# Advice on what coffee beans to buy.



## Flash (Dec 17, 2017)

Hi all,

I'm new to this and need some help on what coffee beans people recommend to buy as I'm buying my first bean to cup machine which is a delonghi magnifica. Any help is much appreciated


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

It depends on your coffee taste and how you drink it. Straight espresso ? or milk based, flat white / cappa ?

Do you like strong flavoured dark roasted beans or do you prefer lighter more fruity / acidic flavours ?

Always use freshly roasted beans (rested after roasting)


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## Flash (Dec 17, 2017)

I drink a mix of all but mainly. Latte/flat white. Do you not recommend brands such as Lavazza?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Flash said:


> I drink a mix of all but mainly. Latte/flat white. Do you not recommend brands such as Lavazza?


No....


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Your best bet is to read some of the bean threads and decide what youre after. Fruity, nutty, chocolate, smooth etc etc

The #12roasterchallenge threads will also give you an idea of different beans

Buy fresh beans and use from 10 days after the roast date.


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> No....


that's what I was trying to say but couldn't find the right words


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Flash said:


> I drink a mix of all but mainly. Latte/flat white. Do you not recommend brands such as Lavazza?


Big brands are good for consumer electronics cars whatever...but it's the opposite for coffee, avoid the big brand names you see in the supermarket...even if it's Waitrose. Also avoids the big brand name coffee resellers e.g. costa, Starbucks Whittards (are they still going?) and the like.


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Rave signature if you are going to make milk based drinks . Compliments milk well and is super easy to dial in .


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## Beanedict (Aug 14, 2017)

Flash said:


> I drink a mix of all but mainly. Latte/flat white. Do you not recommend brands such as Lavazza?


Hi @Flash, and welcome from another green bean









You will find that most active users here have ascended into a higher level of existence







but they are very patient with us. My personal experience, speaking for myself only. Please note, this is very different from snobbery. I think reading up on some threads on this forum will put some things into a different perspective. It did for me. We all love coffee, but as we search and discover better coffee, and learn about the process and difference between commodity coffees and beans which are result of efforts of many clever people (creating new cultivars, taking care of correct growing and processing, and roasting) we look back with pain to the days of waisted time and money. This is true with wine, fruit, meat, or even potato. The ham and chicken from my local butcher tastes better than say tesco's finest. It does. Tomato picked up fresh on the Mediterranean coast tastes better than stuff in the supermarket.

Lavazza is a good compromise to get the wonders and the magic of coffee to the masses. Unfortunately, a lot of that magic is gone from those beans. In my experience, from someone who had lavazza, illy, starucks and beans from Taylors of Harrogate (and still tries commodity beans now and then just to make sure), try medium-dark roast by any of the roasters you see in Beans section. They are all better than Lavazza. You may not realise it at first. It took me a while. Check out the list of roasters here:

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?1656-UK-Based-Roasters

Most of the talk and buzz seems to be about Coffee Compass, Has Bean, Foundry, Atkinsons, Rave, Origin, Square Mile. But they are all better than Lavazza, I am sorry. Just pick the cheapest beans from artisan roasters from the list, as a start.

All big companies (Lavazza, Starbucks, and the lot) usually pick cheap beans, blend them to achieve consistent expectations in the cup, and roast it quite dark, as it removes some unpleasant taste from cheap beans (ordinary or bad bread but toasted tastes better, but compare it fresh with really nice fresh bread...). Most/all artisan roasters in the list above, are more choosy, they don't care about consistency between batches, but rather pick a nicer batch (easier to do when you're not dealing with hundreds of tons of beans) and take time to figure out how to roast it best, just that batch, and you get to drink it few days later (and not 1 year later after roasting).

I tried lighter roast at first and I just could not drink it. Your brain tells you that the coffee should taste like costa. That's why i'd personally recommend to start with medium-dark roast from roasters that picked the beans to taste good for that roast level. Then slowly dip into lighter roasts. Once you start drinking coffee that is less than a month old since roasting, you will look at lavazza with pain, just like most people on here. This is not about ethical growing, although that comes in as a byproduct of coffee grown with more care. I hope I was not too preachy, I felt I am qualified to speak because I am at the very beginning of the journey into a better coffee, no different from you.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

For your machine I'd look at something that quite forgiving. Try one of Hasbeans blends.


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## Flash (Dec 17, 2017)

Thank you all on the advice I'll stay away from the big names. Just found out earlier I have a roaster 10 mins away from (Silver Oak Coffee) going to go and have a chat with them and I don't think there really expensive.. I think


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

Flash said:


> Thank you all on the advice I'll stay away from the big names. Just found out earlier I have a roaster 10 mins away from (Silver Oak Coffee) going to go and have a chat with them and I don't think there really expensive.. I think


I tried them earlier in the year and really enjoyed the bag of Papua New Guinea coffee I purchased. I'd be confident that they are good roasters. Maybe ask them for something that is easy to work with while you get the hang of your machine. I'd initially stay away from lighter roasts as they are generally trickier to extract. I'm sure that they will have something suitable.


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## PB200 (Nov 10, 2017)

I'm new to this and I stick to a very simple rule.

If if it has a roasting date - good. Best before date - bad.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

PB200 said:


> I'm new to this and I stick to a very simple rule.
> 
> If if it has a roasting date - good. Best before date - bad.


Better rule is to buy from reputable roasters. A roast date is no guarantee of quality. Could be the cheapest greens out that have been roasted.


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## PB200 (Nov 10, 2017)

How do you know they are reputable? Might be just starting up.

End of of the day a good bag might be £5-7 so I'd say try it.

Just bare in mind changing beans beans a lot means more dialling in.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

PB200 said:


> How do you know they are reputable? Might be just starting up.
> 
> End of of the day a good bag might be £5-7 so I'd say try it.
> 
> Just bare in mind changing beans beans a lot means more dialling in.


Variety is the spice of life. Such wonderful varieties of tastes in coffee out there , always something delicious to try .


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

PB200 said:


> How do you know they are reputable? Might be just starting up.
> 
> End of of the day a good bag might be £5-7 so I'd say try it.
> 
> Just bare in mind changing beans beans a lot means more dialling in.


Recommendations are a good place to start and there are plenty on here to guide you to numerous reputable roasters. No harm taking a punt on a new roaster but bear in mind a stamp on a bag is no guarantee of quality, simply the date it was roasted.

Why try a new roaster though when you don't like dialling in new beans?


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## Darren-Oracle (Apr 18, 2020)

Another good option: https://200degs.com/shop/coffee/brazilian-love-affair


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## Longmanh (Mar 30, 2020)

PB200 said:


> Just bare in mind changing beans beans a lot means more dialling in.


 That's actually one of the reasons I love changing beans so much, I love trying to find the best setting to extract the best taste.

As I'm fairly new to the whole dialling in game myself, I've wasted a fair amount of beans which isn't so good but it's all learning. 🤙


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## Longmanh (Mar 30, 2020)

Flash said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm new to this and need some help on what coffee beans people recommend to buy as I'm buying my first bean to cup machine which is a delonghi magnifica. Any help is much appreciated


 You have so many options when it comes to beans and in my opinion, you have two routes to venture down;



Use one of the larger roasters that supply very good beans to the independent coffee shops such as Hasbean, Union, Square Mile. These guys have been around for a while and know their onions (and coffee beans) and have a good reputation.


Try and find some local roasters to you and give them a go.


Try and work out which flavours you like and pick some beans that sound tasty to you. It will take some time to work this out but it's all part of the adventure.

As others have said, stay away from the likes of Illy and Lavazza.

Let us know how you get on. 👍


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