Instructions

1. Read the package or get bean grade information from your barista. The best quality coffee is generally grade AA, meaning the beans are the largest size available. Typically, the larger the coffee bean, the better the taste, according to Coffee Terms Illustrated.

2. Grind beans right before brewing to get good-quality coffee at home. Coffee beans begin to lose their flavor within three hours of grinding. When visiting a coffee shop, ask the barista when the beans were ground, or request freshly ground beans.

3. Smell the coffee. This step may be done before Step 2 when purchasing whole beans, or as Step 3 when purchasing brewed coffee. Good coffee beans release fragrant oils when roasted and have a strong coffee smell. High quality beans contain about three times more fragrant oils than lesser beans, according to Coffee Makers Café. High quality coffee retains this strong aroma when freshly brewed.

4. Taste the coffee by forcefully slurping a sip into your mouth. Slurping the coffee spreads it evenly over the tongue, according to Merchants of Green Coffee. High quality coffee has high acidity giving it pronounced flavors often described as nutty, spicy, fruity, mellow, chocolaty, caramel, wine, floral, tangy or smoky, depending on the bean and roast. Lower quality coffees have less desirable flavors, often described as watery, chemically, muddy, rubbery or tasting like medicine. Low quality coffee often lack acidity, giving it an overall flat taste.

5. Before swallowing (or spitting if you are tasting several varieties) the coffee, run your tongue over the roof of your mouth to gauge “mouth feel.” Mouth feel gives you an idea of the body of the coffee. Good coffee has a distinct mouth feel, whether it is a heavy, full-bodied feel or a lighter, dry feel, depending on the roast. The thicker the mouth feel, the heavier the body. Fuller bodied coffees retain their flavor longer.