Does the term ‘coffee’ give you a sense of happiness? Do you sip into a mug of freshly brewed coffee to release your stress? If you’re an enthusiastic lover of coffee, you’re reading the right space! Here you’ll know all about it. The blog throws light on the different types of coffee beans, various roasts, how you need to choose the best, and much more.
Table of Contents
How to get Coffee Beans?
Coffee is quite a relatively new brewed beverage. It’s only about 1300 years old but doesn’t it feel like it was known to humans forever? You will find the coffee plant to be a shrub that was originally found in Asia and Africa. But now you will find coffee to grow abundantly in Central and South America too.
Now, don’t you want to know how you get the different types of coffee beans? Well, before that you must know that the coffee plant bears berries. You need to pluck these berries to remove the flesh and then you get the seeds. At this stage, the coffee seeds have a greyish-green color. The coffee is now called green coffee. You will find the coffee to have a good shelf-life at this stage. So, all the selling and shipping of coffee is done when they are in the green form. The green seeds are then roasted and packaged for selling. That’s how you get your brown aromatic coffee beans.
So, now that you know how the coffee beans are formed, let’s check out the several types of coffee beans.
What are the different types of coffee beans?
You will find varying sizes, shapes, colors, and flavors of coffee beans. The coffee beans vary as it depends on the conditions and regions, they grow in. All the different types of coffee beans have various flavors and aromas. If you love coffee, then you can very well go ahead and test which one suits your palate best.
Here we will mainly discuss the four different types of coffee beans. Which are:
Liberica
Liberica coffee beans are quite scarcely produced, as they require a specific type of climate for mass production. So, it’s difficult for farmers to produce Liberica coffee beans to provide the marketplace globally. The few lucky people who could taste Liberica coffee beans said it was had an excellent flavor and was found it difficult to describe but finally termed it as woody. The aroma was a lot like the flowers and fruits.
Arabica
Arabica is most popularly grown among the other types of coffee beans. It covers more than 60% of the production of coffee beans globally. You will find that the Arabica coffee plants are grown in higher altitudes, as they require a good amount of rainfall and ample sunlight. You’ll find that these types of coffee shrubs require very high maintenance. But they are easy to grow, small in size and you can trim them easily. But they are low yield plants that are very high in demand. Thus, it sells for quite a high price. However, you will find the Arabica coffee beans to grow in various places across the globe.
Most people consider the Arabica coffee over the Robusta because of its subtle flavor and causes less chances of acidity. You can even brew your Arabica coffee at home, but select the one that has a mild taste. It has a lower amount of caffeine in comparison to other types of coffee beans.
Robusta
You will find Robusta coffee beans to be much harsher and more acidic than the Arabica coffee beans. They are even quite high in caffeine content. However, the Robusta can be grown in lower altitudes and a hot climate. You will find them to grow well in less moisture also. Coffee lovers around the world do not prefer Robusta for the harsh taste, and thus, you’ll get it for a much lower price than Arabica. But for mass-selling Robusta is the producer’s choice over the other coffee beans.
Robusta coffee plants are seen to grow in the Middle-East, Europe, and in Africa too. You will notice the Arabica coffee plants not be resilient enough as it has a low caffeine content. On the other hand, since Robust has a very high caffeine content, insects naturally don’t affect the plant. This definitely eliminates the threat that majorly affects other low-caffeine plants like Arabica.
Canephora species is the scientific name for Robusta coffee. You will find Robusta coffee plants to grow in large numbers and in all types of climates and altitudes. Robusta has earned a reputation of being rubbery or burnt, so it’s not a very popularly used coffee. As a matter of fact, this coffee reaps farmers high profits than the Arabica. So, you must be wondering where is all the Robusta coffee going? Well, Robusta is used for instant coffee and many times as a filler for dark roast coffee. You’ll also find many companies to use one part of Robusta coffee and three parts of Arabica coffee. In this way, these companies save almost 20% on the cost of raw Arabica beans.
Excelsa
The last among the types of coffee beans is Excelsa. It is part of the Liberica coffee plant, but it is an incredibly distinct species. Just as the Liberica, Excelsa is primarily grown in Southeast Asia. The Excelsa, too contributes to a very small percentage of the world’s production. Coffee enthusiasts love the fruity and tart flavor of Excelsa. You will find coffee lovers to choose Excelsa in both dark and light roasts.
