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How to buy good coffee

May 25, 2005

So you’re tired of drinking the Folgers, but you’ve found out that buying “exotic” coffees is something of a crap-shoot? Or perhaps you’ve learned the hard way that “expensive” doesn’t always mean good…

What you may need is INeedCoffee’s new General Guide to Buying Coffee.

It’s not comprehensive or in depth by any means, but it will give you a general idea of the kind of taste you should expect from various regional varieties of coffee.

There are also some good head’s up tips for “gotchas” -

So last time I went down to the store and bought some nice fancy Kona coffee, however it tasted no better than the regular coffee I have been buying over the years.

Coffee regulations in the United States only require manufacturers to specify that they are selling 100% coffee. This allows coffee manufacturers to blend 10% of an expensive type of Kona coffee with a much cheaper grade and advertise is it as Kona Coffee. This not only soils the reputation of Kona coffee, but it is a very dishonest trick. Therefore when you buy international coffee, make sure they specify that it is 100% from the country and crop advertised.

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Written by Chuck Lawson · Filed Under Caffeine 
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