Did I Get Good Coffee Beans?

If you're an avid coffee drinker, buying coffee beans in bulk and grinding them yourself can save you a lot of money, but what do you look for when buying them? On a coffee tour in the mountain village of Boquete in Panama we learned you can tell the premium beans simply by the consistent size, shape, and color. Beans that are properly sorted will roast more evenly.

This morning we got a first hand look at beans not properly sorted. Some might even be termed "floaters" which describes diseased beans that rise to the top in the first sorting stage. In this stage, beans are immersed in water and bad or unripe fruit will float and the good ripe fruit will sink. Ever wonder what kind of bean makes it into Maxwell House?

What do premium beans look like? Here's a photo from our coffe tour demonstrating the difference sorting can make to the eventual outcome in roasting. The beans on the bottom have been properly sorted by size and weight which results in an even roast.

Tagged as: [ beans coffee tips ]