"This coffee suits you and tastes the best." You'll never read a sentence like that from me. Because taste is individual. Maybe we even like different coffee drinks.
This article is intended to help you find out which coffees and coffee beans are right for YOU.
With the 9 decision-making tips in these articles, you can find out your taste preferences and make the right decision in front of the coffee aisle.
Unfortunately, you only know whether you really like a coffee once you've had it in the cup. But if you follow these tips, you'll get closer to your favorite coffees.
1. The type of coffee drinker: espresso, mocha or filter?
If you're absolutely certain you're an espresso or filter coffee drinker, you can skip straight to the "Which Coffee for Espresso?" section. But you might also be interested in learning why your guests always want espresso or filter coffee. Because that might have something to do with you.
Any coffee drink can be good! The question is, when do you want to drink it and what effect do you want it to have?
The short espresso is consumed at the end of a meal or al volo , i.e., on a flight. It's the perfect quick treat with concentrated caffeine and flavor. One sip and it's gone! Espresso is many things, but it's not a good socializer . It simply doesn't stay in the cup for long enough.
If you're sitting at a café with your dream woman or man for an afternoon date and they order an espresso, you might be nervous. If they order filter coffee or a latte macchiato, it's quite promising. These two are the longest-lasting drinks in the coffee world and the perfect companions for conversation.
Remember: Do you want to drink coffee for a long time and comfortably?
Filter coffee, café crema, or espresso-milk blends like latte macchiato or cappuccino are ideal. Espresso is the perfect quick drink.
The quantity of the drink correlates with its strength . The smaller the drink, the higher the concentration. All drinks contain roughly the same amount of caffeine, as well as other aromas that characterize coffee. The decisive factor is the amount of coffee used , not so much the concentration of the coffee particles. You'll always get roughly the same amount from 9 g of coffee beans – whether the drink is 25 ml of espresso or 150 ml of filter coffee.
The concentration of coffee particles is especially important for the mouthfeel. The stronger the coffee concentration, the thicker the drink. A strong espresso feels heavy and creamy in the mouth.
At the same time, you'll experience a flavor explosion, as the concentrated power of the coffee grounds is diluted with only about 25 ml of water. It consists of approximately 7–10% dissolved coffee particles and, accordingly, 90–93% water.
Filter coffee is at the other end of the scale. It has only 1.0–1.5% dissolved coffee particles and 98.5–99% water. It has a tea-like consistency and feels soft and light in the mouth. The flavor is more "spread out" than espresso and not as explosive. This also gives you more time to discover different flavors with filter coffee.
Important: Filter coffee is more forgiving, simply because of the concentration! If you brew an espresso from a bitter or acidic coffee, you'll taste it 10 times stronger in the espresso because it's up to 10 times more concentrated.
Are you more of an espresso or a filter coffee person? Or are you somewhere in between, between a café crème and an Americano? Keep track of where you fall. This will determine your choice of coffee beans.
2. Light, medium or dark roast?
Before choosing beans, it's worth determining whether you prefer lighter or darker roasts. Depending on your preference, the flavor of your coffee beans won't be as important.
Basically, the lighter a roaster roasts their coffee, the more you'll taste the coffee bean. The darker the coffee, the more the flavors become more uniform. Dark roasted coffees become increasingly roasted the longer they're roasted. Light roasted coffees are a reminder that coffee itself is a fruit.
The higher the quality of a coffee, the more complex it is, and this is more evident in a light roast. But even the most complex flavors diminish when a roast becomes very dark. Roasting is a process that first chemically transforms coffee and then "burns" more and more of the substance. The end result is ash and burnt notes.
The spectrum of coffee flavors ranges from fruity, sweet, and chocolatey to roasted. If you're interested in fruity notes, you should try lighter roasts. If you prefer roasted notes, then opt for dark coffee. The range between these two extremes is recommended for adventurous coffee drinkers from both camps.
