Collection: Coffee

The best coffee comes from freshly roasted coffee beans. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, we recommend choosing the coffee with the roasting date (not only the expiration date!) on the package, and choose the freshest beans possible.

It is extremely important to us that the freshest coffee reaches you, so we roast coffee in small batches, that is, we do not stock up on roasted coffee. This ensures that you will always drink coffee that will remain at its best for a long time.

Just keep in mind that if we roasted the coffee yesterday or today, it is better to keep it on the shelf for a few more days before consumption, to let it evaporate a little. Coffee reaches its peak flavor from about the 4th day after roasting and remains there for about 2 months. Later, it slowly loses its taste properties. In contact with the air, receiving direct sunlight, ground coffee also evaporates faster. Read more about how to store coffee correctly here .

It is interesting that even 3-4 days after roasting, the coffee may not taste good (sometimes it is liquid, or you can feel the aftertaste of metal, etc.), because the CO2 gas is still actively released in the bean. You will identify this by seeing the coffee bag slightly expand as it fills with gas.

There are 3 types of coffee in total - Arabica, Robusta and Liberica, but the latter is not actually grown commercially (it is used to make instant coffee). Arabica is considered the most valuable type of coffee because of its taste qualities. It often fascinates with various aftertastes that do not even resemble the traditional taste of coffee. Arabica grows higher in the mountains, is more vulnerable to climatic and natural conditions, is softer and more vulnerable. Therefore, it is more difficult to grow and suffers from diseases more often than Robusta coffee. So, not only because of the taste, but also because of the botanical properties, the price of Arabica coffee is higher than that of Robusta, but its name has long become a sign of high quality coffee. By choosing Arabica beans, you can expect more subtle aftertaste nuances. Meanwhile, Robusta coffee is not drunk pure. Although it is popular in Vietnam, where it is grown the most, even there it is flavored with condensed milk. Robusta is usually mixed with Arabica. it gives the coffee mixture a stronger, bitter aftertaste that many of us are used to and often refer to as the classic coffee taste.

Interestingly, you can predict the aftertastes of coffee even if they are not indicated on the package. It is enough for you to know which continent the coffee came from, that is, where the coffee grew. African coffee is usually more sour, fruitier. Main aftertastes: citrus, various berries. Asian coffee is often characterized by more bitter and spicy aftertastes and a thick body. Dominant notes: spices, tobacco, wood, chocolate. South American coffees have smooth aftertastes and an overall balanced taste, with chocolate and fruity aftertastes to look for. A little higher, in Central America, the coffee's taste characteristics become stronger, the coffee is thicker, has a stronger body, and in addition, sweet, smoky, nutty aftertastes are characteristic. Various coffee blends are quite popular in the coffee world, which are characterized by balanced, milder flavors, usually this coffee does not have bright specific notes.

Coffees of one type and specific origin (not mixed with others) rated with a high score are called specialty. They are valued for their exceptional and extremely bright aftertastes. Read more about quality coffee here . And here we describe in more detail why it is worth choosing quality coffee beans .

We have already discussed that Arabica coffee grows higher than Robusta. Indeed, the Arabica plant grows from about 800 m above sea level (English masl) to as much as 2.5 km above sea level! Often, like the origin of the coffee, the height of growth determines certain taste characteristics of the coffee. Coffee grown in the highlands is exposed to harsher climates and often has complex aftertastes.

In the highlands, cooler temperatures cause the coffee plant to grow more slowly, so the plants focus more on reproduction, which equates to producing berries and beans (their seeds)! The plant accumulates more sugars in the beans, which create the most wonderful coffee flavor notes. Higher elevations also have better drainage. As a result, the beans contain less water, which leads to an even higher concentration of sugars.

Which growth height to choose depends on your taste preferences. Coffee grown at a higher altitude, above 1,300 meters, is usually more acidic, fruitier, with more citrus, fruity, berry aftertastes. Great examples are coffee from Colombia , Ethiopia , Rwanda and Burundi . If you are looking for a milder tasting coffee, it is better to choose a coffee grown at a lower altitude, such as Brazilian coffee , Indonesia .

The coffee bean processing stages between picking the berries and roasting the coffee beans play a very significant role in the formation of the coffee's taste. Essential ways of processing coffee beans: • Natural, dry (English natural) – the bean dries together with the picked berry, taking on more fruity, complex and sweet aftertastes from the berry. • Wet, wet (English wet) – the bean is completely washed before drying, no berry residue is left behind. Beans treated in this way have clean, bright aftertastes, and are often more acidic. • Honey processing method is an intermediate option, where the berry is washed, but the husk is left, and sometimes the berry itself is not removed very cleanly. • Anaerobic fermentation is a processing process where the bean is kept without oxygen for a certain period of time, fermented in pressure vessels. The lack of oxygen creates distinctive more acidic fruity aftertastes. A good example of such coffee is Peru Amazonas and Indonesia .

Before choosing a coffee, consider how you will prepare it. Blends (both Arabica and Robusta) are best prepared in a coffee machine or mocha coffee maker. When preparing filter coffee or using various coffee preparation tools, it is better to choose one type of coffee (single origin), and the tastiest in the filter will, of course, be quality coffee. Read more about how to prepare delicious coffee here .