Coffee beans

The coffee tree

Coffee beans are the fruit of the coffee tree, a small shrub that can grow up to 4 metres tall. When ripe, they look like red cherries.

The coffee bean is surrounded by pulp and a skin: like the cherry, apricot or olive, it is a stone fruit!

Coffee cultivation and varieties

The botanical name of coffee is « Coffea ». The two most important species are Arabica and Canephora, also known as « Robusta ».

Café en Grain Arabica

Coffea arabica is the oldest and best known species, with almost 600 different varieties. Arabica coffee beans are grown at altitudes ranging from 600 to 1200 metres. They have an elongated shape, with an S-shaped groove.

Arabica has a mild flavour with a fruity acidity and contains half the caffeine of Robusta.

Robusta coffee beans (Canephora)

The “Coffea Canephora” variety is also called “Robusta” for its strong resistance to climatic hazards. It grows at altitudes of between 0 and 800 metres. The beans are fairly large and rounded with a straight furrow. They have an intense flavour and are rich in caffeine.

Coffee drinkers are often faced with a choice: should they buy coffee beans or ground coffee? The choice of ground coffee or capsules or pods simplifies things and saves time: no need to grind it!

But when it comes to taste, buying whole bean coffee is a complete game changer and opens up a whole new world of flavours and aromas.

Indeed, it is better to drink freshly ground whole bean coffee than ground coffee.

Why ? This is because the aroma molecules volatilize after grinding, and the exposed surface of the coffee increases considerably, resulting in faster oxidation. And when coffee oxidises, it loses its flavour, especially as the oxidation process occurs rapidly.

Roasters work hard to perfect the roasting of coffee and to respect and develop its aromas, but you’ll never know if you drink ground coffee long beforehand! It will still contain caffeine and taste like coffee, but you won’t get the subtlety and body you might get from freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee.

Arabica or Robusta coffee beans ?

Arabica is generally considered to produce more subtle coffees and is preferred for this reason. An Arabica & Robusta blend in a minority percentage can however be interesting in espresso blends or to obtain a strong coffee… One piece of advice: taste and make up your own mind!

Roasting: roasted coffee beans or industrial coffee?

Did you know ? Green coffee consists of about 250 flavour molecules, roasted coffee has over 800! Roasting is therefore the most important step in developing the coffee’s aromas. Green coffee is roasted for a certain period of time and at a certain temperature depending on the type of roast :

• Artisanal roasting is carried out at around 230°C for 12 to 20 minutes, depending on the desired degree of roast. It allows the aromas to be respected and developed to the full.
• Industrial roasting takes about 5 minutes at 300-700°C: the high temperature “burns” the coffee. Yield before quality…

The colour of the roast indicates its degree: a light roast means a rather subtle coffee with acidic notes, a dark roast a fairly full-bodied coffee. We advise you to opt for an artisanally roasted coffee by buying it from a roaster or online on a specialised website (like ours!). As for the degree of roast, it is up to your taste buds to decide what they prefer after tasting! To enjoy coffee like a pro,read our article “How to do a coffee tasting”.

Origins and local coffees

A single-origin coffee bean, in other words a coffee that comes from a single terroir, whose flavour depends on the micro-climate in which it is grown (altitude, sunshine, humidity level, soil composition, etc.), with guaranteed traceability, will be called a “terroir coffee” or “speciality coffee”. The concept of traceability refers not only to the origin of the coffee, but also extends to the entire supply chain, from cultivation to roasting to picking and processing. Coffee is grown around the equator, between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Currently South America is the main exporter, followed by Africa, producing mainly Robusta but also renowned Arabica, and Indonesia. Each of its continents produces pure origin coffees sought after for their incomparable aromas, some of which are very rare. Here too we can only advise you to play the game of tasting to discover the origins and associated aromatic notes that you prefer! If you want to discover two rare coffees with typical and very different aromas, we recommend you try Haile, our smooth and flowery Sidamo mocha coffee from Ethiopia, and Ayu, our full-bodied and aromatic Sumatran coffee bean.

Coffee blends

Blend coffees are blends of coffees from different origins. The coffee beans are blended after roasting. The purpose of an assembly can be various:

• Gustatory: obtaining a new palette of tastes
• Balance: a blend of coffees is used to harmonise the aromas to obtain a balanced coffee
• Consistency of flavour: a blend of coffees will have less variation in its overall flavour properties than a pure origin coffee whose flavour may vary according to the harvest
• Economic: incorporating lower quality grain to lower the overall cost. If the origins are not clearly specified, this also avoids being subject to variations in price and regularity of supply.