Light roasting is just as much a masterpiece of roasters as a precise dark roast. Roasts that are too light are "underdeveloped," tasting grassy and grainy. Dark roasts produce significantly more smoke. However, the coffee should taste as little of it as possible. Bread-like flavors develop when insufficient energy is applied to the roaster during longer roasting processes. This phenomenon, called "baking," is considered a roasting defect.
The art is to master the extremes of roasting in the light or darker range, or to combine both in medium roasts.
Remember: the darker the roast, the less you'll taste the diverse flavors of high-quality green coffee. The lighter the roast, the more clearly you'll notice that the green coffee isn't good and may even have off-flavors. Roasters that purchase lower-quality coffee will never roast it lightly, but will "hide" it behind the roast.
The topic of roasting is very complex and is presented here in brief.
3. Coffee beans for your happiness: Arabica or Robusta
Coffea Arabica is the more widely distributed and naturally higher-quality coffee variety. Coffea Canephora is the counterpart to Arabica and is commonly referred to as Robusta . Both species, in turn, consist of many subspecies and also occur as hybrids. The two siblings of the Coffea family could hardly be more different. They have fundamentally different flavor profiles and varying caffeine content.
Because they belong to the same family, this odd couple is regularly viewed from the same perspective. However, this perspective doesn't do justice to either and has long held back the quality development of Robusta in particular.
The flavor profile of Canephoras is robust, earthy, and full-bodied. Due to higher chlorogenic acid and twice the amount of caffeine, Canephora is more bitter. Due to the more pronounced perceived bitterness, the acidity and sweetness of Canephoras are less pronounced, resulting in limited flavor complexity in the cup. And this is where the cat bites its tail. Due to this basic requirement, the cultivation of Canephora was sometimes significantly less careful over the decades. As a result, the earthy-bitter flavor profile was intensified by off-notes and irregularities, which also leads to a generally lower price for Canephoras on the coffee market. Canephora has historically played a role in coffee blends as a robust, strong component. With a compact crema, Canephora has become the benchmark for many inexpensive espresso blends. Robusta is used extensively, particularly in southern Italian espresso blends, but also in many instant coffees.
Arabica has a diverse aroma, relatively little perceived bitterness, and more pronounced, delicate acidity. When cultivated at high altitudes and processed properly, Arabica develops enormous complexity. This basic flavor characteristic of Arabica varieties has led to further refinement of Arabica for quality. A rating profile tailored to Arabica supported this development. Today, the term "specialty coffee" refers exclusively to Arabica coffees.
Trying to compare Arabica and Canephora is like comparing apples and oranges. It doesn't do justice to either. It's all the more encouraging that more and more producers and producing countries are focusing on producing high-quality Canephora. Uganda is a pioneer in this field, having played a leading role in developing an evaluation form specifically for Canephora. This so-called " fine cup standard " will play an increasingly important role in the future. Not only because it is improving, but also because the changing climate will reduce the area under Arabica cultivation and increase that under Robusta cultivation.
When does Robusta make sense?
Robusta is perfect for those who like truly strong coffees. With plenty of oomph, caffeine, and a thick crema. Robusta is standard in robust Italian blends. Those who enjoy coffee-based milk drinks like cappuccino or latte macchiato have a robust option in Robusta. The flavor of Robusta is strong enough not to be overpowered by the milk.
When does Arabica make sense?
With their complexity and naturally occurring acidity, many Arabicas make excellent filter coffees. Varieties grown at high altitudes, harvested at full maturity and processed with precision, are particularly exciting to discover. The flavor diversity of Arabicas is enormous, so there's an Arabica variety or preparation for every drink and every taste. Arabicas can also be used for espresso roasts and blends. They can be used single-origin or as blends. The sky's the limit for experimentation.
4. Which coffee for filter coffee and French press?
The French press is one of the various filter and brewing methods. In terms of flavor, the French press, also known as a plunger, produces the same coffee as traditional filter methods like the Melitta filter, the Hario V60 filter, or other hand filters.
