How to Make Good Coffee: Why Choose Whole Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans

The most important thing to know about making good coffee is that you can wade as slow or dive as fast as you want into the art of this dark, aromatic drink. Making good coffee should not be an intimidating exercise--it should be an invitational one, meaning there is an endless amount of creativity at the helm.

That is not to say that good coffee is relative. There is such a thing as a bad cup of coffee, and I guess it is theoretically possible for someone to like a bad cup of coffee--just as it is possible that someone doesn’t like a good cup of coffee. But the line between good coffee and bad coffee is not as thin as some make it out to be. What counts as a “good cup of coffee” is highly dependent (though, not exclusively so) on what you are looking for, how you are making it, and what supplies you have at your disposal. 

There are some basic things you do need in order to make coffee in general and that help one achieve a stellar cup.

Those items are, in level of impact and importance:

• Fresh Roasted, Whole Bean Coffee

• A Quality Burr Grinder

• Quality water

• A Brewing Method That Does Not Involve a Plastic Pod

The simplicity of good coffee is like the simplicity of most things in life. It doesn’t require much. As G.K. Chesterton noted, “The only simplicity that matters is the simplicity of the heart.” That belief is critical. You do not need to drop a thousand dollars on a new set up. You do not need to have coffee that is exorbitant in its price or from some place foreign and exotic. 

If you start with the basics, you only need a few things that we will cover in this and future blogs.

Whole Bean Coffee

There are few things in life that are definitive, but here is one: coffee should be whole bean and it should be fresh.

Whole Bean Coffee vs. Pre-Ground Coffee

When folks ask why whole bean is preferable to ground, I typically suggest that the difference between whole bean coffee and pre-ground coffee is the difference between a fresh loaf of sourdough bread and the pre-sliced sandwich bread that is so shelf stable that it takes weeks for it to dry out.

And the proof is in the pudding. Once you commit to whole bean, there just is no going back except for in the occasional need for convenience. Why? There are many good reasons, but a few are below:

1. Whole bean coffee stays fresher for longer. What many people don’t know about coffee is that when it is roasted, it releases CO₂ (carbon dioxide), with a significant amount being released in the first 24-48 hours. When coffee is ground, the CO₂ leaves the coffee quicker and, ultimately, leaves one with stale coffee that is comparable to a loaf of bread that has sat on the countertop for several days. Wholebean coffee is considered “fresh” for 4-5 weeks as it slowly releases the CO₂, pre-ground coffee goes stale within 3-4 days. 

2. You use less coffee when you use whole bean coffee. Most people do not weigh their coffee grounds. They usually “approximate” the amount needed within their filter and generally overestimate the amount of coffee needed. Not only does this produce a bad cup, but it wastes coffee. If saving money on coffee is part of what you are after, whole bean coffee typically does the trick. 

3. Whole bean helps you experience more of the world of coffee in its varieties and tasting profiles. In resisting a reductionistic attitude about coffee, whole bean opens you up to a variety of experiences. You will be more curious about what kind of coffee you are tasting and will be able to develop a higher degree of preferences for a variety of different options. The truly distinctive coffees of the world are almost always made available in whole bean and most exhibit far more distinction in their taste profiles than ground ever can do. 
   
   

4. Making whole bean coffee is a ritual. This, again, is part of our overall philosophy of how coffee can be and should be reimagined against the rush and pull of the contemporary world. When you use whole bean, you typically fall into morning rhythms and doing something intentional. Think of grinding coffee beans like a good, intentional morning stretch or use the time to reflect and meditate.
   

Fresh Roasted Coffee

If one pulls a loaf of sourdough bread out of the oven, it has gone through a series of molecular and compositional changes that are immediately perceptible in the final result. It’s often soft, with a buttery texture. The fermentation is strong and the aroma deep. The flavor complexities allow for a myriad of descriptions that push against the concept of this being “just bread.” As with wine, sourdough has its own tasting notes that provide insight to the world of artisan bread making. No loaf is the same, save serious attention to replicable recipes and environments. After a day goes by, the bread is still considered fresh. Many of those complexities, flavors, and texture notes are still present. But after a couple of days, one starts to notice the toll of oxidation on the bread. While it may not be stale, time and exposure to air begin to compromise the quality of the bread and after a mere handful of days it can no longer be considered “fresh.” 

This same principle applies to coffee. When green coffee is roasted, it goes through major changes as part of the roasting process. The color changes from a pallid yellow-ish green color to a light or dark brown color. The water content in the bean drops from 10-15% to 2.5%, causing 20-25% weight loss on the bean, though the beans themselves tend to grow in volume as internal gases work to break out from cell walls. Importantly, the Maillard reaction creates hundreds of aroma and flavor compounds, and caramelization adds sweetness, body, and depth.  

After roasting, coffee goes through a de-gassing stage where the trapped CO₂ begins to fight its way out of the beans. This is a very slow process and usually for the first couple of days the coffee is considered too gassy to drink (and often can expand or explode disproportionately when it comes into contact with hot water), but after 48 hours, the coffee begins a process where it achieves a peak condition where it has released enough CO₂ to avoid "off flavors." Some beans reach their peak at 2 days post-roast. Others hit their peak up to three weeks post-roast. Most often, coffee begins to taste bland after 4-5 weeks.

This is why supporting a local or artisan coffee roaster is essential. Coffee that sits on grocery store shelves has typically degassed beyond the point of freshness.

If there is no date that is available on the bag, another sign to look for is a degassing valve. This degassing valve is designed to slowly release CO₂ at a modulated rate, thus allowing a slow degas that does not leave the coffee open to oxidation and exposure. I speak for every roaster everywhere in saying, “This is not a smell valve. Please don’t squeeze the bag!” (especially if you’re not going to buy it). But you can be assured that if a coffee does not have a Co2 valve, it was stale when it was bagged.