At some point, we've all been in that position — looking at a wall of consumables and not knowing where to begin. It might be wine, chocolate, potatoes, cheese; whatever you like.

Just looking at all the options and choices before you is nearly paralyzing when it comes to decision making. Before you give in to "Ah I don't know, I'll just grab a Savvy B and some Brie; they were fine before," there is a world of new exciting taste experiences and discoveries available for your ultimate selection.

Coffee is no exception. There's a lot of data to sort through, numerous alternatives, and not everyone is capable of assisting you in selecting the right coffee for you. Today we'll walk you through some major factors to think about while making that crucial decision for yourself or a loved one. Get ready to make the day's most important choice, whether it's buying delicious beans or browsing a coffee menu.

Roast Freshness

The myth that coffee keeps forever is one of the most famous coffee myths. The idea that coffee deteriorates and can't be utilized after two weeks is also incorrect.

So, what's the deal? There is but one option. Coffee is a fruit, and cherries are grown in great detail via agricultural processing. Freshness is always preferable.

How are we going to know what new looks like? On beans, look for ones with a visible printed roast date. If you can't tell me when it was roasted, it's probably because it doesn't want to. So be wary of any packaging that includes a ‘best before' or has a '2014' on it.

What is the best time to buy coffee and consume it? Buy it as freshly crushed as feasible, and try to finish it before three weeks after the printed roast date for the best experience. The ideal "peak" flavor times are usually between day 7 and 14, which is the standard for most of the great cafés you visit. Depending on when you harvest and prepare your beans, they can last up to four weeks. However, after day 14 the quality and taste intensity will start to deteriorate, resulting in flat cups and dejected faces.

Roast Profile

If you choose this option, we'll brew it according to the instructions on your order. If you want tea for dessert, choose "I'd like it brewed." But if iced coffee is more your speed, go ahead and select that option.

Filter roast vs. Espresso roast: These tags are on coffees that have been roasted with particular brewing equipment in mind. The beans are machine-drip ground, resulting in an extremely smooth creaminess. It's a beautiful scent that rivals vanilla and other gourmet coffees without being too sweet or heavy. In order to keep more of the sparkling acidity that a filtered cup of coffee requires, filter-roasted coffee has been less perfected. If you're using a pourover or an immersion brewer, like the Clever Coffee Dripper or Aeropress, to make coffee manually, then look for bags with a filter roasted label.

Blend or Single Origin

It's all too easy to get lost in the weeds when it comes to what type of coffee you drink, but I'm going to make this decision as simple as possible. Choose a blend if you want milk with your coffee. If black coffee is your thing, pick a single origin.

With a blended coffee, most of the time, one or more specific single origins have been chosen to use in that blend, resulting in a rich and flavorful espresso with a milky aftertaste. To improve the body of the espresso, some delicious brown sugaring tastes, or simply to add floral complexity to help balance the espresso, the coffees have been carefully chosen.

A single origin coffee is made from a single recognized geographical area, such as a farm or estate. This allows the customer to appreciate the distinct qualities of a given cultivating region. If you use no milk, you'll be more inclined to notice and appreciate this delicate flavor if you drink black coffee.

The type of soil, the variety of climate and weather, the volcanic activity that occurred in a particular area at a specific time frame, and human intervention all contribute to a wine's character.

Origin Selection

Coffee growing conditions and economic situations differ considerably across the world, therefore it's no surprise that coffee from one nation is different from another. Wine drinkers have long appreciated the distinctiveness of French wines, having developed a comfort with the idea that they would taste different from those produced in Italy or elsewhere. Coffee grows best in the warmer latitudes between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, known as the coffee belt. This region of latitude is frequently referred to as the coffee belt. Within this zone, there are numerous variables to consider, such as altitude, rainfall, soil conditions, and solar exposure.

