The last thing I want you to do is leave this article even more confused than when you arrived!
I've seen people standing at the "coffee wall" in the grocery store. That glazed over look when there are so many choices before them! They just want a great cup of coffee in the morning. Where do you start?
When I direct people toward choosing a coffee the first question I ask them is, how are you going to drink the coffee?
- Do you drink your coffee black?
- Are you going to add milk and some sort of sweetener?
- Are you going to use it in a standard coffee pot, home espresso machine, Keurig, pour over or French press?
- Let's start with drinking your coffee black. Single origin roasted coffees are usually best for this. Single origins all have unique and different tastes that really shine when drank black. We roast these coffees to draw out these unique flavors and with the exception of Indonesian coffees, single origins tend to be roasted from light to medium to preserve those flavors. Can you drink a single origin with milk and sweetener, most definitely, but it may hide some of the unique flavors the coffee expresses.
- Drink your coffee with milk products and sweetener? Blends are great for this! We create our blends with espresso and milk drinks in mind. Can you drink a blend black? Absolutely! Debbie drinks the Farmhouse Blend black every time!
Now, how do you plan to brew your coffee?
What if I tell you it's personal preference? I know, I know, that doesn't help! Coffee pot and pour over are pretty similar and you can choose anywhere from a light roast up to a dark for brewing this way. In the Keurig I always recommend a darker roast (note: dark doesn't have to mean bitter!) to get a stronger taste from them. The one area we ALWAYS recommend in a light to medium roast is for the home espresso machine. We created our BYC and Llama Drama roasts specifically for home espresso machines. To still give you a nice rich flavor and great crema but with out the oils that will eventually damage and shorten the life of your machine. Dark roasts with oils are not good for home espresso machines and you don't need a dark oily bean to get a rich flavor! Leave that to roaster Derek to have created the special blends just for this purpose!
Now to choose your coffee:
- Single origins: that allow you to really notice distinct regional differences: Ethiopia (med/light), Guatemala (medium), Bali Blue Moon (dark)
- Blends for a great coffee pot experience: Farmhouse (top seller, med/dark), Cock-a-Doodle Brew (dark), Barnyard Black (very dark, very smooth and smokey)
- Specifically for espresso: BYC (Med/Dark), Llama Drama (medium), Single Origin Peru (med/dark), Single Origin Ethiopia (medium)
Still can't decide? We highly recommend our 12 pack sampler which is a great offering across the board of our different coffees, both single origin and blends.
Follow this link to the 12 pack Sampler
We hope this helped you to better navigate coffee from the sea of choices!
3 comments
Do you make a English toffee blend coffee?
Do you have decaf?
Hello, I’m looking for a coffee that has chocolate, Carmel undertones. What would you recommend at blend or single origin. I really prefer medium roast.
Thank you such for any recommendations.