With many coffee shops closed or the new lack of a morning commute, the ability to make good coffee at home has become more important than ever. (Lots of deadlines continue to loom, despite the escalating coronavirus, and many of us are not only now working from home, we’re also homeschooling our kids.) So. More coffee, please.
we’ve already tasted through the array of dark roast ground coffees found at most supermarkets and found more than a few winners. This time, we wanted to find out who offers the best whole beans. After all, whole beans are the way to go if you want the freshest coffee, as coffee starts to lose its freshness (and therefore its flavor) as soon as it’s ground. Plus, when you grind your own you can customize it according to your brewing method (i.e., coarse for French press, fine for Aeropress).
How we Picked the Coffee Beans
Because we had already tasted through the dark roast options, we set my sights on medium roast for this taste test. Medium roast coffees aren’t roasted as long as dark roast coffees, so the flavor notes specific to that varietal of bean and its growing conditions come through better than they do in dark roast coffees. While dark roast beans tend to lean toward rich, bold, smoky, and chocolatey notes, medium roast beans tend to have bright, fruity notes (although some bean varietals are less fruity and more caramel-y).
Most supermarket coffees are pre-ground, but we still found more than enough brands selling whole, medium-roast beans to make this experiment a serious test of our capacity to handle caffeine. With 12 bags in tow, we fired up our electric kettle and got to work.
How we Tested The Coffee Beans
The beans were ground using a burr grinder set at a medium grind for the pour-over brewing method. I used a metal filter cone instead of paper. The water temperature was 205 degrees Fahrenheit and the grounds were measured by weight: 13 grams (about 2 tablespoons) for 6 ounces of water. The coffees were all tasted blind.
What we was looking for in each cup was a balance between acidity and richness, plus intriguing flavor and aroma notes to keep it from feeling one-note and boring. we are happy to say not one of the 12 options I tried was disappointing. They were all quite good! One was definitely on the boring end of the spectrum, but it went down easily. Some were quite bright and acidic, with fruity berry notes. Others offered notes that hinted toward baked goods or graham crackers. It really depended on the varietal of coffee bean that was used. In the end we found the tasting notes on the packages were in line with our own tasting notes, so if you’re looking for a specific flavor profile, it really is helpful to read the bag.
All the coffees I tried were very smooth and easy to drink with none of the bitter notes we associate with dark roast coffee. I actually prefer dark roast coffee because w like adding half-and-half, which rounds out the bitterness and leaves me with a rich, smooth cup. But the medium roast coffees didn’t need any cream at all. If we ever decide to give up our decadent splash of dairy, we’ll definitely start brewing medium roast coffee beans.
