Coffee Bean Types: A Summary of Varieties, Roasts, and Regions

The first step on your journey to better brewed coffee starts with quality coffee beans. This is the most important factor in your coffee brewing. There are many different types of coffee beans, varieties, roast styles. This post is an easy to follow summary of coffee bean types.

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Great coffee starts with quality beans purchased as soon as possible after roasting. As it turns out, coffee is the most important component in coffee brewing! Even though that seems obvious, I see far too many people worrying about expensive machines and using supermarket coffee. Your money spends best  on the coffee itself. Although you will typically pay a bit more for coffee that is roasted recently, the difference is substantial.

You may actually enjoy different types of coffee and roasts over others. This guide is here to serve as an introduction to understanding coffee bean variety. The quality and origin of the bean, roast duration, and the length of time since roasting will have significant impact on the flavor of your brew.

Coffee Bean Variety

There are two major varieties of coffee beans: Robusta and Arabica.

Robusta

• Robusta beans are cheaper to grow and cultivate and have higher crop yields than Arabica beans.
• Most of the coffee you will find in your local grocery store is Robusta or uses Robusta filler.
• Robusta beans contain twice as much caffeine and often taste bitter and harsh.
• High quality Robusta is used primarily as espresso but most Robusta is very low quality and only competitive on a cost basis.

Arabica

• Arabica beans are more difficult to grow and are less resilient to pests.
• Compared to Robusta, Arabica beans are less intense, have less caffeine, and have more subtle flavors.
• Most highly favored beans throughout the world are of the Arabica variety.
• Many grocery stores do carry a few types of Arabica beans.

I would recommend using Arabica beans of various types (Sumatra, Columbian, Kenyan, ect.) as you are much more likely to have a smoother cup and you will also have an easier time distinguishing coffee from different regions. You will need to find an alternative to purchasing coffee at the supermarket if you want a great cup.

Coffee Bean Origin

coffee plant

There are many different regions that produce coffee all with differing taste profiles. Here are a few of my  few recommendations.

• Blends from various regions or within a region can result in more complex and full bodied cups than single origin and can be a good starting point.
• Latin American beans yield a clean and bright cup which I personally enjoy.
• Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Honduran, Panamanian, and Mexican beans have a natural sweetness and less acidity and can be a good starting point if a single origin is preferred.
• Sumatran beans are rich and complicated and provide a sharp contrast to beans from the above regions. I personally love Sumatra, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it first.

Much of this information can be found in Kenneth David’s book: Home Coffee Roasting – Romance and Revival (view on Amazon). If you are interested in taking up roasting or learning more about the various regions and types of coffee, this book will really help to break things down.

Roast Styles

Duration of roast is an important factor when it comes to bringing out different flavors in a cup. The process of roasting even has its own flavor that tends to overshadow the other flavors and characteristics that a bean might normally have. The most important thing to consider is your own preference. There is no “best” roast style. However, I find that medium to medium dark (full city) are the most accessible, especially to folks who drink black coffee.

• Light roasts are typically the most acidic without much body (heaviness).
• Medium roasts are slightly less acidic and begin to develop different taste notes unique to certain beans.
• Medium dark (full city) roasts have less acidity and more body. The Starbucks chain carries this style, according to Kenneth Davids (mentioned above). This is my preferred roast style for many bean origins.
• Dark roasts have lower acidity and are typically much heavier. The roasting process brings about a certain sweetness and the taste of the roasting process takes over.

Various coffee roast profiles including unroasted beans (top left)

Avoid roasts that are particularly dark such as Italian, Spanish, French, etc. if you are a beginner coming from supermarket coffee, as these roasts will seem bitter and very heavy.

Ground Coffee vs Whole Bean

You can purchase coffee in two forms: pre-ground or whole bean.

Pre-Ground:

• Ground coffee loses its flavor very quickly; use ground coffee quickly.

Whole Beans:

• If you go the whole bean route, you will need your own your own grinder, preferably a conical-burr grinder.
• Whole bean coffee keeps its flavor and aroma much longer than pre-ground coffee.
• Ideally, you want to try to use your beans within two weeks of roasting.

Read More: Burr Grinder Basics

Purchasing Roasted Coffee Beans Locally:

Purchasing from a roaster provides you with the freshest possible coffee. Also, you will more easily distinguish between various coffee flavors and roasting profiles. This is your best option short of roasting the coffee yourself.

If you purchase beans from a local roaster and do not own a high quality burr grinder, I would recommend purchasing smaller quantities and having the store grind them for your preferred brewing style.

Freshly roasted coffee will leave you with a completely different impression if you’ve never tried it. There is simply no comparison to store brands. For your first fresh coffee purchase, I recommend medium to medium dark roast levels, and beans of Latin American variety for your first purchase.

Purchasing Roasted Coffee Beans Online:

If you don’t know of a local roaster, or live in a rural area, another option is to purchase coffee online. You can find a much bigger selection of both ground and whole bean coffee online compared to the grocery store. Check out some of these selections:

• Koffee Kult Coffee Beans Medium Roasted Coffee (check price on Amazon) – This is a medium roast blend of Brazilian and Colombian beans. They offer whole bean as well as ground options (be sure to select your preferred option).
• Kicking Horse Coffee Whole Bean Variety Pack (check price on Amazon) – This coffee packs quite a punch but they have other less-intense flavors as well. This variety pack lets you try 3 of their styles
• Lavazza Super Crema Espresso – Bulk Package (check price on Amazon) – This coffee is an inexpensive quality coffee that can be used in a variety of different brewing methods.

Purchasing Coffee Beans Raw and Unroasted:

The best way to ensure the coffee is fresh is to roast it yourself. This is not very difficult to do, and offers certain conveniences over the above options. Namely, the price of raw coffee is significantly cheaper than roasted coffee.

Additionally, raw coffee stores for many months without spoiling, which enables you to make large, infrequent purchases online. If you are interested in learning more, I would encourage you to check out my article on home roasting.

Read More: Roasting Coffee Beans at Home

In Summary

I thought it would be best to leave you with a quick summary of the above points.

1. Use the freshest possible coffee and look for a roast date on the bag.
2. Be sure to purchase Arabica beans, not Robusta or blends of the two.
3. Use beans of the Latin American variety if you are unsure which region to focus on.
4. Stick with medium to medium dark roasts if you wish to balance the taste of the roasting process with the traits of the beans themselves.
5. Purchase coffee in whole bean form and grind it yourself, if possible.

Once you have selected good beans, you may also want to explore different styles of coffee preparation. If you are just looking for the most beginner friendly drinks (in terms of taste), check out my post that lists coffee drinks in order of drinkability.

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Happy brewing!

Resources:

• National Coffee Association Website
• Home Coffee Roasting, Revised, Updated Edition: Romance and Revival