Best Coffee Beans
Best Coffee Beans: How to Choose the Right Coffee
People ask me all the time what the best coffee beans are.
My answer usually starts with another question: What kind of coffee do you like to drink?
That's really where you should start.
I've been roasting coffee since 1980. I was fortunate to learn the craft from Alfred Peet and Sal Bonavita, and I've spent the years since then roasting, tasting and learning what different coffees can do.
There are things I look for when buying green coffee and things I look for during the roast, but you shouldn't need 40 years of roasting experience to choose a good bag of coffee.
If you like your coffee smooth and balanced, I'll point you in one direction. If you want something richer and fuller, we'll go another. And if you love a big dark roast, I'll help you find that too.
What Makes Good Coffee Beans?
Good coffee starts with good green coffee.
Origin, growing conditions, processing and the quality of the crop all matter. We taste coffees before deciding what we want to buy and roast.
But buying excellent green coffee is only half the job.
You still have to roast it well.
Every coffee behaves differently in the roaster. The goal is to develop the sweetness, aroma, body and character of that coffee without taking away the qualities that made us buy it in the first place.
That's what a roast profile is really about.
If you're interested in that side of coffee, I wrote more about it in Coffee Roast Profiles: What Millions of Pounds of Coffee Have Taught Me.
What Coffee Beans Should I Buy?
If you were standing with me at the roastery, I wouldn't give you a lecture about coffee.
I'd ask what you normally drink.
I Like Smooth, Balanced Coffee
I'd start you with a medium roast coffee.
Medium roasting gives us room to develop sweetness and body while keeping more of the individual character of the coffee.
Our Original Blend is where I'd send a lot of people who are trying Weaver's for the first time. It's smooth, balanced and easy to brew, with chocolate and caramel notes and a little citrus in the cup.
It's the kind of coffee you can wake up and drink every morning.
John's Pick: Original Blend Coffee
I Like Richer Coffee With More Body
Now we're getting into an area I really enjoy.
Take a look at our medium-dark roast coffee.
You get more depth and body than a medium roast, but a good medium-dark roast should still have sweetness and balance.
If that's what you're looking for, I'd probably hand you our Sumatra.
Sumatra naturally has a lot of body. We develop the roast to bring out the deeper chocolate, cedar, maple and spice characteristics that make this coffee so satisfying.
You can learn more in our guide to Sumatra Coffee.
John's Pick: Sumatra Coffee
I Like Bold, Dark Coffee
Then let's drink dark coffee.
A lot of people think dark roast has to be bitter or burned. It doesn't.
I've spent a good part of my career roasting darker coffees. The challenge is getting the body, depth and roast character you're looking for without going too far.
If you want a bold, full cup, explore our dark roast coffee.
I'd start a dark-roast drinker with our French Roast.
John's Pick: French Roast Coffee
Choose Coffee for the Way You Brew
The next thing I'd want to know is how you're making your coffee.
That can change my recommendation.
Best Coffee Beans for a Drip Coffee Maker
Most people are simply trying to make a really good pot of coffee in the morning.
For an automatic drip coffee maker, I generally like medium and medium-dark coffees. They give you plenty of body and flavor while staying balanced through an entire pot.
If drip is how you make coffee every morning, read Best Coffee Beans for Automatic Drip Coffee Makers.
Best Coffee Beans for French Press
French press lets a lot of the coffee's body come through, so I like using a coffee with some weight to it.
Sumatra is one of my favorites for this.
The grind matters too. You want a coarser grind than you'd use for drip coffee.
Here's our guide to How to Make French Press Coffee.
Best Coffee Beans for Espresso
Espresso concentrates everything.
I want sweetness, body and enough depth for the coffee to hold together as espresso or with milk in a cappuccino or latte.
Medium-dark and dark roast coffees are where I'd generally start.
Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew
For cold brew, I tend to prefer coffee with good body, natural sweetness and deeper chocolate flavors.
Medium-dark and dark roasts work particularly well.
Our Cold Brew Coffee Guide will help you get the grind, ratio and brewing time right.
Whole Bean or Ground Coffee?
If you have a good grinder at home, buy whole bean coffee and grind what you need before brewing.
You'll preserve more of the aroma and flavor that way.
