Introduction to Green Coffee Beans
Green coffee beans refer to the raw, unroasted seeds of the coffee plant. They have a greenish-brown color and are often described as having a grassy, earthy taste when tasted raw. Selecting high quality green beans is an important first step for home coffee roasters who want to achieve the best flavored roasted coffee.
There are several factors to consider when sourcing green coffee beans for home roasting:
- Variety – The two main species of coffee plants are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica beans are considered higher quality and have more complex flavors, while Robusta beans contain more caffeine and have a stronger, earthier taste. Within these species there are many varieties that impart different characteristics.
- Origin – Beans from different countries and regions have distinctive profiles based on the climate, soil conditions, and processing methods used there. Beans from the same origin can vary year-to-year as well.
- Growing Conditions – Factors like altitude, shade cover, and cultivation practices impact the development of flavors. Beans grown at higher elevations often have more concentrated flavors.
- Processing – How the raw beans are processed after picking affects the flavor. Natural, washed, honey processed beans will taste different.
- Freshness – Green beans begin to lose flavor soon after roasting. Ideally they are roasted within a few months after harvest. Checking the roast date helps determine freshness.
Understanding these variables will help home roasters select green coffee beans that align with their flavor preferences and roast them to maximize quality and taste.
Varieties of Green Coffee Beans
Green coffee beans come in many varieties, each with their own unique flavors and characteristics. The two main commercially grown species are Arabica and Robusta.
Arabica beans are considered higher quality and make up about 60% of global coffee production. Arabica beans have a sweeter, more complex flavor profile with tones of fruit, chocolate, or caramel. They contain less caffeine than Robusta. Popular Arabica bean varieties include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Gesha.
Robusta beans contain nearly double the caffeine of Arabica beans and have a stronger, earthier flavor. They make up about 40% of worldwide coffee production. Robusta is easier to grow in hot climates and is less susceptible to diseases like coffee leaf rust. Some popular Robusta varieties are Kouillou and Robusta Laurentii.
Coffee beans can also be classified by their origin or growing region, known as single origin coffee. Examples are Colombian, Ethiopian, or Sumatran. Single origin coffees allow you to taste flavors unique to that area.
Blends combine beans from multiple origins to create complex flavors. Blends may mix Arabica and Robusta beans to balance acidity, body, and aroma. Common blended varieties are Italian, Vienna, and French roasts.
When selecting green coffee beans, consider the flavor profile you wish to achieve. Arabica beans are a good starting point for their well-rounded taste. Try single origin beans to appreciate distinct regional qualities. Blends allow customization for your perfect roast.
Online Retailers for Green Coffee Beans
The internet opens up a world of options when sourcing green coffee beans. While you can find beans on Amazon or eBay, the best selection and freshest beans come from specialty online retailers dedicated to coffee.
When buying from specialty retailers, you can browse through dozens of bean varieties from farms around the world. Descriptions will provide details on the origin, processing method, altitude grown, tasting notes, and more. This helps you select the perfect bean for your flavor preferences.
Many online stores also allow you to buy beans directly from the farm or cooperative. This direct trade provides the maximum benefit back to coffee growers. You can be confident you’re supporting sustainable practices.
For home roasters who go through a lot of beans, buying 5-10 pound bulk bags can significantly reduce costs. Retailers will often provide discounts on large orders. Green beans can last 9-12 months when stored properly, so you don’t have to worry about waste from buying in bulk.
Some popular online specialty retailers for green coffee beans include:
- Burman Coffee Traders
- Sweet Maria’s
- Bodhi Leaf Coffee
- Coffee Bean Corral
Take your time browsing their selections. Read about different bean origins and flavors. Once you settle on a bean, you can order a 1 lb sample bag first before committing to a larger bulk purchase. Happy hunting for those perfect green coffee beans!
Local Roasters
Purchasing green coffee beans from local roasters in your area can be a great option. Many specialty roasters offer green beans for sale in addition to their roasted coffee. There are several benefits to sourcing green beans locally:
Freshness: Local roasters will typically have a quick turnover of green beans, so the beans you purchase are likely to be very fresh. The shorter the time from crop to consumer, the better when it comes to green coffee. Fresh beans have a brighter, more vibrant flavor.
