Each of us relates to coffee differently. Some brew coffee only on weekends and holidays. Someone cannot wake up without coffee and starts every morning with a cup of aromatic drink, while for others, coffee is a lifestyle, and they do not part with a glass of coffee all day long.

 

How to Choose The Best Coffee for Your Lifestyle and Preferences

 

The same kind of coffee can cause completely different feelings in two people: from delight to complete rejection. Each person has their taste preferences, habits, and sensitivities. For some, coffee must be vital. For some, it is light and with notes of honey, while others prefer a soft, balanced, and creamy taste. There can be a considerable number of requests, but, fortunately, there are so wide varieties of coffee and various mixtures that for everyone you can choose "your" coffee. So when selecting a combination, every nuance matters the type of coffee and its origin, the composition of the mix, the degree of roasting, and freshness. Knowing these features will help you better navigate the wide variety of blends in the future and find the proper coffee for you.

 

When choosing coffee, first of all, pay attention to the quality of the packaging.

 

 

For packaging their coffee, manufacturers use various materials: paper and plastic bags, foil, sealed packs with a valve, aluminum cans, and barrels.

 

Coffee in a paper bag cannot be stored for a long time. This type of packaging is not hermetic, and air quickly penetrates it, detrimental to coffee beans. After a few hours, the coffee will lose most of its aroma, and you won't be able to recognize its authentic taste.

 

Also, do not store coffee in a plastic bag. Light penetrating the package walls adversely affects the grains, changing their taste and aroma. In addition, coffee beans emit gases after roasting, and if they cannot get out of the package, the coffee will go wrong.

 

A tightly sealed bag with a valve is the most common type of packaging used by large manufacturers who monitor the quality of their products. This type of packaging protects coffee during transportation, does not allow air and light to penetrate inside the packaging, and excess gases escape through a special valve.

 

Only exclusive premium varieties are packed in aluminum cans and barrels. Canned blends have more protection than bags because the coffee is not subject to the physical impact of soft packs. Coffee in aluminum cans is costly.

 

 

Each mixture has an expiration date. The date can be written in paint or stamped into the pack. The date can be written in color or stamped into the box. Suppose the coffee is packed in a tight vacuum bag with a valve or aluminum can. In that case, the manufacturer guarantees the coffee will retain its taste and aroma throughout the shelf life.

 

Therefore, if the packaging has been broken or the expiration date has expired, do not hesitate to return the product to the seller. This coffee is not recommended to drink. Choose coffee in quality packaging.

 

 

10 best coffee brands you need to try

 

Big Island Coffee Roasters

The company's history began when the new owners renovated the ruined farm and started from scratch. Then they turned to un-studio with the task of developing a brand, including a logo, packaging design, and a company website, with a separate section of the online store.

 

Lavazza

Lavazza is not only excellent Italian coffee. This is Italian coffee culture in all manifestations. It is a never-ending story of quality, taste, and innovation. Lavazza is not limited to the Italian style of coffee making.

 

Bizzy Coffee

Bizzy Coffee is made for busy people, by busy people - bringing you the highest quality cold brew coffee to make sure it fits into your busy life! Whether brewing Bizzy Organic Cold Brew Coffee or making grounds for the at-home brewers, we take special care in every process, from sourcing the highest quality ingredients to roasting and brewing each batch with meticulous detail.

 

La Colombe

La Colombe Fair Trade and Organic certified La Colombe is easily one of our favorite coffee purveyors. They work closely with the farmers who supply the beans, ensuring workers are treated fairly throughout the harvesting process.

 

Intelligentsia

Intelligentsia is a specialty coffee pioneer, rising from humble Chicago roots to a company driven by curiosity, empowerment, and the never-ending quest for the most extraordinary coffee globally.

 

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

With its innovative brewing technology, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas, and other beverages, has launched Green Mountain Coffee Organic—a new line of premium coffees that are both organic and Fair Trade Certified.