But I also don't want people making coffee harder than it needs to be.
If you don't have a grinder, we'll grind your coffee for the way you make it. Drip, French press, espresso and cold brew each need a different grind.
The important thing is that you're starting with good, fresh roasted coffee and using the right grind for your brewer.
If you want to understand why grind makes such a difference, read our Coffee Grinding Guide.
Single Origin Coffee or Coffee Blend?
I drink both.
A single origin coffee gives you the opportunity to taste the character of coffee from a particular part of the world.
That's one of the pleasures of coffee.
Try a Sumatra next to a Guatemala or a Kenya and you'll understand pretty quickly how different coffees can be.
A blend has a different purpose.
When we build a blend, we're looking for coffees that work together. One might contribute body, another sweetness and another brightness. Done properly, a blend gives you balance and, just as importantly, consistency.
One isn't better than the other.
It depends on what you want to drink.
Fresh Roasted Coffee Makes a Difference
I can spend a lot of time talking about roast profiles, origins and brewing, but freshness is one of the simplest things you can control.
Coffee changes after it's roasted.
That's why we roast our coffee in San Rafael, California and ship it fresh to our customers.
If you buy whole bean coffee, keep it away from heat, moisture and light, and grind it when you're ready to brew.
That's about as complicated as it needs to be.
If You're Buying Weaver's Coffee for the First Time
Let's make this easy.
If you want smooth and balanced, start with Original Blend.
If you want rich and full-bodied, try Sumatra.
If you want bold and dark, try French Roast.
Start with the one that sounds most like the coffee you already enjoy.
Once you find the direction you like, you can explore different origins, roast levels and blends. That's part of the fun of drinking coffee.
What I've Learned About Choosing Coffee
Alfred Peet and Sal Bonavita taught me to pay attention to the coffee.
I've been doing it ever since.
I've roasted a lot of coffee over the years, but I still don't believe there's one "best" coffee bean for everybody.
There is good coffee and bad coffee. There is coffee that's roasted well and coffee that isn't. And then there's your own taste.
Buy good coffee from a roaster you trust. Get it fresh. Brew it properly.
Then taste it.
If you want another cup, that's usually your answer.
John Weaver
Co-Founder & Master Coffee Roaster
Weaver's Coffee & Tea
Best Coffee Beans FAQ
What are the best coffee beans?
The best coffee beans start with high-quality green coffee and are roasted to develop sweetness, aroma, body and balance. Freshness matters too. Ultimately, the best coffee for you depends on the flavors and roast level you enjoy and how you brew your coffee.
What coffee beans should I buy for everyday coffee?
For most people, I'd start with a medium or medium-dark roast. Both give you good body and flavor without becoming too heavy. They're also versatile enough for everyday drip coffee, French press and other common brewing methods.
Are whole coffee beans better than ground coffee?
Whole bean coffee stays fresh longer because you grind it just before brewing. If you don't own a grinder, freshly ground coffee is perfectly fine. Just make sure it's ground correctly for your brewing method.
What are the best coffee beans for a drip coffee maker?
Medium and medium-dark roast coffees are good choices for automatic drip coffee makers because they offer a balance of sweetness, body and everyday drinkability.
What are the best coffee beans for espresso?
I generally start with medium-dark or dark roast coffee for espresso. They provide the body, sweetness and depth that work well in a concentrated espresso shot and in milk drinks.
Is dark roast coffee stronger than medium roast coffee?
Dark roast usually tastes stronger because the roast flavors are deeper and more pronounced, but stronger taste doesn't necessarily mean more caffeine. If what you're looking for is bold flavor and body, dark roast is usually the direction I'd go.
Is single origin coffee better than blended coffee?
No. They're different. Single origin coffee lets you explore the characteristics of one growing region, while a good coffee blend combines coffees to create balance and consistency.
Where can I buy fresh roasted coffee beans online?
You can buy fresh roasted whole bean or ground coffee directly from Weaver's Coffee & Tea. We roast our coffee in San Rafael, California and offer medium, medium-dark and dark roast coffees for delivery.
Related Coffee Guides
Shop Fresh Roasted Coffee
If you're still not sure which coffee to choose, start with the flavors you already know you enjoy. You can always try something different with the next bag.