The Coffee Drinker's Guide

It’s time to tackle coffee blends. Did you know that while all coffee blends are coffees not all coffees are blends? In this episode we explore this distinction, why it’s important and what it means to you as a consumer. This week’s FACQ wonders just how many different coffees you can find in a blend.

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Specialty coffee is all about the beans from the Arabica coffee plant which are complex and varied in flavour. But there is another coffee species called Robusta, widely used in cheap, high volume coffee products, which is potentially more resilient than Arabica to the threats posed to coffee production by global climate change. As the future of coffee may well lie with Robusta this episode takes a deep dive into its current situation - where it grows, what it tastes like and in this week’s FACQ, what your options are for tracking down Robusta coffee to try for yourself.

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Do you like bitterness or are you bitter averse? In this episode we explore bitterness in coffee: what causes it, how you can influence a coffee’s bitterness and why it is actually something to be embraced not avoided. This answer to this week’s FACQ tackles the search for that ever elusive ‘not too bitter’ coffee!

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This episode tackles the subject of the freshness of your coffee. What is defined as fresh coffee?  How can you tell if your coffee is fresh? Can coffee ever be too fresh? This week’s FACQ explains the important difference between the ‘roast date’ and ‘best before’ dates on coffee packaging.

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All about decaffeinated coffee, or decaf for short. All coffee naturally contains caffeine so any coffee that is labelled as decaf has to have gone through a manufacturing process to remove its caffeine. This episode covers what’s involved in that process and how decaffeination affects the way coffee brews and tastes. This week’s FACQ asks just how decaffeinated is decaf coffee?

See the photos showing the difference in colour between normal raw beans and raw decaf beans here

As mentioned, you can read more about decaf in this article on the Consumer Reports website.

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This episode picks apart the tangle of what we mean when we talk about strength in coffee. Encouraged by supermarket labelling, you might fall into the trap of thinking that the strength of a coffee is merely a consequence of its roast level but in fact the brewing method and a coffee’s inherent character also have a part to play in its strength. This week’s FACQ tackles how to reduce the strength of your coffee without compromising the flavour.

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This week’s episode delves into what is meant by roast level and the impact of roast level on brewing and coffee flavours. This week’s FACQ discusses the effect of roast level on the amount of caffeine in your coffee.

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The importance of coffee grind size on the flavour in your cup and why you really should buy a grinder. This week’s FACQ answers the age old question: can you grind coffee for Instant?

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In this episode we explore the impact of how coffee is stored on how it tastes - for better and worse! This week’s FACQ tackles the best way to store roasted coffee at home to keep it tasting good.

See the photos showing green coffee and what coffee sacks look like here

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When you’re trying to find a good coffee to brew at home the world of specialty coffee can be an impenetrable and confusing place. This episode cuts through snobbery and marketing to suggest ways to find a coffee that you’ll love. This week’s FACQ answers the question of why the altitude that a coffee is grown at has a profound effect on its flavour. 

Key information to note about the coffees you like

1/ The country and region within the country where it was grown 
2/ The variety of coffee bush
3/ A number with the letters m-a-s-l after it which is telling you the altitude or metres above sea level that it was grown at 
4/ The processing method (such as: washed, natural, honey, anaerobic)
5/ The level of roast (light, medium, dark - or in the case of a supermarket coffee the ‘strength’ number on the packet)
6/ The farm name or Co-op if buying a roaster’s relationship coffee (where the roaster has an on-going agreement to buy coffee from the same supplier)

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