Relationships: Getting to know your local roasters allows you to learn their sourcing and roasting styles. You can find out which origins and varietals they specialize in and taste their roasted coffee to understand the flavor profiles. This helps inform your green bean purchases.
Support local: Purchasing green beans from small batch local roasters supports independent businesses in your community. You can develop a relationship where you exchange knowledge and feedback. As a home roaster, you may even be able to sell some of your roasted coffee back to them.
Customization: Local roasters may be willing to sell smaller quantities of green beans than the large online retailers. You can buy test batches of different beans to try before investing in larger amounts.
Roasting advice: The experienced roasters can provide guidance on roast profiles for the beans they sell, making it easier for beginners to get started. They may also share tips on home roasting techniques and equipment.
Prioritizing fresh, high quality green beans from local specialty roasters is a rewarding way to elevate your home roasting craft. The beans, relationships, and knowledge gained will help you become a more skilled home barista.
Direct Trade with Coffee Farms
The direct trade model has become increasingly popular for sourcing high-quality green coffee beans. Under this model, roasters develop direct relationships with coffee farms and cooperatives. This allows the roaster to purchase beans directly, which provides several advantages:
- Traceability: Direct trade allows you to know exactly where your beans originated from. You can learn about the farmers, their practices, and even visit the farms. This level of traceability and transparency is lacking when beans are traded through exporters and commodities markets.
- Better Prices for Farmers: By eliminating middlemen, farmers earn more for their crop. Direct trade allows roasters to pay above fair trade prices, providing a better livelihood for small-scale growers.
- Unique Beans: Direct trade means roasters can access micro-lots and special bean varieties that are not available on the commodities market. The exclusivity allows you to source truly one-of-a-kind green coffee beans.
- Relationships: Over time, direct trade facilitates meaningful relationships between roaster and farmer. Both parties are invested in each other’s success. The farmer can get feedback to improve quality and the roaster has a reliable, ethical source of superb beans.
Purchasing directly from the farm takes more effort but provides satisfying rewards. You can try beans before buying and know your dollars support fair prices and sustainable agriculture. Seek out roasters involved in direct trade if you want the best green coffee sourced right from the growers.
Cupping Green Coffee Beans
Cupping is an important step in selecting quality green coffee beans. It involves tasting and smelling coffee grounds to evaluate the flavors and assess quality.
When cupping, start with freshly roasted coffee beans within 24 hours of roasting. Grind the beans to a medium-fine consistency. For each sample, use around 8 grams of ground coffee. Pour hot water over the grounds and let steep for a few minutes.
During this time, deeply inhale the aromas. Make notes on the fragrance – are there fruity, floral, nutty or other smells? Next, slurp up a spoonful of the coffee and pay attention to the flavors. Let the coffee coat your tongue before spitting it out. Jot down tasting notes like acidity, sweetness, mouthfeel and aftertaste.
An experienced cupper can identify subtle flavors like stone fruit, chocolate or wine undertones. You’ll start to notice the differences between bean varieties. For example, Kenyan beans often have a berry or citrus taste while Sumatran beans feature earthy, herbal notes.
Cupping reveals any defects too. Bitter, fermented or overly acidic coffee indicates lower quality or improper storage. By cupping before buying in bulk, you can select beans that align with your flavor preferences. It takes practice but cupping is an invaluable skill for assessing green coffee bean quality.
Storage of Green Coffee Beans
Proper storage is crucial for maintaining the freshness and flavor of green coffee beans. The beans are living plant matter, and just like other foods, they can deteriorate over time. Follow these storage guidelines:
- Temperature: Store green coffee beans at room temperature, ideally between 60-70°F. Avoid temperature extremes. Excess heat can accelerate staling while freezing can damage the cellular structure.
- Air: Keep the beans in an airtight container, as exposure to oxygen can cause the beans to stale faster. Vacuum sealed bags or jars with an airtight seal work best.
- Light: Protect the beans from light exposure, which can impact flavor. Use opaque, dark containers.
- Humidity: The ideal humidity level is around 55%. You can add a small packet of silica gel to the storage container to help regulate moisture. Too much moisture encourages mold growth.
- Containers: Store beans in food-grade plastic, glass, or ceramic containers. Avoid containers made with reactive metals. Dark glass jars are ideal for protecting from light.
