Coffee Basics

– Everything to Know About Types, Roasts & Storage –

Many people have one thing in common every morning.

One of the first things they will do is drink and enjoy an energizing cup of coffee. Nowadays, you can find the dark, empowering liquid all around the entire world.

In fact, coffee is one of the most popular beverages in our modern world. It can proudly look back on a rich and fascinating history of itself. And, it is further growing and re-innovating itself with every new day on the horizon.

There are literally hundreds of different drinks you can try and make yourself. From the most popular versions to rather unique and strange drinks.

Plus, coffee comes with a lot of great health benefits. Some coffee lovers even say that it makes them happier and live longer.

Naturally, coffee is a brewed beverage. You are essentially making it from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, or simply coffee beans, as we all commonly call them.

Furthermore, the coffee plant predominantly grows in the subtropical regions of America, Africa and Asia.

This article will help us to reach a broader and hopefully better understanding of the coffee basics and everything surrounding these.

Here is an overview of coffee types, roasts and how to properly store it.

1. Types & Varieties of the Coffee Bean

The Coffee Bean

Once farmers harvested the coffee berries of the plant, the fruit’s flesh is being removed and discarded. Only the seeds are left and further processed.

If you would like to learn more about the entire coffee journey and its various processing steps, then please click here.

In general and before roasting our coffee beans, they do have a grey-green color. And therefore, the beans are typically referred to as simply green coffee.

Furthermore, because the green and unroasted coffee is more shelf-stable and durable, coffee traders commonly sell and ship it across the world at this point.

The coffee bean can greatly vary in its actual size, shape and color.

This mostly depends on the region and conditions in which the coffee was growing. Moreover, when tasting and working with different types and varieties from all over the world, you can experience a wide range of unique flavors and aromas.

This allows us to experiment and try different varietals. So, we can discover the possibly best bean type according to our very own preference.

Overall, the great majority of most regional varietals fall into two main categories. And, these would be Arabica and Robusta coffee, which basically dominate today’s entire world market of coffee.

Arabica Coffee

Approximately 60% all of world’s coffee is coming from Arabica beans. Whereas, the remaining 40% are roughly originating from Robusta beans.

Typically, coffee drinkers consider Arabica coffee to be superior to Robusta.

Because, it normally has a more delicate flavor for most coffee consumers. And, it also has lower acidity, which many people prefer.

In addition, Arabica coffee beans usually grow at higher altitudes than Robusta beans. This can make them more costly and difficult to grow. But, coffee farmers and traders also able to sell these high-demand beans from these more labor-intensive and low-yield plants for a higher price.

Usually, Arabica coffee stands for good quality and supreme taste. Hence, it is more expensive.

This article will share more insights and the main differences between Arabica and Robusta coffee beans with you.

Robusta Coffee

However, this doesn’t mean that Robusta coffee is generally worse quality and worse tasting coffee. In fact, there are many great tasting Robusta varieties out there as well.

Commonly, Robusta coffee tends to have a more acidic and harsh flavor than most Arabica types in comparison.

Plus, the variety naturally comes with higher levels of caffeine.

Furthermore, coffee farmers can grow Robusta at lower altitudes, in hotter climates, and with less moisture.

All in all, we can say that the Robusta coffee plant and its beans are more robust.

Since it is easier and cheaper to grow Robusta and since the type generally has a less desirable flavor, you can usually find Robusta coffee products at a lower price than Arabica beans.

In fact, most mass-market commercial beans come from the Robusta variety. Especially the majority of instant coffee products are made of this type.

For more information, you can read further about Arabica here. And, more about Robusta coffee in this article.

2. Roasting Coffee & Levels

Before we can brew and drink our coffee, we must prepare and roast our green coffee beans, first.

Commonly, we are roasting coffee beans with dry heat. And, we are doing this with constant agitation or stirring in order to ensure an even process of heating.

The range of roasts and its particular roast levels can vary from a rather light and golden brown, all the way to a dark or even almost black color appearance.

In fact, the exact amount of chosen roasting time has quite a significant effect on the final flavor, aroma, and also the color of the brewed coffee.

Overall, there is a great variety of roast levels. However, you can basically group them into three main categories. And, these would be light, medium and dark.

Roast Levels

• Light

Coffee lovers usually say that light roasts are providing the lightest, most delicate flavors. Plus, they can often be more acidic.

In general, the longer you are roasting your coffee beans the lesser flavor remains in them.

Therefore, light roasted coffee beans commonly allow the original flavor of the coffee bean to shine through the most.

That is also why the majority of high-quality, premium beans or varieties are often roasted lightly. So, we can still taste and experience the very unique and original flavor of these types.

In addition, light roasted coffee beans rather appear to be dry. Because they have not been heated to the point where the oil is extracted from the beans yet.

Popular varieties of light roast levels include Cinnamon, American, Half-City, and New England Roasts, for example.

• Medium

Typically, when you are medium-roasting beans they will have a chocolate brown color, dry surface and full flavor.

In addition, these beans have less acidity. Plus, they are usually slightly sweet and have a toasty flavor.

Many people find medium –roasted coffee to provide the best balanced flavor and acidity. Hence, it is the most popular roast within the major commercial coffee market. Some of the most popular medium roasts are Full City, Breakfast or Regular Roast.

• Dark

When making dark-roasted coffee, you are basically roasting your beans until the sugars inside begin to caramelize. And, the oils will begin to rise to the surface of the bean as well.