As you will have noticed, the result of a coffee blend can be positive or negative! Tip: When buying a blended coffee bean, always choose a coffee that has been roasted by hand and that has been made with quality in mind. Industrial coffee bean blends are likely to have been developed with a predominantly economic focus. It is also preferable to use blends where the different origins used are specified. Would you like to discover THE coffee in our range that everyone loves? Try Gabriel, our coffee bean blend from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico: aromatic notes of dried fruits and nuts that will delight your taste buds! And why not create your own mix? Combine our different origins to create new flavours!

Organic coffee beans

Buying certified organic coffee can mean a significant additional cost for you. However, the benefits of this certification are numerous:

• The organic coffee beans will have been produced in a way that respects nature: fewer chemicals are released into the soil and greater respect is shown for the fauna and flora associated with the coffee trees.
• No use of synthetic chemicals: these substances will not end up in your cup every morning.
• In addition to your health, the health of coffee workers, who are the first to be exposed to toxic substances during spraying, is also protected.
• You increase your chances of getting quality coffee: organic coffee plants are more robust to resist the attacks of pests and fungi without “help”, and the harvest is done manually which allows a better selection.

For all these reasons, we at Origeens have chosen to offer you a range of 100% organic coffee beans. Please read our dedicated article “Why drink organic coffee beans“to find out more. Do you know which countries are the most committed to growing organic coffee and are the leading exporters of organic coffee beans? Peru, Mexico and Colombia: origins honoured with our organic coffee beans Susana, Frida and Fernando!

Which coffee beans for espresso machines?

The choice of the most suitable coffee bean for your espresso machine will depend mainly on your preferences.

Why ? Because one of the most decisive criteria will be the grind of your coffee, i.e. the granulometry of the coffee. The more refined the coffee, the stronger the flavour. The principle is that the fine particles hold the water better during extraction and slow down its flow.

Also buy freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee!

As far as intensity, origin… all can be adapted: the important thing is to choose the one whose aromas and taste you appreciate the most.

The degree of roast is also important: for extraction with espresso machines, a medium to dark roast is recommended to bring out the strength of the coffee.

If you’re looking for intensity, look for full-bodied coffees like Susana, our coffee bean from Peru.

Which coffee bean for espresso machine with grinder type Delonghi, Philips…?

All of our tips above for choosing coffee with an espresso machine are valid for an automatic espresso machine. The advantage is that it will do the grinding, and this is a parameter that you can easily vary.
Important: In general, the factory settings of your automatic espresso machine are medium: medium temperature, medium strength and medium grind. With average settings, you won’t get the best possible espresso. To extract the most intense flavours from coffee beans, you will need to fine-tune your new automatic coffee machine.

The pressure & temperature of the water, the freshness of the coffee and the fineness of the grind are fundamental elements in the success of your espresso.

We advise you to apply the following settings:

Automatic espresso machines are often set to medium temperature. An espresso should ideally come out of your coffee machine at 85°C to extract all the flavours. If you have the possibility with your machine, try to increase this temperature to the maximum.

Always use a relatively fine grind.

Then play around with the intensity settings for different coffees to suit your personal taste: start with a medium intensity and test a first cup. Adjust above/below according to the feedback from your taste buds on this first test cup.

Want to discover another strong coffee? TryGilberto, our intense Brazilian coffee bean!

Which coffee bean for a filter coffee machine or a piston coffee maker?

For a so-called gentle extraction method, such as V60, Chemex, Aeropress, French Press, Filter coffee, etc., light to medium roasted coffees are more suitable. The aromas will then become delicate and subtle.

These methods are also more respectful of the aromas than espresso coffees, giving you the opportunity to test coffees with complex aromas.

Discover Oscar, our Honduran coffee beanwith cocoa, sugar and caramel flavours and Gioconda, our Nicaraguan coffee bean with sweet notes of milk chocolate and honey, with a touch of hazelnut!

The right grind: one of the keys to good coffee!

What is the milling process? This is the fineness to which your coffee has been ground.

Different types of coffee preparation require different grinds, and if the grind is not suitable, you are likely to be disappointed when you taste it!

A suitable grind can avoid either :

• Under-extraction: the water passes through the coffee too quickly, the flavours do not have time to be properly extracted and the coffee has no taste.
• Over-extraction: the water flows too slowly through the coffee, the flavours are too concentrated and the result is too strong and bitter.

