If you love coffee, you know that nothing is more important than getting your morning dose of it. We all look forward to the perfect cup of coffee and the way that it hits all the right notes; it can either make or break your day. Nothing could be worse than passing by your favorite café just to receive a drink that’s below par, which is why you might stick to the blend you’re familiar with. While experimenting with different coffee types is not ideal, considering all the bad and unsatisfying cups you’ll have, you’ll be one step closer to finding the ideal blend with each try. This is why we are here to tell all coffee lovers how to find the perfect cup of coffee tailored to their needs.
Coffee Beans
Determining the right coffee bean for your taste buds is the first thing you’ll have to do. There are only two bean options, making it an easy choice to make. Arabica, the first option, is made of complex sugar. This makes it the finer bean, donating interesting and deep flavors. This bean is grown at higher altitudes, and the finest ones are found at a distance between 4000 and 6000 feet high. Robusta, the second type, is found more commonly, perhaps because it’s grown at lower altitudes. When compared to Arabica, Robusta is the mediocre alternative and is less flavorful. However, it yields more crops. Although it’s very rich in flavor, you may be surprised to learn that it has a lower caffeine content (75 – 130 mg/6-ounce cup) than Robusta (140 – 200 mg/6-ounce cup). To pierce through the heavy milk, Arabica needs to be roasted really dark to have a deeper flavor, resulting in an oily bean. You will find that most coffee shops use a Robusta blend that contains low Arabica content.
Black or Milk
Choosing the coffee blend depends on your drinking preferences. To make things easier, single origins are better for those who like their coffee black. If you drink your coffee with milk, you should choose a blend. Certain single origins are selected to create blended coffee; this results in balanced and complex espresso with a milky drink in consideration. To determine the right elements for a blend you like, you can find out all you need to know at Black Ink Coffee and how to create a customized blend catered to you. You’ll learn that blends are curated to offer more body, flavorsome brown sugars, and floral notes. Single-origin coffee, as you can deduce from the name, comes from one geographic location. Because of the varying altitudes, climate, soil, and other environmental conditions, each location contributes its own nuance. When consumed black, single-origin coffee can be better enjoyed.
Origin Selection
If you decide that single-origin coffee is the right blend for you, you may be confused as to how you can select an origin. One thing you need to know about coffee is that it likes growing in warmer latitudes, typically somewhere along the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. These latitudes are widely known as the “coffee belt.” The coffee belt is characterized by rainfall and sunlight, as well as its latitude and soil conditions. These are all elements that can affect how your coffee tastes. To give you more insight, Ethiopian beans are distinguished by their berry-like complexities and wine-infused aromas. Kenya’s coffee beans somewhat taste like juicy stone fruit. Sleek coffees, with a buttery or chocolatey feel, a pinch of fruit flavor, and soft browning sugar complexities can be found in South and Central America.
Purchasing Beans
If you want to make your own coffee, you need to think smart when purchasing the beans. Make sure to buy only small bags that will last you for just one week. The more the beans are exposed to air, the faster they’ll oxidize. This will leave them less flavorful and stale. Once you open them, they’re best used within 48 hours.
Storing Beans
When it comes to storing beans, you’ll have many opinions on how to do it right. While many people may claim that refrigerating your beans is the best storage method, you’ll end up with brittle beans, a ruined grinder, and a bad cup of coffee. Besides the hardened beans, they may also catch odors from other food, gather moisture, or freeze. The optimal way to store coffee beans is by placing them in an airtight container. You should also keep the container away from heat and light sources.
Every coffee lover knows just how satisfying a good coffee cup can be. Because no coffee connoisseur wants to risk having one that’s either too bitter or too sweet, most of us stick to the beans and blends we know. However, this makes us miss out on all the amazing coffees the world has to offer. Learn more about the different coffee types and flavors to create an even more delicious coffee blend that you can enjoy.
