Coffee is a wonderful product with a lot of health benefits, but many commercial operations are destroying it and its benefits like Charbucks. They over roast it for shelf life and because it’s so burnt and bitter you have to use way too much sugary syrups to make it palatable (still not in my opinion). Origin coffees, from a single farm location usually in a mountainous region at elevation, shine when roasted at lighter levels and you don’t have to add anything while you get to enjoy the rich flavors arabica beans provide. Consequently, most commercial already ground coffees like Folgers, Yuban…are primarily robusta beans from lower elevations in Brazil which are less flavorful and cheaper, though robusta has more caffeine making it more bitter and can be used in espresso blends with arabica beans to good effect.
Before the industrial revolution, people used to buy and roast their coffee at home, but eventually large roasting operations took over. But there is one secret you might not know about coffee, about 7 days after roasting the flavor starts to fall off. And for maximum flavor you want to grind your coffee beans just before brewing. So roasting your own coffee guarantees that you get the roasting level that matches your arabica beans and that your coffee is fresh. And since you’re buying the green origin beans which keep for quite a while, you can choose the coffees you prefer to drink stocking up as I buy 15 lbs per order. Consequently, two of my favorite regions for great tasting coffee is Ethiopia and Kenya, and a good seller will give you cupping scores so you can gauge the quality of each harvest and processing as well as the flavor profile and recommended roasting levels.
Delicious plump fruit flavors, blueberry preserves, peach, dark plum, with notes of sorghum syrup, dried date, and a floral berry aroma. Chocolate-drizzled fruits with darker roast development. City to Full City.
https://www.sweetmarias.com/ethiopia-dry-process-hambela-buliye-7236.html
And home roasting couldn’t be easier today with many different home roasters available. It started with people repurposing hot air popcorn poppers to roast coffee, and then a myriad of hot air roasters were commercially developed. But there are many quality home roasters you can choose from depending on what you want to spend. I always wanted to move to a drum model, but my Fresh Roast SR300 I’ve had for years refuses to die. So if nothing else purchase from a coffee roaster that doesn’t over roast and gets you the coffee soon after roasting, or invest in some equipment and do it yourself. And really enjoy that morning cup of coffee to get your day started as well as maximizing the health benefits.