The perfect coffee bean

No matter how well your stovetop espresso setup is, the  coffee bean  can make or break your brew. With the right knowledge and a little experimentation, you can master this      crucial step in making that perfect stovetop espresso.

Let us start with a little history. The coffee bean is the actual seed of the coffee plant. Although not technically a bean The fruit, often referred to as the berry or cherry, of the coffee plant is normally red or purple in color and the pit  is housed inside the fruit. The beans (seeds) are two flat sided stones sitting against one another.
There are dozens of coffee plant variety, each producing their own distinct flavors and it is the understanding  of these differing varieties and how they fit in with your personal taste that help to make that perfect brew. 

The Coffea arabica variety accounts for around 75% of coffee consumed around the world today and is very rarely blended with other beans as it is of the highest quality and really does stand on its own when it comes to taste. Once harvested the raw green coffee bean is dried and here again the multitude of drying techniques effect the resulting flavor of the coffee.
The dried beans then travel through a number of processes to clean and sort the beans, removing any defective beans that would adversely effect the final blend. It’s a slow process and even though modern technology does help, all the finest coffee is still hand sorted and re checked a number of times to ensure the highest grade product.

The part that interests us most as stovetop espresso fans is the grading. This is a complicated procedure where factors such as; altitude of crop, quality of bean, picking and drying process are all judged along with “cup quality”.

Although Arabica does stand on its own for stovetop espresso coffee, blended varieties, known as Melange, are popular with people looking for a twist. This really is an area of personal choice and experimentation is needed to find your ideal blend. Blend combinations such as dark Colombian full bodied beans mixed with Kenyan Estate roasted for example, give a light acidic bight to a full flavored bold bean.

Melange blends are as varied as the people that brew them.

The best advice is to find a local supplier (markets are great for this) and experiment. Start with your nose and work towards your pallet. Specialist coffee sellers will guide you based upon your tastes and will suggest different beans for you to try. Take a few small quantity of different samples home and see what jumps out at you……and it will.