Coffee Beans

Is the coffee selection in your local supermarket uninspiring and are you looking for cheap whole coffee beans full of flavour?

At Kaffekapslen you can find many different types of coffee, from lightly roasted mild and sour coffee beans to dark roasted intense coffee beans with a sweet aftertaste of chocolate.

The best coffee is a freshly ground coffee. This is because the coffee beans in their whole form are better at retaining their aroma and full-bodied taste. After the coffee beans have been ground, they lose some of their aroma and flavour. The more time that passes, the more flavour is lost.

If you want to get the most out of your coffee, the best solution is to grind it yourself. However, there is an art to grinding coffee in the right way.

Ground coffee beans are not just ground coffee. There are many different grades from coarse to very fine that are suited to different ways of preparing your coffee. For example, you have to use coarsely ground coffee when you make coffee in a French Press, whereas coffee has to be very finely ground for use in an espresso machine.

If you have mastered the art of grinding coffee you can safely buy whole beans, and always get a powerful and full-bodied coffee taste.

Coffee beans come from a coffee tree where they ripen inside a red berry. The berries are harvested when ripe, after which the pulp is removed and the beans are roasted.

The discovery of the coffee beans reportedly happened by chance several hundred years ago.

The legend goes that monks noticed their goats became more active after eating berries from the coffee tree. The monks were inspired to try to eat them. Repelled by the sourness of the berries the monks threw them on the fire.

The wonderful aroma from the coffee berries as they roasted in the fire overwhelmed them. The monks began experimenting with the berries, creating a variety of different concoctions until arriving at the first cup of coffee. The monks’ discovery slowly travelled around the world, and more and more countries began to get a taste for the aroma-filled drink.

In Europe, people began to know about coffee in the middle of the 17th century. At that time you could only buy coffee beans and tea at pharmacies.

The invigorating liquid with the wonderful aroma was initially the preserve of high society and was, along with tea, used as a status symbol.

In the late 18th century farmers began drinking coffee because tea was too expensive for them. At that time, the farmers made up as much as 75% of the total European population and this meant that Europe went from being a tea-drinking country to a coffee-drinking country.

Today, coffee is part of daily life in Europe. Most people drink a cup of coffee for their breakfast and many drink several cups a day. Coffee beans have become a regular part of the famous European hygge (best translation - ‘cosiness’) and are often served when people meet to celebrate birthdays and other festivities.

The way you store your coffee is crucial to retaining its quality. This applies to whole coffee beans as well as ground coffee. Coffee must always be stored in a tightly closed, dry container. If the container is transparent it must stored away from sunlight.

Air, light and moisture can significantly damage the taste of the coffee. Spices or other strong-smelling foods must also not be stored with the coffee, as their flavour will infect its aroma.

With the right storage coffee beans can hold on to their wonderful flavour for a long time.

Although there are approx. 70 different coffees in the world, the most common distinction is that between two main varieties - Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica coffee beans are the most popular coffee beans in Europe. They are considered of the highest quality and the best taste, although the taste can vary greatly, from sweet and soft to slightly sharp.

The coffee trees on which the Arabica beans grow are native to Ethiopia. Nowadays they are found in several different places around the world. They grow on mountain slopes and plateaus at altitudes from 500-2000 meters, in subtropical cool climates.

The tree are very sensitive to diseases, insect infestations and parasites and prefers shaded areas. This sensitivity can makes it difficult to grow Arabica beans and the yield is often not great. Nevertheless Arabica beans make up as much as 75% of the total coffee production in the world.

Because Arabica beans require so much care they cost more than the Robusta beans.

Robusta beans are grown mainly in parts of Indonesia and Africa. The Robusta coffee trees are less susceptible to various diseases and pests and it is therefore much easier to produce Robusta beans than Arabica beans. The Robusta coffee tree grows in lowland areas at an altitude of 200-800 meters, in warm climates of up to 30 degrees.

The Robusta beans have a higher caffeine content than the Arabica beans and their taste is more bitter and stronger. Robusta beans are often mixed with Arabica beans because they compliment each other. The Robusta beans make up approx. 25% of the total coffee production in the world.

While there is a big difference in the tastes of Arabica and Robusta beans, the taste of coffee beans also depends on other things. Coffee beans get their taste according to the way they are grown and also the way they are roasted.

For example, there is a big difference in the taste of coffee beans from Colombia and coffee beans from Brazil even though they are both Arabica beans. That coffee trees grow under different conditions in different country is evident in the taste of their beans.

Good coffee really is a matter of personal taste, and only you are best equipped to discover your favourite.

When the coffee beans are roasted, they develop flavours that are bound in oils inside the coffee bean. Depending on how long the coffee beans are roasted, they will develop different aromas.

Despite the fact that you can roast the beans in many ways, we in Europe are mainly familiar with only light-roasted, medium-roasted and dark-roasted coffee beans.

Light roasted coffee beans are most often used to make coffee in a French Press. The coffee beans have a high acid content and therefore also give the coffee a slightly sour taste.

Medium roasted coffee beans have lost a bit of their acidity and gained a slightly sweet taste. This is because the sugar in the beans has been caramelised in the roasting process. Medium roasted coffee beans are most often used in a coffee filter machine or a French Press.

With dark roasted coffee beans, almost all the sugar content of the coffee bean has been caramelized. This gives the coffee a sweet taste with a hint of chocolate. Dark-roasted beans are frequently used for espresso machines.