Filter coffee is less strong than espresso. It has a concentration of dissolved coffee particles of approximately 1.2 to 1.5%. At this concentration, almost all flavors are "moderate." More bitter coffees are also less concentrated and therefore less bitter, as are coffees with more pronounced fruit acids.
In this sense, anything is possible when it comes to filter coffee , and it's all up to your own taste. I personally recommend lighter roasted coffees for filter coffees, where the roasted notes are in the background. Filter coffee is ideal for exploring the distinct flavors of different coffee regions. Depending on the region, such as Kenya or Ethiopia, the taste of the coffee can vary considerably within a country. The difference is even greater with coffees from Central America or Papua New Guinea.
Filter-brewed coffees are perfect for exploring coffee varieties. I therefore recommend giving them a try.
Here are some taste tips:
- Kenyan coffees often taste like red berries and are my favorite coffees for cold brew .
- Ethiopian, naturally processed coffees are often floral and have notes of blue berries.
- Coffees from Dipilto in Nicaragua taste strongly of chocolate.
- The Blue Batak from Sumatra has notes of licorice.
- Brazilian coffees often have nougat-chocolate notes.
The taste of a coffee depends largely on the region, the variety, and the method of harvesting and processing. Therefore, these flavors are very general. There are also Brazilian coffees from individual farms that taste completely different.
Filter coffees from very good roasters
So many roasters roast excellent filter coffees, so any list would be too short. And, as mentioned above, it also depends largely on which roasting philosophy you prefer. Personally, I prefer filter coffees in the light to medium roast range. To discover outstanding filter coffees on the German-speaking market, I founded the Coffee Panel with sensory world champion Gloria Pedroza. We taste filter coffees and select the test winners. You can find our own filter coffees here .
5. Which coffee for espresso?
Espresso, along with Turkish coffee, is the strongest beverage in the coffee universe. In numbers, that means around 7–10% concentrated coffee particles to 90–93% water. What this amounts to in 20 to 30 milliliters is the full coffee charge. This is precisely why the internal balance of the coffee before and after brewing plays such a crucial role. At this concentration, anything unpleasant is significantly less tasty. Conveniently, the opposite is also true. Tasty is very tasty!
Therefore, the selection of coffee requires just as much care as filter coffee. And, above all, acidity should be enjoyed with caution. Important: Acidity is crucial to the complexity of any high-quality luxury item. A wine without acidity or chocolate without acidity tastes bland and boring. It's similar with coffee. The challenge is to balance this acidity with the other attributes—that is, with sweetness, bitterness, and mouthfeel.
Roasting and extraction play an important role here. Because with coffee, unlike wine, it's not enough to simply buy a good product. It must first be prepared. If you manage to balance a pronounced acidity, the espresso is almost guaranteed to be fantastic. Preparation isn't difficult and easy to learn, but it does require a certain amount of care.
That's why I recommend choosing coffees with a longer maturation, i.e., darker roast, for espresso. This makes it easier to extract these flavors during brewing.
If you feel confident, you can experiment freely. Often, a coffee package will say "for espresso" or "crema beans." This refers to the roasting method. There are no "crema beans" or "espresso beans." It depends solely on how the coffee was roasted and whether or not it's suitable for a beverage at that roast. The roaster's roasting philosophy also plays a role. For example, I use "filter coffee" from darker roasters as an espresso because it still seems balanced to me as an espresso.
What type of espresso drinker are you?
Do you swear by "Italian roasts"? Then the Robusta content probably plays a big role, and you like the bitterness of the darker roast. These roasts are also roasted by roasters in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. You don't have to reach for a brand-name Italian package. Many local roasters offer "Italian profiles." Again, the most important keywords are "dark," "strong," and often "Robusta content."
If the espresso still doesn't taste like it did in Italy or exudes the Italian barista vibe, it's either due to the preparation method, the length of the drink, or your lack of a holiday spirit. I'd argue that the espresso you get in Italy tastes so good because we're on vacation AND because the shots are much shorter and crisper. In Italy, we typically drink 15-18 ml of espresso. If 7-8 grams of coffee are used for that, it's really strong and, above all, thick. If there's a Robusta component, the spoon will almost be standing in the crema.
