Buying a bag of coffee? Here's 5 Handy Hints

There's some amazing coffee out there but how do you work out which one is the best value?

1) Buy Fresh

It might seem obvious but it's one factor that can make a huge difference to taste. A bag of coffee might have been on a supermarket shelf for months and months. If it's coffee beans they're usually ok for 3 or 4 months after roasting. If you buying ground coffee the staling rate, as it's known, can mean there is simply less taste even after a few weeks. So always look for a roast date on the bag. A 'Use by' or 'Best Before' date means little as coffee doesn't really expire. It just loses taste over time. 

2) Look for the Valve

Your bag of coffee should have a little one way valve on it somewhere. When coffee is roasted it sets of a process where the coffee gives off gas in the form of Carbon Dioxide for up to 12 weeks depending on the size of the batch. The valve allows the gas to escape and prevent air getting in. If there is no valve chances are the coffee was stale before it was even bagged. 

3) Local is usually best

If you usually buy your coffee in a supermarket it might be time to review this. Supermarkets will usually buy large amounts from large coffee roasters and, of course, be focused on driving cost down and maximising profit. Your local speciality coffee roaster will more likely be roasting in small batches. Although they will invariably be more expensive it's a good trade off as you're getting fresh coffee that can often be traced back to a single farm. 

4) Detail on the label

A decent coffee roaster will usually give you lots of information on the bag of coffee. Detail such as the country and region of origin, the elevation of the farm, how the coffee was processed (e.g. Natural or Washed) along with tasting notes. If the label on the bag of coffee simply gives you lots of generic words such as 'Rich Italian Roast' or 'Lovely chocolate taste' then best avoid.

5) Dark shiny beans

When a raw coffee bean in roasted the coffee bean will get darker and the oils in the centre of the bean will come out to the surface. The coffee bean will also weigh less as it loses moisture. That's why you can often see dark roasted coffee with nearly black shiny beans. If you're putting these beans through your home coffee machine, for example, it will can wash away many of these oils. Don't be afraid to go for a medium or a medium dark coffee. A lighter roast will always give you more flavour.