The eventual look and taste depends of the degree of darkness. It can either have a slight sheen or an oily appearance in the end.

Generally speaking, the flavor of dark-roasted coffee is quite strong, smoky and sometimes spicy.

Furthermore, you will typically not taste the original and natural coffee bean flavor anymore. In fact, the original flavor of the bean will be overpowered by the roasted flavor itself. Due to the original flavor not having such an impact or importance anymore, lower quality beans are often used for darker roasts.

But, this is not always the case. There are also many premium dark roasts out there. Plus, the very popular Espresso drink and all of its widely consumed drink versions, such as Latte, Cappuccino and Flat White are also usually made with dark roasted coffee.

Common dark roasts are French, Viennese, Italian and Espresso.

• Blends

Many coffee roasters also like to work with blends, so they can achieve unique flavor profiles.

For this, the roasters will create custom blends with two or more roasting levels. The goal is to provide a depth of flavor and complexity that you cannot achieve with a single roast.

If you would like to learn more about Roast Levels, then you can find the related article here.

3. Caffeine – The Energy Boost

Undoubtedly, many coffee enthusiasts appreciate their daily cup because of the caffeine content inside.

The exact amount of caffeine per cup can vary greatly. It mainly depends on three factors, namely on the type of bean being used, the brewing method and the size of your cup, of course.

In general, caffeine can provide us with many great benefits. However, excessive overconsumption may also lead to health risks and trigger certain withdrawal effects.

This article shows you how much caffeine may actually be too much.

Decaffeination

Out of various reasons though, not every regular coffee consumer likes to have caffeine in his or her cup. Therefore, the alternative of decaf coffee has become a popular beverage option all around the world.

During the process of decaffeination most of the caffeine is removed. But, some trace amounts will still remain.

The international standard for decaffeination requires that 97% of all existing caffeine is being removed for any product you wish to sell on the market. Whereas, the European’s Union standard is even stricter. Here, it is required that no less than 99.9 % is eventually removed before offering to potential customers.

Furthermore, most of the methods of decaffeination more or less follow the same basic principle.

You are soaking the beans in water, first. This allows caffeine and other flavor chemicals to leach out of the beans. After, the extracted liquid is either passing through a filter. Or, you are mixing it with a solvent, which only removes the caffeine but leaves all of the beneficial compounds. Finally, you are re-introducing the now flavor-rich, caffeine deficient solution to the beans again. And, the beans are then reabsorbing it, which gives you decaf coffee in the end.

In addition, you can also find more info about decaf coffee here.

Other Decaffeination Methods or Solutions

Recently, especially the Swiss Water Method is becoming more popular. Because this very unique technique only removes the caffeine inside a bean and nothing else. However, the entire process takes quite long and is more work-intensive.

Besides the main methods, there are also other optional solvents, that can be used during the decaffeination process. For example, these include carbon dioxide, ethyl acetate, or triglycerides.

Overall, each method has its very own advantages and disadvantages. Which one manufacturer may eventually choose for their own production usually depends on matters such as cost, time, labor and the desired effect on the final product flavor.

Quite interestingly, there is also a lot of research about potentially producing coffee plants that do not have caffeine at all in the first place. Technically speaking, these plants would be deficient in the caffeine synthase gene then. And therefore, they would naturally not produce any caffeine themselves.

As a result, this would of course eliminate the need for the decaffeination process. And, it would also not only reduce costs. But, these beans would also keep the original flavor completely intact.

4. How to Store Coffee

Storing your coffee properly will eventually have a great impact on the flavor and taste of your brewed cup.

Typically, a coffee’s flavor can lose quality by various factors. For example, these include too much exposure to heat, oxygen, light, and moisture.

That is also why most of the commercial coffee products are sold in vacuum-sealed bags and with one-way valves. This allows gasses to escape while preventing oxygen from entering the bag the same time. As a result, the coffee can be stored much longer and will not lose much of its flavor and aroma over time.

Once you are breaking the seal of your bag though, you need to be extra cautious to further keep your coffee flavorful and fresh.

Ideally, you should store your coffee beans in an airtight container in a cool, dark and dry place.

Some people are favoring and even arguing that keeping coffee beans in your refrigerator or freezer may even be better. However, this can also potentially lead to other issues. There may be too much exposure to circulating air or excess humidity. And, your coffee might absorb flavors from other food.

After you roasted your beans and opened the bag, it is best to use them within the next two weeks.

Therefore, you should maybe always just open as much coffee as you will really need. Plus, you can just further store the rest in sealed bags or proper containers.

When you are enjoying your daily cup of coffee, there are many great ways to even make it super healthy the same.

This article shares some great tips with you. On top, you may also consider trying various milk alternatives and maybe even some interesting natural sugar substitutes.

Final Thoughts – Coffee Basics

Our own created coffee universe is further expanding every day.

And with it, more research, new creations and varieties, as well as more detailed coffee basics and essentials are entering our daily lives.

These seemingly little, but so empowering, coffee beans are truly remarkable and amazing in many regards.

So, how about you and your thoughts on this?

What other crucial points should be mentioned and considered as coffee basics? What is your favorite coffee drink and type? How do you usually make your coffee?

Do you use any milk, sugar, or other additives? And, how do you store your coffee at home yourself?

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with us.

Until then, stay safe, healthy and properly caffeinated.

Cheers!