When we drink 40 ml of espresso from a fully automatic machine in Switzerland, it's more like a café crème than this concentrated dark espresso. Speaking of which, southern Italy and northern Italy are also quite different. The further south, the higher the Robusta content.
The opposite of Italian espresso, which impresses with its strength and bitterness, is the slightly longer, more balanced espresso. In addition to the choice of coffee, the brewing ratio plays a major role. How many grams of coffee are added to the portafilter and how much is brewed into the cup?
Personally, I like to brew with a ratio of 1:2.5, so, for example, 9 grams in the portafilter and 22.5 grams in the cup. For some coffees, I also like a ratio of 1:3, so 9 grams in the portafilter and 27 grams in the cup.
How capsule coffee is changing espresso drinkers
If you're making espresso with a 1:2 or 1:2.5 ratio and your guests find it "too strong," you're probably dealing with capsule coffee drinkers. It's astonishing how much capsule coffee consumption has already changed our beverage and coffee habits.
A capsule, regardless of the manufacturer, typically contains only about 5 to 5.5 grams of coffee. However, a conventional capsule machine dispenses a "typical beverage amount" into the cup, i.e., 25 ml or more. Many capsule machines brew 35 milliliters of espresso as standard. The brewing ratio is then effectively 1:6, and the strength of the coffee differs significantly from a "classic" espresso. This has approximately 7–10% dissolved coffee particles. Capsule espresso has a mere 3–5% dissolved coffee particles.
This makes it more like an Americano or café crème than a true espresso. Those who frequently drink this kind of espresso will get used to this flavor and may initially find it overwhelming with an espresso from a portafilter machine and a ratio of 1:2.5.
Espresso from very good roasters
Some very fine espressos have also been in my grinder recently. I particularly liked coffees from Adrianos (CH), Röstbar (DE), Stoll Kaffee (CH), Wildkaffee (DE), Rösterei Vier (DE), Flying Roasters (DE), and Felix Kaffee (AT). This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a loose selection of excellent roasters from whom I have recently had the pleasure of tasting coffees. You can find our own espresso roasts here. You can find an excellent overview with a comparison of various coffee beans in the Coffeeness blog article .
6. How to read the coffee label correctly and what not to buy
The imaginative stringing together of empty phrases reaches its peak on coffee packaging. Very often, the touted "refined crowning glory" with gentle, artisanal, long-term roasting is an artful euphemism for cheap, off-the-shelf coffee with no indication of origin.
When reading labels, I recommend a radical approach. Look for precision, especially in the supermarket. If you don't find what you're looking for, that's already an indication of the likely quality. The rule of thumb is: the more information on a package, the more the roaster knows about the coffee itself or is willing to share this information, and the higher the probability that it's of better quality.
When looking at coffee labels, the analogy to wine is helpful. If a wine says "red wine," we know we've reached the cheapest and lowest-quality shelf. Coffees labeled "Robusta" or "Arabica" fall into this category.
If you find information about the country of origin on the bottle, we're slowly moving toward better quality. But seriously – anyone who buys a wine with the blanket label "from France" isn't looking to create an elegant tasting experience, but rather to get drunk and knowingly accept the inevitable headache the next day.
What does the packaging of a high-quality coffee say?
Recommended minimum standard:
The roasting date : the date the coffee was roasted. Only if the roasting date is known can one determine whether the coffee is fresh or stale. After two months, whole bean coffee begins to noticeably deteriorate in flavor.
Origin information: country, region, producer/cooperative/processing facility. Some regions have DOC certifications, i.e., verified seals of origin.
Composition: Is the coffee a single-origin coffee or a blend? In the case of a blend, the Arabica/Robusta ratio should be stated, and the origin information should be adjusted accordingly.