 

Melitta Colombian Supreme

It's a rich, full-bodied roast sourced from high-quality Arabica beans. To make this medium roast coffee, these beans are grown in the top coffee-producing regions of the globe. They're then batch roasted and ground down to create a pleasing, extra consistency that delivers a robust, full flavor.  This different fine grind means that you can make a satisfying Melitta Coffee Colombian Supreme cup with 30 percent less coffee. As a result, you get to enjoy a smooth, delicious, and refreshing coffee. For best results, use this fine-grind coffee with Melitta coffee filters, which are available separately, to ensure each cup is as pure and flavorful as possible.

 

Death Wish Organic Whole Bean Coffee

Death Wish Coffee is here to fuel your passion—basic brews are not invited. The highest-quality arabica + robusta beans are roasted to bold, never-bitter perfection. The result? Coffee that naturally brews double the strength of the average cup. 

 

Lavazza Espresso Italiano

Espresso Italiano is a 100% Arabica blend from Central and South America with highly aromatic notes, delicious flavor, and a rich body. The long-roasted coffee beans give it its distinctive Italian espresso taste.

 

Peet’s Coffee Big Bang

Peet's has incredibly fresh, high-quality coffee, and those new to the chain will recognize the superior quality on the first sip. It's no surprise that one of their top sellers is a single-origin coffee from Guatemala.

 

Are you a coffee lover? Try the 10 best coffee presented above

 

Choose the degree of roasting

Coffee beans are roasted to acquire a unique taste, which depends on the number of essential oils inside the bean (there are about 600 types) and the degree of their manifestation during the roasting process. In other words, the taste and aroma of the drink depend not only on the kind of coffee but also on the degree of roasting of the beans - this information is reflected on the packaging in the form of numbers - from 1 (weak roast) to 5 (strong roast). The choice, in this case, depends solely on taste preferences; however, pay attention to the date of roasting, remembering that roasted beans retain their aroma for a month, and the more time has passed from this moment, the more coffee loses its taste.

 

Roasting levels:

 

• Scandinavian (super-light) roasting gives the coffee tenderness and softness; the color of the beans is light brown, almost beige.
• American (medium) roast contributes to the appearance of a slight bitterness in the taste. The color of the beans is a rich brown. Still, this type of roast does not allow the manifestation of essential oils on the surface of the beans, so the taste and aroma are revealed only by a slight hint.
• Viennese roast - the beans darken and become shiny due to the manifestation of essential oils, and sweetish notes appear in the taste of coffee.
• French (strong) roasting gives the grains an intense chocolate color, and the taste acquires a pleasant bitterness and astringency.
• Italian (powerful) roasting is recognizable by black oily grains, and the drink acquires extraordinary expressiveness, velvety, and richness - this is a real bitter coffee in the classic version.

 

Ground or bean coffee

Since coffee begins to lose flavor immediately after grinding, it's best to buy whole coffee beans and grind them yourself before brewing - at least that's what fussy coffee drinkers do. If you prefer ground coffee, pay attention to the degree of grinding:

 

• Coarse grinding (the cheapest) lasts no more than 10 seconds, suitable for a piston coffee maker, and is infused up to 7 minutes.
• Medium grinding lasts up to 14 seconds, is suitable for any coffee makers and Turks, and infused up to 5 minutes.
• Fine grinding lasts 20 seconds, is designed for filter coffee makers, and infused for 3 minutes.
• Fine Espresso - This grind produces a coffee "ground" ideal for espresso coffee makers and Turkish coffee in a cezve.
• Unscrupulous manufacturers often dilute ground coffee with various mixtures that are easily detected at home - if you throw a pinch of coffee into a glass container with cold water. It turns brown. You have a fake that has nothing to do with real coffee.

 

Natural or flavored

The coffee departments offer a large selection of flavored coffees with hints of vanilla, Irish whiskey, orange, amaretto, and chocolate, but keep in mind that these are chemical and not natural additives. If you want to enjoy the real taste of coffee without extraneous notes, buy beans without additional aromatic "decor."

 

Winston Churchill said that coffee is a very personal drink, so, like good cognac, you should not drink it in giant mugs. And John Galsworthy believed that there are things that cannot be faithful - for example, coffee. However, if you belong to the category of gourmets who change coffee like gloves, treat each variety personally and do not neglect the quality. In this case, unearthly pleasure is guaranteed!