. Italian roast is usually medium dark. Anything lighter is usually identified simply as medium or light roast.

3. Decipher labels. Estate beans are grown and processed on a single farm. Some brands achieve a consistent flavor by blending beans from various sources. Flavored coffees are infused with liquid agents, such as chocolate, vanilla or nuts, but typically don't start with the highest-quality beans. Look for 100 percent Colombian or Hawaiian-blend beans for the best quality if you're buying canned coffee in a grocery store.

4. Buy coffee from a knowledgeable source. Premium roasters, like winemakers, are very proud of their blends. A pound of beans from a gourmet shop ranges from $8 to $30 but is of unbeatable quality. Peet's Coffee and Tea (peets.com), Tully's (tullys.com) and Starbucks (starbucks.com) are all good sources, as are countless local businesses.

5. Turn your coffee drinking into an entertaining research project by studying the general characteristics of different coffee producing regions. Coffee comes from many countries and coffee-growing regions. While it's true that soil and geography matters, any bean can be roasted in different ways, resulting in many possible flavor and blend combinations. Also, pay attention to prices, which are subject to fluctuation. For example, strong demand for Hawaiian beans may drive the price up while similar beans from another region may be available for much less.

6. Arabian: Often called mocha, this coffee is one of the most ancient, with a medium to full body, rich flavor and dry aftertaste, and chocolate tones.

7. Brazilian: A medium to moderately dark roast that goes down sweet and smooth.

8. Colombian: Full-bodied, fruity and acidic, with a dark roast.

9. Costa Rican: Dry and medium-bodied, with a dark roast.

10. Ethiopian: Sweet, medium-bodied and fruity, with a dark roast.

11. Hawaiian: Delicate, dry, slightly sweet and subtle, with a medium to moderately dark roast.

12. Kenyan: Dry and acidic, with a moderately dark to dark roast.

13. Sumatran: Full-bodied and slightly fermented, with a dark roast.

14. Light roast: Many areas produce beans suitable for light roasting, although Central American coffees frequently show up in light roasts.

Tips & Warnings

• "Fair-trade coffee" is a new term and describes the effort to raise the incomes of coffee growers in developing countries. Peet's Coffee prides itself on using this program to share revenue with suppliers. If this is important to you, check out Peets.com for more information.
• Organic coffees are increasingly available.

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[EstateKona]

on 9/3/2008 Aloha coffee lovers. Great discussion. Obtaining high quality coffee from a verifiable source can sometimes be a challenge. Even some big time coffee companies have been defrauded recently. Coffee beans are just too difficult to barcode! Check out http://EstateKona.com for more info on truly estate grown Kona coffee, the history of Kona, and more great info on an amazing coffee bean grown right in the U.S.A. We also offer farmer direct 100% Single Estate Kona that is roasted upon order and shipped directly to your door. Again, great article!

[itliberty]

on 3/13/2008 Fair-Trade is great, don't get me wrong here, but it is an organization like any other. They do ensure a fair value is given to the farmer, but in some cases this does not mean more money to the farmer. It works great in countries where it is highly competitive as they may be overlooked as a premium supplier if they don't partake in the program which requires them to register (for a fee).

This is similar to labeled Bird Friendly and Organic coffees. We have found in selecting our products (for our site PoundofCoffee.com) that this formal identification is still an organized registration. Again, all of these programs are important, however to be fair to all, that doesn't mean that other coffees are not organically grown, or maintain a regulatory amount of high trees to protect bird habitats. It just means that the grower registered as such.

For the masses this is the only way a

[jamaicacoffee]

on 10/24/2007 We should add Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee to the above list as well. Blue Mountain Coffees have been renowned for centuries as the most sought after coffee in the world. Authentic Blue Mountain Coffees are very, very expensive but worth every penny. One reputable source is www.jamaicabluemountaincoffee.com. Thanks for the primer, Jerry Delince - partner JBM Traders.

[HIKC]

on 3/22/2007 Aloha from the 50th state! I really appreciated your efforts at getting customers to understand the importance of buying from a knowledgeable soure as well as your support of local roasters. If anyone out there is looking for gourmet Kona direct from Hawaii, come visit us at www.hawaiianisles.com

on 11/22/2005 Fair Trade is very important, but in order to truly take part in economic fairness, try to buy local coffee from local roasters. Specialty roasters are springing up everywhere, and with a little hunting you are sure to find one nearby. Most of these independent roasters use Fair Trade (or better yet a Relationship Coffee, where small farms who grow outstanding beans get paid handsomely for their best of the crop) and the currency stays in the local pool, which in the long term benefits everybody.