Example label text on a coffee bag:
Processing information: were the coffees washed or naturally processed or experimentally processed.
Varieties: which varieties or cultivars of Arabica/Canephora are involved.
Clarification of origin information: not necessary, but lot number/name and altitude information are interesting.
Further information: Some roasters disclose the purchase price of the green coffee or information about the roasting process. This is exemplary and represents a new form of communication with consumers. Learn more in our article on transparency .
Fairtrade and organic labels don't, by themselves, say anything about the quality of a coffee. However, they do indicate that premiums and a minimum price were paid for these coffees.
And which coffees should I buy?
I recommend radicalness here. If the minimum information isn't provided, I wouldn't buy or try a coffee. The likelihood of missing out on something good is very slim. Many bargains probably won't be available. But these usually convince more with price than with quality.
The minimum information is not difficult for a roaster to learn and disclose when purchasing high-quality coffees. The excuse that "trade secrets" or "special blends" should not be disclosed is nonsense. Roasteries that win major international roasting competitions disclose their roasting curves and blends.
Secrecy is misplaced here. Industrial roasters buy the same standard coffees and blend them together again in very similar proportions. Hiding behind secret recipes for blends or origins is a fig leaf for inferior coffee qualities.
If I have the minimum information, will the coffee taste good?
Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that you'll like a coffee that lists the minimum information on the packaging. This has to be tried and tested on a case-by-case basis. However, with each bag of coffee, you'll notice whether a roaster's approach and roasting philosophy align with your taste. Try to describe as precisely as possible whether you find a coffee too bitter or sour, too smoky or mild.
Bitterness and acidity, in particular, are often confused sensorially. Train yourself by biting into a lemon as a reference for acidity and memorizing how the acid behaves in your mouth. Examples of bitterness include gentian or artichoke. Store these references in your mind and test the coffee.
If you can rule out that bitterness or acidity is due to the extraction, describe your taste experience to the roaster. Perhaps they can suggest a solution that tastes less like the one you find unpleasant. If you don't get the best results with this roaster, try another one.
Taste and taste coffee
Coffee tastings are an excellent way to sample different coffees side by side. When prepared by roasters or coffee professionals, you can be sure you're making the right choice.
Therefore, use every coffee tasting in your region as an opportunity to learn more about coffee and expand your own taste database. Many roasters hold regular tastings. Coffee festivals are also a great opportunity to sample coffees from different regions side by side.
This can also be done with guided and supervised sensory courses. We conduct sensory courses ourselves at our academy, but we can also come to you or conduct tastings at team and corporate events.
7. Which coffee is healthy and wholesome?
Coffee is neither explicitly healthy nor unhealthy. It has both beneficial and problematic effects, especially when consumed in large quantities. A common reference is "5 cups of approximately 150 ml each." The truth, as always, is somewhat more complicated and depends on many factors—not least your own physical condition.
We spoke with Professor Chahan Yeretzian about coffee and its health consequences.
At the same time, coffee contains potentially carcinogenic substances that have not been proven to be carcinogenic in coffee, but are known to be carcinogenic. We have recorded a video in English about furan and acrylamide and will be writing another article here soon.
Digestibility of coffee
How well a coffee is tolerated is closely linked to its quality and processing. It's important to remember that coffee is the seed of a fruit. Other fruits also have unpleasant side effects if they are eaten unripe or overripe. The situation is similar with coffee.
High-quality coffee is harvested selectively. This typically requires the picker to walk through the bushes three times within a few weeks, harvesting the deep red or dark yellow cherries. Coffee cherries do not ripen together on each plant. This type of harvest is very labor-intensive and correspondingly costly. Therefore, it is omitted from the production of inexpensive coffees. Instead of picking the cherries individually, the coffee is stripped by hand or even harvested mechanically.
Such uneven ripeness stages of the coffee cherries trigger several subsequent problems. They ferment differently – if they are fermented. These beans dry differently and also behave differently during roasting. As a result, the roast level is not uniform, the flavor differs, and the digestibility is altered. Very often, such beans are the key digestibility issue.