- Shelf Life: Properly stored green coffee beans can retain optimum flavor for 6-12 months. Consume older beans within 18 months. Write the roast date on the container for reference.
By carefully controlling storage conditions like temperature, humidity, and light exposure, you can keep green coffee beans fresh for longer, allowing you to enjoy great tasting home roasted coffee over time.
Roasting Green Coffee Beans at Home
Roasting your own green coffee beans at home can be an extremely rewarding hobby for any coffee lover. There are several pieces of equipment you can use to roast beans at home. The most popular is a dedicated home coffee roaster, which allows you to precisely control the temperature and roast time. Home roasters range from small manual devices to large automatic machines. Another option is to use a popcorn popper, as the constant motion and hot air is similar to a coffee roaster. You can also try oven roasting or using a pan on the stove, but temperature control is more difficult with these methods.
When roasting green beans, you’ll want to follow a specific roast profile based on the type of beans and your taste preferences. In general, start with a low temperature around 356°F to dry the beans. Next, slowly raise the heat to bring the internal bean temperature to around 400°F. At this point, the beans will start to turn yellow and then on to light brown. Finally, increase the heat more rapidly up to 446-464°F to develop the beans to the desired roast level.
There are three common roast levels. Light roasts take the beans just to the beginning of the second crack stage. This preserves more acidity and fruitiness. Medium roasts stop shortly after the second crack, producing more balanced flavor with some roast character. Dark roasts go just past second crack for a fuller body and robust, bittersweet taste. Keep a close eye on your beans and have a thermometer handy to identify the roast stages. With practice, you’ll learn to achieve your perfect roast every time.
Decaf Beans
Decaf coffee beans go through an additional process to remove most of the caffeine while attempting to maintain the original flavor. There are a few methods used to decaffeinate beans:
- Swiss Water Process – The beans are soaked in hot water to dissolve the caffeine and flavors. The liquid is then passed through charcoal filters which capture the caffeine but let the coffee flavors through. The beans are re-soaked in this caffeine-free liquid to re-absorb the flavors. This natural method results in 99.9% caffeine removal.
- CO2 Method – The beans are soaked in highly pressurized carbon dioxide which acts as a solvent to extract caffeine while leaving the flavor compounds behind. This method removes 97% of caffeine.
- Chemical Methods – Coffee beans are soaked in chemical solvents like ethyl acetate or methylene chloride to remove caffeine. This is effective but there are concerns about chemical residue. Many producers will use a water process after to remove any solvents.
- EA Water Method – Also known as the Mountain Water Process, this uses ethyl acetate from coffee beans as a natural solvent for decaffeination. The ethyl acetate is removed from the beans, used to extract caffeine, then filtered and returned to the beans.
The decaffeination process can slightly alter the flavor of coffee beans. Decaf versions tend to have less acidic and brighter notes, with more muted aromas. However, the differences are subtle in high quality decaf beans. Seek out specialty roasters that offer decaf beans processed with care using methods like Swiss water or CO2. With quality beans and proper roasting, decaf coffee can still provide a rich, enjoyable cup.
Sustainability and Supporting Coffee Growers
The coffee industry has historically involved many ethical concerns, but thankfully great progress has been made in recent years towards more sustainable and fair practices. When sourcing green coffee beans as a home roaster, it’s important to think about where your beans come from and how the farmers who grew them are treated and compensated.
Seeking out fair trade certified coffees is one of the best ways to promote more equitable conditions for small coffee growers. Fair trade organizations work to ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, environmental protections, and more. Beans with fair trade certifications indicate that strict standards were followed. Some well-known fair trade labels to look for include Fairtrade International, Fair Trade USA, and Rainforest Alliance.
Beyond formal certifications, you can also look for roasters and importers who directly source beans through initiatives that support growers, like direct trade. This involves developing long-term partnerships with coffee farms to buy beans, often paying above market prices. The goal is to maximize profits for farmers. Ask your favorite roasters about their sourcing practices to find ones prioritizing ethics and sustainability.
When possible, choose single origin beans over blends. This allows you to know exactly where the coffee was grown. Seek out beans from small farms and cooperatives in developing nations, where your purchases can have the biggest impact in communities. Even just making the effort to buy from roasters who transparently share their sourcing helps encourage more ethical practices. By supporting fair trade and small growers, home roasters can help promote positive change in the coffee industry.
