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4 Things to consider when buying coffee

Written by Ricardo Quintero

[email protected]

4 things to consider when buying coffee.

Buying coffee has become complex but we make it a bit easier for you.

1. GO FOR SINGLE ORIGIN SPECIALTY COFFEE. 

Major benfits: Traceability, constant quality over time, more control over taste as independent treatment of varieties maximises their potential.

To explain this a bit better, let’s draw a parallel with the world of wine.
Wine from a single estate ensures homogeneous quality from tree to tree and will deliver consistent flavour over time. 
Wine from a larger region e.g “product of France” might be made with several types of grapes, coming from many different locations within a country or region, reducing control over the outcome.
How to recognise single origin coffee:
Look for origin mentioning a specific Farm, Finca, or Estate. If a coffee is truly single origin it will say it in pack. 


Explore our collection of Single origin coffees....

2. ROAST PROFILE.

One way of hiding poor quality in coffee, is by roasting the beans too high.
When you roast a mixture of varieties that come in different sizes from different farms, you're exposing smaller beans too overcook in order to dry and roast larger beans. The result is a burnt taste with, smokey and bitter notes.
Single origin specialty coffee beans have similar sizes and humidity levels allowing for a more consistent roast profile with great outcomes in terms of flavour and aromas.
How to recognise:
If you can’t smell nor see the beans, look for the origin claim and roast profile (Light, Medium or High) on the pack.
If you can smell and see the beans, dark oily “shiny coffee” with a burnt or ashy smell has been roasted too high. Lightly roasted single origin specialty coffee is light brown, not shiny and smells incredible. 
Mid - High roasts will also work for espresso so no need to purchase super high roasted beans for that preparation method.

3. ALTITUDE

This is one of the most important factors when predicting great flavor in Coffee.
The reduced amount of oxygen at altitudes above 1700 meters and the low temperatures at night, push trees to work harder.
In coffee trees "especially the Arabica variety" this effort translates into great taste and incredible aromas.
Note: Plantations above 1700 are rare. The higher the plantation, the sweeter the coffee will be. 

Learn more about coffee species....

4. NOTES OR DESCRIPTORS OF SCENT IN COFFEE.

If you find a coffee bag that talks about notes such as chocolate, caramel, citrus or pineapple to name a few, It is not that the coffee was infused in any of the above.
Notes come from coffee varieties, from the soil, the altitude and environment the tree grows in, and the way that coffee was processed after picking. 

These notes are detected by trained coffee graders and are mentioned as a guide on what to expect when coffee is brewed. 

Coffee with Notes of Caramel....

Coffee with Notes of Chocolate....

Coffee with Notes of Citrus....

The above information is just a small guide of four key things to look for in your next coffee purchase.
If you want to choose coffee based on a specific preparation method don't hesitate to visit our website https://www.gwc.coffee/brew-methods/ where we have classified our coffees based on some of the most common methods out there.   

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In some parts of Colombia, coffee is harvested twice a year, making our range available regularly.

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