Coffee.

What a wonderful thing it is to have coffee in our lives?! Love it for that hit of caffeine first thing in the morning or that peaceful five minute break it offers mid afternoon. For many, a good brew forms an essential part of the day.

In recent years, we have collectively come to understand that there is a lot more to coffee than we all thought. Be that the array of brewing methods available (Aeropress, Chemex, Clever Dripper, French Press, Espresso....) or the many different flavours coffee can naturally possess. How on earth do we go about choosing the one best suited to our individual preference?!

When we launched our home compostable packaging in 2021, we decided to try and make it a bit easier for our customers to interpret our range by separating it into two profiles: Base and Explore. Coffees in the Base range are closer to that more traditional 'coffee taste' with low to medium acidity and flavours like chocolate, nuts, stone fruits or berries being at the forefront.

On the other hand, our Explore range serves to showcase the more unusual flavours coffee can possess purely because of the soil it grew in, or the post-harvest process that was applied to it. Coffees in this range can often have medium to high levels of acidity, lower body and flavours such as citrus fruits, florals, tropical fruits etc. What unites our entire range, regardless of profile is the approach we take to sourcing and our focus on quality. Regardless of flavour, all our coffees will have minimal bitterness with lots of natural sweetness and character.

In short, there is a lot that goes into picking the perfect beans. Read on for some of our top tips to get you started on your journey with us...

Decaf or caffeinated?

Good decaf is very much here to stay. If you are after that great coffee experience without the caffeine, be sure to choose a Decaf process that is both kind to the original character of the coffee as well as to your body. Commercially processed Decaf is done so using Methyl Chloride (a toxic chemical used in chemotherapy) whereas specialty Decaf (like ours) tends to be organically processed using just carbon dioxide and water, resulting in a taste as close to the original character as possible.

With or without milk?

Coffee (and especially specialty grade Arabica coffee) is a very chemically complex beverage possessing not only hundreds of possible aromas but also most of the basic tastes we as human beings can identify: sweetness, acidity, bitterness, salt and umami. The intensity or type of acidity a coffee contains can make it less suitable to be enjoyed with milk... lemon milkshake anyone?! If you take your coffee with milk (dairy or non-dairy) it is worth choosing a coffee with a low to medium acidity and a medium to high body to ensure the taste of coffee does not get lost in the milk and that it has a high enough perceived strength. All of the coffees in our Base range are suitable to enjoy both with and without milk.

Chocolate or fruit?

Our favourite Chocolatey coffees to enjoy with milk: The Docks, Brazil Montanari El Salvador Chelazos.

Our favourite Chocolatey coffees to enjoy black: Guatemala Finca La Bola washed or natural, El Salvador Chelazos.

Our favourite fruity coffees to enjoy with milk: Czar St Seasonal Blend, Colombia La Estrella del Ostro.

Our favourite fruity coffees to enjoy black: Any of the African single origin beans from the Explore range.

3. Whole bean or ground?

Finally, how will you be brewing your coffee? Do you have a grinder? If so, simply order 'Whole Bean'. If you don't have a grinder, select the brewing method closest to what you plan on using E.g. v60 for a filter machine.

And that's it. The more you drink and the more you try, the more you will tune into where your preferences lie. Wherever you are on your coffee journey, be that right at the beginning or as a seasoned specialty lover, we have the beans for you. There is a host of info and supporting resource on the 'Learn' tab of our website and we are always more than happy to give you a bespoke recommendation too if you email our team on hello@northstarroast.com.

Happy brewing!