How To Know If Your Coffee Is Actually Good

There is nothing worse than reaching for your delicious, warm morning coffee only to find out it is bitter and burnt. Whether you’re an at-home aficionado or you’re dedicated to your local cafe, it can be hard to know why your caffeine fix sometimes misses the mark.

In an effort to understand our favourite drink that little bit better, we sat down with Industry Beans Co-Founder and COO Steve Simmons to discuss tips and tricks on how to know if your coffee is actually good. 

Can coffee beans go off?

Yes, eventually! Roasted coffee is generally labelled with a “best before” of 12 months. However, while coffee is still drinkable until the best before date, to get the best experience we recommend trying to use coffee within 4-6 weeks. This is the best window to enjoy all the aromas and flavours contained within the beans. From there, proper storage will help extend the life of flavour, and while they won’t go ‘off’, they’ll become noticeably less interesting from about 3 months onwards.

How can you tell when coffee goes off?

Some roasteries will attach a “best before” to their packaging, though not all – so you’re best to look at the roast date, and work forwards from there. 

Can I grind my beans and store for later use, or is it better to grind and use immediately?

We always recommend grinding your beans immediately before using, however we know this isn’t always possible.  After grinding, the aroma and flavour comes out of the coffee more quickly (which is why ground coffee smells so much stronger than beans), which means it’s no longer in the coffee.  If it is no longer in the coffee, then it definitely won’t end up in your cup!  The longer the coffee is left after grinding, the more these precious qualities will be lost into the air.

Why does coffee sometimes taste bitter?

There are a lot of factors that can make your coffee taste bitter; including the quality of green coffee, precision and style of roasting, and of course the way it has been brewed (by yourself, or your barista).  Starting with quality ingredients is the best foundation for flavour, which is why we focus on sourcing high quality green coffee, and then roasting it to maximise the natural sweetness and flavour in the coffee. From there, what can you do? It’s important to ensure the coffee isn’t over brewed (for example, brewed for too long, or with water that is too hot) as this will result in a bitter coffee.

Is there a recommendation of the best kind of milk for a flat white, cappuccino, latte?

It would be a brave barista to recommend a best kind of milk in the age of so many alternative milks! While most customers are still enjoying full cream dairy milk with their daily coffee, we have seen oat become the new favourite non-dairy alternative, taking over from soy and almond. Heated and textured correctly, they can all taste fantastic as any milk coffee.

What temperature is best for milk, and if I am making it at home, how do I know?

At our cafes, we steam our milk to 62-63C. This ensures the texture of the milk is silky, while maintaining the structure of the proteins in the milk.  Hotter than this can start to change the flavour of the milk, however everyone has their personal preferences, which we always do our best to ​accommodate. The best way is to use a thermometer, but if this isn’t available then heating to the point the jug gets too hot to hold your fingers against for about 1 second is a good guide.

About the Author:

Steve Simmons is the COO and Co-Founder of www.industrybeans.com.au Industry Beans supplies and shares coffee with thousands of Australians, every day via it its cafes, online subscription service – The Espresso Club – and via its many partner outlets across Australia.