How to buy
Four facts on a bag do more work than a generic flavor wheel. Exact cafe scripts live on each origin page. We do not sell bags.
1. Roast date
Look for a roasted-on date, not a best-before stamp. Best-before is often 12 months out and says nothing about when the beans were roasted. Without a visible roast date, we will not call a bag fresh.
2. Country
A country (Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya) is the first honest cue. A region (Huila, Yirgacheffe, Cerrado) is better still. “Blend” or a cafe brand name with no origin is marketing, not a map.
3. Process
Washed, natural, honey, or wet-hulled (giling basah on a Sumatra bag) changes the cup more than most tasting notes. If the bag is silent, assume nothing.
4. Roast level
Light, medium, or dark. A charcoal-dark “espresso” roast will bury the fruit a washed Ethiopia was grown for. Medium Brazil in a latte is a different drink, on purpose.
Skip the noise
Flavored beans, “Italian,” “breakfast blend,” and a list of dessert notes with no country are not origin cues. If you shop a supermarket aisle, match the shelf decoder on the origin page, then say the cafe line if you are ordering instead.