So how do I narrow down this wide range to what I like best? Beginning with African coffees if you're looking for fruit-driven tastes and floral scents (for example, the Hi Fidelity blend). At the taste of coffee, we all love to think back on our favorite cup. What was your favorite blend? Do you remember opening a bag of Ethiopian beans and breathing in the complex berry and wine-like scents with delight? Or do you recall curling up on your sofa with a glass of Kenya's delicious stone fruit influenced coffee?

If you want clean coffees with delicate sugar browning sweetness, like chocolate or buttery pastry, accompanied by a sweeter fruit flavor, South and Central American coffee is the way to go. Because most of the world's coffee production comes from this region, it's likely that you'll discover a winner. Brazil, like many other Latin American countries, is famous for producing coffees with a heavier body and peanut flavor (Crompton Road blend comes to mind). In Colombia, the tastes have mellowed and appear more often in the form of chocolates, caramels, and toffees.

If you like a coffee to be more full-bodied and earthy, you'll enjoy choosing from the India and Indonesian regions. These are often characterized by a luscious syrupy body combined with herbal and savory tastes that tend to divide people in terms of personal taste.

Varietals

Coffee is a fruit, and apples are always one of the best comparisons to offer in terms of flavor preference. That's a safe bet since most people enjoy apples (is there anybody who doesn't?). When it comes to selecting the variety of apple, preferences are vastly varied. A ‘Fuji', 'Golden Delicious,' or any other such name will generally spark a lively debate as to which is superior (the decision is 'Jazz' according to my humble opinion).

Varieties of coffee grown in Brazil include Typica, Caturra, and Bourbon. While many nations prefer cultivating a certain varietal, it's not unusual to observe some varietals transplanted to new locations. The Geisha variety is one of the most sought-after in the world. It can beSweeter than other varieties, with a distinct flavor profile that includes dark berries, mangos, or even peaches. Although the price varies by region and brand, most Geisha coffee retailers will include a price tag. If you're buying for someone who enjoys coffee or makes their own, this is an easy choice.

Processing

Choosing a coffee may be difficult, but when you look at the choices available, one feature that will stand out is the way it was processed. This will usually be indicated in a basic "washed" or "natural" (unwashed) on the coffee menu or bag. This is worth noting since, even when the coffee is the same, you will get a distinctively different coffee experience as a result of these elements.

A washed coffee, also known as a "wet processed" bean, has had the cherry's outer pulp discarded and then fermented in tanks before being washed and dried. The result is frequently a coffee with excellent clarity of flavor while displaying a strong complex acidity to match. The process of fermentation, which is a form of decomposition, is the most widely used production approach. It's less prone to defects because the fermentation process is tightly controlled and leads to fewer rejects.

A natural processed coffee is one in which the cherry has been removed from the bean and parchment through the drying process, allowing fruit flesh and sugars to imbue on the seed. The result is frequently a "fruit bomb" with a strong fragrance and characteristics of wine. These are the two most popular procedures, but other options exist, such as Honey Processed (between Washed and Natural) and Wet Hulled (somewhere between Washed and Natural).

Altitude

This tiny nugget of information can assist us in learning more about growing conditions. The sweetness and acidity of a cherry are influenced by the altitude at which it is grown. Sugar is an essential energy source for a coffee plant, and when conditions are unfavorable, it will turn to this source in order to aid survival. A brilliant move on the part of the coffee tree; we'll have to suffer as a consequence. Coffee grows best in an average temperature range of 18°C - 23°C, with higher elevations often preferred to ensure adequate rainfall.

What should I be looking for? Anything growing above 1500 masl (meters above sea level) is quite a large area, and it will generally have a refined sweetness and acidity (remember those delicious Kenyan coffees we discussed earlier?). At 1000masl, the acidity is largely muted and more earthy tones are detected, as in Brazil or India.

So there you have it, folks. Next time you're browsing for a coffee to drink or purchase to use at home, take a look at the information provided and see what frequent qualities present on the coffees you enjoy drinking. When faced with a large selection of alternatives, it may assist you in making better decisions. When you're tired of drinking the same thing all day, every day, this may help you discover a different world of tastes that you never thought possible in coffee.