Selecting and Preserving the Best Coffee Beans for your Java

Coffee has become a booming business today, and the ground beans that fill the metal coffee cans just don’t cut it for many coffee connoisseurs any more. Avid coffee drinkers want their brews made from beans that are fresh, robust, and grown and roasted to perfection. But how many coffee lovers are well-versed in what happens to a coffee bean from the time it is grown until it ends up in your coffee maker at home? The process of growing and roasting coffee beans is a long and complex one, but the result of beans grown and harvested properly is a delicious cup of coffee every time. It is a good idea to be at least a little familiar with the process to know how to select the best coffee beans to put into your morning cup.

Where do Coffee Beans Grow?

While there are many countries throughout the world which grow coffee beans, the majority of our beans come from Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia and Mexico, respectively. Coffee trees are a bit persnickety about the sunlight, moisture and temperatures that they require to grow well. Plants that are grown at higher altitudes tend to yield more flavorful beans, since the lack of oxygen in these areas offers the plants a longer time until harvest and allows the flavor to develop more fully. Coffee beans are distinguished by whether they grow in a high or low area, the flavor of the beans and the aroma. Arabica beans tend to have the most flavor and aroma, while Robusta beans offer an earthier aroma and taste.

Keeping Coffee Beans Fresh

When you head to the store to buy your coffee, keep in mind that freshness of the beans is subject to when they were roasted. If you can buy your coffee beans on the day of roasting, or perhaps the day after, you will enjoy the freshest coffee possible. It is always best to buy your beans whole and grind them yourself on the day that you will use them. If you don’t have a grinder or you prefer to grind a few day’s worth at once, you can store your coffee in the freezer to help keep your coffee beans as fresh as possible until you use them. If you like to order your coffee beans from companies on the Internet, you can ask the company about its policies in shipping and roasting. Some companies will ship out beans the day that they are roasted to ensure the maximum freshness possible.

Roland Parris Jefferson III is an online researcher based out of Los Angeles, California. For free tips, recipes and expert advice on Coffee, please visit our Coffee Tables Resource.