Good to know: commercial ground coffee is finely ground.

And because sometimes a diagram is better than all the explanations, we provide you ⤓ with our downloadable sheetto summarise at a glance the grind to adopt according to your coffee machine.

Storage conditions for coffee beans

Coffee is a very delicate product. On contact with air, it oxidises and begins to lose its organoleptic properties. For this reason, we give you some tips on how to best keep it:

• If your coffee is packaged in a zip bag, remember to close it carefully after each use.
• If your bag is not resealable, store the coffee in an airtight container or even better, in a vacuum, so that contact with air is minimal and the oxidation process is minimised. Choose an opaque container: sunlight degrades the coffee’s aroma.
• If you have an automatic coffee machine, put in the necessary amount of coffee for a maximum of two days. Coffee keeps better in a closed container than in the hopper of the coffee maker.
• If you do not have an automatic coffee machine with an integrated grinder, we advise you to grind only the quantity necessary to make your coffee. Indeed, once the coffee is ground, the oxidation process is multiplied and the coffee loses its flavour and aromas much more quickly.
• Never store coffee in the refrigerator. This will vary the moisture content of the coffee beans and will also vary its organoleptic characteristics. What’s more, coffee absorbs the odours around it wonderfully, a risk not to be taken!

In short: store your coffee beans in a cool, dry place, in an opaque, airtight container!

How long can I keep coffee beans?

At Origeens we advise you to consume your coffee beans within a maximum of 3 to 4 months after the roasting date, 6 weeks for optimal enjoyment.

After this time, the organoleptic qualities of your coffee deteriorate, and you no longer get exactly the same taste: the sooner you consume it after its roasting date, the more taste and aroma it will have. Coffee, like sugar, flour, pasta and many other foodstuffs, is a dry product with a “best before date”, not an expiry date: it is a product that can be consumed long after roasting and even beyond its best before date without any health risk. Generally speaking, the shelf life of coffee varies from 1 to 2 years after the roasting date, but if you reach or exceed it, it is likely that your coffee will have lost all its taste!

How many cups with 1kg of coffee beans?

Delonghi, Philips, Jura, all these brands offer espresso machines with integrated grinder.

An automatic coffee machine can be very precisely adjusted: the weight varies according to the intensity, strength and volume of your cup. Typically the amount used is between 6 and 13 grams, with the 13 gram function generally reserved for double espresso or serving two cups simultaneously.

On average, one cup of espresso contains between 7 and 8 grams of coffee. The quantities found for a manual espresso machine are similar.

With a 1kg bag of coffee beans, you can make between 125 and 140 cups of espresso.

For a filter coffee maker, you will need about 12 grams of coffee per cup, or one tablespoon, relatively finely ground. With 1kg of coffee beans you can make about 83 cups of filter coffee.

For the piston coffee maker, the ideal coffee dosage is also 12 grams, so here too you get 83 cups of coffee from 1 kg of coffee.

Buying coffee in supermarkets

In supermarkets, the supply of coffee beans was still small some time ago, but it has developed well recently. However, the supply of organic coffee beans remains low. Turn to organic shops which offer a wider range of products, sometimes including bulk coffee beans. Beware, however, of the freshness of the coffee that has been left in the open air, which will not be the case with packaged coffee.

In supermarkets, you will find the major coffee brands such as San Marco, Lavazza, Segafredo … But is a great coffee brand a well-known brand?

On the contrary, isn’t the real wealth to be found in the artisan roasters who work above all with respect for the coffee bean?

Buying coffee from an artisan roaster

France is rich in artisanal roasters and burners. You can find out which ones are closest to you. Some roasters have shops near their roasting plant or otherwise use a network of dealers in the area.

But sometimes there is no shop nearby or the style and selection of the roaster is not to your taste!

In this case, buying coffee online gives you access to a wide choice of coffee from roasters.

Where to buy coffee online?

Well, in the Origeens coffee bean shop of course!

In any case, turn to sites with a careful selection of small, artisanal roast coffee brands, with clear traceability and origins, rather than large brands with more vague origins.

All our coffees are certified organic.

They are grown without the use of synthetic chemicals to respect nature, the growers and your health: no unwanted substances in your cup!

We select our 100% Arabica beans according to their characteristics and the subtleties of each origin. Carefully roasted by hand, our coffee beans are fragrant, without bitterness, and with a very slight acidity.

Our roasting is done in Italy by hand: it takes about 15 minutes at 200/230°C. It guarantees the respect and optimal development of aromas for exceptional coffees.