Coffee Roasts
Now that you know all the different types of coffee beans, let’s know what the levels of roasting your coffee beans are. Before brewing, the green coffee is first roasted. You will find this roasting to be done using dry heat. The coffee beans vary from being light brown to absolute black in color. You must know that the flavor, color and aroma of your coffee depends much on the roasting. The three main categories of roasting levels are dark, medium and light. Let’s see in details the main categories of roasting:
Dark Roast Coffee Beans
The dark roast coffee beans are roasted till the sugar starts caramelizing and all the oil rises onto the coffee beans. You will find the dark coffee beans to have an oily appearance with a sheen in them. They tend to have a smoky and very strong taste. You may also find them to be spicy at times. But you must know that the low-grade coffee beans are usually roasted dark. The roasted flavor always overpowers the original coffee bean flavor. However, you will find the dark roast to cause little or no acidity. But you can term them as bitter. Some of the dark roast coffee beans are Expresso, Viennese, French, and Italian.
Medium Roast Coffee Beans
You will notice the medium roast coffee beans to have a chocolate brown color. They are usually dry and has a nice, full flavor. Medium coffee beans also have less chances of causing acidity. It’s got a slightly toasty and sweet taste. Since, these beans have a nice balance in its flavor, they are very popular in the coffee commercial market. You can also call the medium roast coffee beans, Breakfast, Regular Roast, and Full City too.
Light Roast Coffee Beans
Although the Light Roast coffee has a very delicate flavor, there are high chances of you getting acidity after having these coffee beans. Moreover, the original taste of the coffee beans remains in the Light roast as it’s not heated to a level where the oils can be extracted. You will find the original taste of these coffee beans to remain quite distinctly. The Light roast coffee beans are quite dry too. Some of the Light roasts are the New England Roasts, American, Half-City, and Cinnamon.
Blends
Many companies try out the blends to give their coffee a unique and complex taste, that can be difficult to describe. It’s obvious that the depth in flavor a blend give, single roasted coffee beans cannot match up to that unique taste.
What palate person are you?
You will find palates to be divided into two- front and back palate. If you’ve got a back palate, then you will enjoy coffees having a weight and depth which you’ll sense it at the back of your mouth. So, in this case, your choice of coffee beans will be Robusta and not Arabica. You might find Arabica to be a little sour and thin.
But if you have front palate, your choice would definitely be Arabica. You’ll love this type of coffee beans for the beautiful aroma and brightness it has. In this case, you’ll feel the sense in the front of your tongue and your nostrils.
But you must know Excelsa doesn’t really fall into these categories. However, it’s seen back palate people like the flavor of Liberica and front palate coffee lovers like Excelsa coffee beans better.
How to Choose What Coffee to Buy?
Before you buy your coffee, you need to know your palate and choose the right one. How you like your coffee, it’s completely your choice. By now you know that Robusta and Arabica are available easily and it is affordable too. You must also decide how you like to drink your coffee with or without cream, hot or iced. Only then you can choose the correct one among all the types of coffee beans.
If you are someone who loves black, hot, fresh coffee then the light Arabica beans is your choice. For instance, the Ethopian Yirgacheffe can be the product you can opt for. Or if you love to add some ice to your coffee or some add-ons, you can select the Knockbox Expresso.
In the entire process, it’s important you know what you’re exactly looking for, and only then you’ll buy the right one. If you’re a coffee enthusiast, then this is definitely going to be a process you’ll love.
How to Store Coffee?
By now you must have made up your mind about what coffee you want to buy. Or probably you already have it in your hand now. So, it’s time you know how you need to store your coffee. Acquiring a proper storage is extremely important. You must also know that the impact on flavor depends greatly on your storage. Some of your favorite coffee’s enemies are moisture, light, heat, and most importantly oxygen.
Make sure it comes in a airtight vacuum-sealed bag. Sellers also use a one-way valve to let the gases away from your coffee. Remember that once you’ve opened the seal, you must take extra care of your coffee beans. It is same for the all types of coffee beans. You must do this to keep your coffee beans fresh and also for a long shelf life.
You can always store your coffee beans at home in an airtight container. But you must keep it in a cool, dry and dark space of your kitchen. You may find a few people keeping their coffee in a freezer or refrigerator. By doing this, you may end up destroying the taste of the coffee beans, for the excessive humidity, absorption of rogue flavors and also the circulating air in the refrigerator. So, we recommend you to avoid doing that.
Some other things you need to keep in mind is- once you break the seal of the vacuum-sealed coffee bag, you must consume it within 2 weeks or less. You need to ensure this, to make sure the quality of the coffee doesn’t degrade. Moreover, you may even lose out on the flavor and freshness of your coffee beans.
Last Thoughts
By now you know all the types of coffee beans, what are different roasts, and how to buy and store your coffee. So, now it’s time you uncover your personal choices, what flavor you like and only then you make yourself the best coffee. However, when you’re at a store, read the label as most coffee sellers mention the origins of their coffee beans. At times, you can also try searching their designated websites to know the details of your preferred coffee beans. So, when better than now, to select the right coffee and start your day? If you’ve got the correct coffee beans for yourself, definitely thank us back!
sweety 
Rosa