The Best Fresh Coffee Beans

A whole bean purchase from a local coffee shop or roaster is a guaranteed way to enjoy the freshest and best tasting coffee beans in bulk. A shop that sells a variety of blends would be a good choice.

Koffee Kult's Thunder Bolt is a dark French roast with a very delicious flavor. It's more expensive but it's organic1 Fair trade2 and has no additives.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

Known for its delicate fragrance and citrusy flavor, the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is one of the most prized coffee beans unroasted beans around the world. It is also a great source of antioxidants. It is best to make it without milk or sugar in order to preserve the unique flavor profile. It's great with savory foods to balance the sweet-salty. It's also an excellent choice for an afternoon pick-me-up.

Ethiopia is often referred to as the birthplace of coffee. According to legend, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his flock became more energetic after eating red berries growing on a tree near his home. He tried the berries and found that they provided him with a lot of energy. The herder then distributed the berry with his family, and that's how coffee first became popular.

In the Yirgacheffe area of Sidamo, Ethiopia, coffee is often "washed" or wet processed. This helps to remove bitter tastes and produce an appealing, fresh taste. In the mid-2000s global coffee prices rose to unsustainable levels, which impacted many farmers in Ethiopia. However, the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) was able to help the farmers to remain in business by implementing their fair trade initiatives as well as the ability to bargain with the market. This led to the introduction of an era of fruit-flavored single origin Ethiopian coffees, dubbed the "new naturals." Today the world is again savoring the unique fresh, floral, and citrusy taste of the Yirgacheffe bean.

Geisha

Geisha is among the most expensive coffee beans on the planet. It has a subtle tea taste with hints of mango, peach and raspberry. It also has a soft taste that is similar to black tea. But can the price really justify it?

A British consul discovered the Geisha variety in the 1930s in the highland area of Gesha in Western Ethiopia. The seeds were later introduced to CATIE in Costa Rica, and finally to Panama by the late Francisco Serracin, known as Don Pachi. The Peterson family tried it at their Hacienda Esmeralda Farm and found that it produced flavors with balance and fineness.

Geisha is more than a great coffee; it has a profound impact on the communities who produce it. It allows farmers to invest profits in improving farming practices and quality processes. This results in better quality coffee beans of all the coffee varieties that they grow.

However, many regular coffee drinkers refuse to give it a go because of the high cost. Geisha coffee is well worth the cost. Do yourself a favor, and get some.

Ethiopian Harrar

It is often regarded as one of the finest coffee beans in world, the Ethiopian Harrar is full-bodied and exotic. It is a dry-processed (natural) arabica that comes from Ethiopia's southern Oromia region. It has a distinct fruity, wine-like acidity and mocha flavors.

The coffee is picked in spring, and later dried and then fermented to release its aromas and flavors. The gourmet coffee beans is not contaminated with chemicals and low in calories, compared to other commercial coffees. It also has a range of health benefits, such as decreasing the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. It is also a great source of antioxidants and a host of other nutrients. It is recommended to drink it on an empty stomach in order to reap the maximum benefits.

Ethiopian Harrar is one of the most prized coffees in the world and comes from one of the country's premier cultivating regions, the easternmost Harrar. It is grown at the highest elevations in the region, near the city's walled fortifications of Harrar. It is a unique blend that can be enjoyed in the form of espresso or latte.

The coffee is sorted manually and then harvested, and finally dried in traditional cloth bags. This method preserves aromas and enhances the flavor. This is a sustainable method. It can be brewed using any brewing method but is especially well-suited to the use of a French press or pour over.

Monsooned Malabar

Monsooned Malabar, one of the most renowned and unique coffees, is a rich and chocolatey coffee with a woody, nutty taste and virtually no acidity. Its name comes from the "monsooning" process and the region it is from the most humid region of India, the mountainous area Malabar that encompasses Karnataka and Kerala.

The origin of this coffee is apocryphal. During the British Raj period, large wooden ships were used to transport the raw coffee to Europe. While on the journey humidity and wind caused the beans to naturally weather and develop a light roast coffee beans off-white color. Arriving in Europe the beans were discovered to have a distinct, highly desirable flavor characteristic.

This unique and specialized coffee processing process, also known as monsooning, continues to today in Keezhanthoor, a high-range hamlet cocooned in the Western Ghats and surrounded by small-scale, traditional tribal farmers committed to the best quality beans. They make a full-bodied, aromatic, smooth coffee that has notes of baker's cocoa, syrupy sweetness and mild vanilla.

This coffee is ideal for espresso or cafe crème. It can be enjoyed on its own or with fruitier coffees. It is also a popular choice for pour-over, such as in a Bialetti Moka pot. Monsooned Malabar is also heat resistant because of its lower acidity.