A Beginner's Guide To Buying Great Coffee by James Hoffmann
The guide is structured into three main sections: the golden rules of buying coffee, where to buy coffee, and how to decode the information on a bag of coffee.
1. Golden Rules for Buying Coffee
The host outlines three main rules for buying better coffee:
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Buy Fresh: Coffee loses its aromatics and develops stale flavors over time due to oxidation.
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Roast Date vs. Best Before: Specialty coffee typically displays a roast date. Supermarket coffee often uses a best before date (12-24 months after roasting), which makes true freshness difficult to determine.
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Resting for Espresso: Fresher is not always better for espresso. Very fresh beans have excess CO2, which disrupts brewing; resting the coffee for seven to ten days, or sometimes longer, is recommended.
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Ideal Window: Coffee is generally at its best anywhere from one week to six weeks after roasting.
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Buy Whole Bean: Whole beans last much longer than pre-ground coffee, which begins to degrade immediately upon opening. Buying whole bean coffee offers better value and a better overall experience.
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Buy Traceable Coffee: Look for coffee from a distinct origin, such as a single farm, a cooperative, or a specific region. Traceability adds cost, which is only justified by a coffee's superior taste and quality.
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Buy Seasonally: Since different countries harvest at different times, roasters who change their offerings regularly are ensuring the raw coffee is fresh, which leads to the best possible experience.
2. Where to Buy Coffee
The video compares three main sources for purchasing coffee:
| Place to Buy | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | Convenient and generally cheaper. | Freshness is difficult to guarantee, as the supply chain is long and the product is not treated like fresh food. |
| Cafes/Coffee Shops | Convenient, you can talk to someone for recommendations, and the product is typically fresh (often 5–7 days old). You can also try before you buy. | The product may not be as fresh as buying directly online. |
| Online | Most variety, competitive price, often roasted to order, leading to the freshest product (arriving 1–2 days post-roast). Subscriptions are a good option for routine. | Requires more organization to manage freshness and resting periods. |
3. Decoding a Bag of Coffee
The final section explains how to interpret the labels to predict what the coffee will taste like:
- Roast Degree (or Strength):
- Supermarket labels use "strength" (e.g., Strength 5 for darker).
- Specialty labels use "light," "medium," or "dark," or indicate "roasted for espresso" or "filter" . If no roast is indicated, the default is typically a light to medium roast.
- Lighter Roasts = More acidity, less bitterness.
- Darker Roasts = More bitterness, less acidity.
- Identifying Body (Texture) Preferences:
- Light-Bodied: Look for terms like "delicate," "elegant," or "tea-like".
- Fuller-Bodied: Look for terms like "creamy" or "rich".
- Identifying Acidity Preferences:
- High Acidity: Look for fresh fruit words like berries, apple, or citrus.
- Low Acidity: Look for non-fruit words like caramel, treacle, nuts, or chocolate.
- Medium Acidity: Look for transformed/cooked fruit words like jammy or candied orange.
- Identifying Fermented Fruit Flavours (Funk):
- These flavors are typical in dry or natural processed coffees.
- High Funk: Look for descriptors like tropical fruit, pineapple, mango, or strawberry. If you dislike these flavors, avoid coffees explicitly labeled "natural" or "dry process".