To enjoy delicious barista-style coffee at home, choosing the right beans is key. But how do you know which coffee beans are best for you and your machine?
In this blog, we’ll show you how to recognize and choose the best coffee beans — so get ready to enjoy the tastiest coffee at home, every single day.
What are the best coffee beans?
No matter what machine you use, the quality of your beans helps determine how good your coffee will taste. So it makes sense to want to use the best coffee beans there are.
You’ve probably noticed the big difference in price (and quality) between supermarket beans and beans from specialty stores or roasters.
This might come as a shock when you’ve just decided to up your coffee game. But if you’re serious about your brew, the more expensive beans are absolutely worth it.
Coffee from a specialty store or roastery is usually fresher, of a higher quality, and often more transparent about its origin.
That’s because these beans are typically roasted more recently and meet certain quality standards like Fair Trade or Direct Trade.
Some even carry the label specialty coffee — more on that directly below.
What is specialty coffee?
The very best coffee beans carry the label of specialty coffee. These are beans that passed the strict evaluation of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), scoring at least 80 out of 100 points.
The SCA assesses nearly every aspect of a coffee bean — roasted, brewed, and green — and only awards this label to the best of the best; beans with a fair story and distinctive, excellent taste.
Why is specialty coffee the best?
Specialty coffee has several advantages over generic supermarket coffee:
More interesting flavour
The SCA values beans with unique, local flavour notes or other distinctive traits.
Our Guatemala beans, for example, are awarded as specialty coffee and go through a unique fermentation process that enhances their flavour.
Outstanding and consistent quality
Only the ripest and healthiest beans are picked. That means with specialty beans, you’re always brewing with top quality.
Fairer than commercial coffee
Specialty coffee farmers receive a fair price for their beans — which is a big difference compared to most supermarket coffee.
Many specialty beans are Direct Trade, meaning roasters work directly with farmers without large intermediaries driving prices down for producers.
This creates far more transparency about where your coffee comes from and what the farmer gets paid.
Eco-friendly
Specialty coffee is often far more sustainable than supermarket coffee. Sustainability is a major factor in the SCA’s evaluation.
How to recognize the best coffee beans
You can often spot the freshest and best coffee beans by eye and smell. Look for these traits:
- Shiny. Freshly roasted coffee beans still have oils on the surface, giving them a glossy look. The older the beans get, the more that shine fades.
- Strong aroma. You can smell fresh, high-quality beans. They have a rich, pleasant scent. Older beans gradually lose their fragrance — another way to spot the difference.
Where do the best beans come from?
On quality coffee bean packaging, you’ll always find the country of origin — and sometimes even the farmer or farm.
No surprise there: the climate and conditions in which beans grow hugely impact their flavour.
Countries known for producing top specialty coffee include Brazil, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Colombia, and Kenya. Some of the world’s best beans come from these regions.
Note: there are many more countries producing exceptional high-quality beans. Don’t limit yourself to the above countries.
The best beans for your machine
Specialty coffee beans not only taste better — they’re also better for your grinder.
Cheaper beans often contain unripe, rotten or overly oily beans. These can wear down your coffee grinder faster and require more frequent cleaning.
So choosing high-quality beans is also a gift to your grinder and espresso machine.
Storage tip: Store your beans airtight and away from light. Coffee oxidizes quickly and loses its freshness. A vacuum coffee canister is the best way to store your beans.
Our favourite coffee beans
At Barista-Essentials, we handpick every coffee variety we sell. We regularly test new and exciting beans to see if we like them enough to recommend.
This way, we can be sure the beans you buy from us are among the best there are — and all certified as specialty coffee.
Below are the 4 types of beans that top our list:
Brazil–Ethiopia
This unique blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian beans is perfect for both cappuccino and espresso. With flavour notes of citrus, caramel, and milk chocolate.
Guatemala
These beans come straight from coffee farmer Don Pedro Lopez Mendez, who grows and ferments them the traditional way. Expect a unique citrus finish.
Cuba
Our showpiece — and personal favourite. These Cuban beans offer a beautifully sweet, floral finish. If you love a full-bodied, lightly sweet cappuccino, these are the best beans for you.
Sulawesi
These Indonesian beans have a distinctive dark blue-green hue — the result of traditional drying methods. Expect a bold cup with deep, earthy tones.
In summary
The best coffee beans share a few essential traits. They are:
- Freshly roasted
- Quality-tested (with a specialty coffee label)
- Unique
- Responsibly grown
- Traded at a fair price
No matter which machine you use, if you want delicious coffee, it’s worth investing in high-quality beans.
You can recognize fresh, quality beans by their glossy surface and strong aroma. As beans age, they lose both.
The absolute best beans carry the specialty coffee label — awarded only to those that pass the Specialty Coffee Association’s in-depth tests with flying colours.
So… which specialty coffee will you try first?
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