The speed and duration of roasting also affect digestibility. But that's a whole other, larger topic, again involving furan and acrylamide. You'll be best off with coffees that are roasted neither too quickly nor too light, nor too dark or for too long. We'll address this topic in our series of articles on roasting, which is at the top of our list of articles to be written.
8. The best coffee is freshly ground
Even with the best coffee and the perfect roast, the final step to the perfect coffee isn't yet complete. It's missing the fresh grind. And by fresh, I mean just before brewing. As long as coffee isn't ground, it protects itself with its own protective layer. It's then difficult for oxygen to penetrate the coffee's interior. But once the coffee is ground, its surface area increases dramatically. One bean becomes thousands of particles, which, on the one hand, release aromatic compounds into the air and, on the other, are spread out, accessible to oxygen.
At this point, an accelerated aging process begins. Within 20 minutes, even the untrained palate can taste the difference between a freshly ground coffee and one ground 20 minutes earlier.
What we're losing now isn't the coffee's basic flavor. The coffee still tastes like coffee. But it no longer tastes complex, surprising, or vibrant—it tastes just like coffee. If you extend the waiting time, the coffee will soon taste rancid, as the fats begin to oxidize. At this point, it becomes unpalatable.
Grinding freshly and yourself is highly recommended for another reason. Only then can the grind size be adjusted to your own needs and brewing method. The grind size determines the resistance of the coffee in the ground coffee, which needs to be constantly adjusted, from day to day and coffee to coffee.
Therefore, if you want to improve your coffee quality using simple methods, the first step is to switch from pre-ground to freshly ground coffee. This can also be done inexpensively. We tested 14 hand grinders suitable for filter coffee and some for espresso.
And for the record: anyone who buys pre-ground coffee has no control over the visual quality of the coffee beans . Therefore, coffee bagged industrially as ground coffee often uses lower-quality green coffee than the same coffee or brand as ground coffee.
9. The best coffee in the world
And what about this cat coffee? What's it called again? Oh yeah, Kopi Luwak. And Jamaica Blue Mountain? And Monsooned Malabar?
These three coffees have something in common: good stories and successful marketing. They have been successfully positioned on the global market and are particularly well-suited to storytelling.
They're all tasty, but they're not the best coffees in the world; they're simply expensive and overhyped. This is less of an issue with the Monsooned Malabar , and this coffee also serves a common flavor profile. It tastes nutty, somewhat earthy and Robusta-like, but is an Arabica. For many, it's an accessible espresso.
There are good Jamaica Blue Mountain coffees . What's special about this coffee, however, is its limited quantity and exclusive marketing. Here, they've achieved something we wish all coffee regions could achieve: positioning themselves as a region on the global market. This includes a small wooden barrel for transport with the Jamaica Blue Mountain.
Kopi Luwak, with all its variants, is a highly problematic development. The Indonesian civet naturally consumes a certain amount of coffee cherries. The gastrointestinal tract separates the cherry flesh from the pit. After defecating, the pit can be collected, dried, and marketed. The story is so absurd that it sells for its bizarreness. So much so that caged civets are stuffed with cherries to increase coffee production. Humans are resourceful when it comes to maximizing profits. Even larger animals are stuffed with cherries and used as fermentation channels. The resulting coffee is not of particularly high quality. But the story is perfectly suited to being picked up by the media and people. We are very clear on this point, and finally, the language fits. What is being marketed as coffee here is crap.
None of these coffees are the best in the world. In fact, they achieve very low scores in sensory comparisons with high-quality coffees. Truly exceptional coffees like Panama Gesha are rated above 90 points. The Monsooned Malabar and the Kopi Luwak struggle to score above 75 points.
Anyone looking for a country's best coffee will find it at the Cup of Excellence . In this competition, over 100 producers per country compete in the first round, with a national and international jury selecting the country's best coffee.
