Tips on Choosing the Right Coffee

Feel overwhelmed trying to pick out coffee for your home? You’re not alone! With a seemingly endless combination of roast levels, countries, and processes, choosing the right coffee can feel impossible. But don’t fret! Let us help you on our coffee buying adventure.

Roast Levels and Caffeine Content

Roast level is probably the most simple concept to understand when searching for a coffee, but you might have been mislead along the way. A common misconception is that certain roasts have more or less caffeine than others. While is is true on a microscopic level, your body can’t tell the difference. So don’t be afraid to try a different roast due to caffeine content! It’s best to base your coffee decision on your flavor preference.

Washed, Natural, Semi-Washed, and other fancy coffee words

When browsing coffees you might run across words like washed, natural, semi-washed, honey, or other words under the category of “process” or “processing method”. While these words may add to the confusion, it is actually a very helpful indicator of flavor. Lets break down what these words mean:

Washed: The fruit is removed, leaving a sticky mucilage that is removed by soaking in a tank of water for 24-36 hours.  The coffee beans are then washed with water and dried in the sun. These coffees are typically clean and bright (tangy acidity). The majority of coffees you encouter are washed coffees.

Natural: The fruit is left on the bean and dried in the sun, like a raisin.  These coffees are sweet and fruit forward.

Semi-Washed/Honey: The fruit is removed as in the washed process, but then the mucilage covered beans are dried in the sun instead of soaking. These coffees are sweet and tend to have nice floral qualities.

Country of Origin

While country of origin can have some effect on flavor, it is not always a good indicator. When it comes to country of origin, it is best to just try them out and decide for yourself which one you like best!

Tasting Notes

Just like wine, coffee has what are called “Tasting Notes”. A tasting note is a flavor profile perceived in a certain coffee when brewed and is not the same thing as a flavored coffee! Flavored coffee has a flavored added to it whereas a tasting note is the perception of a naturally occurring flavor in the coffee.

Making Your Decision

Have a certain coffee taste you like? Great! Follow the information on our bags to get the perfect coffee for you. Not sure what you want? That’s great too! Buying great coffee is an adventure, so have fun with it and explore!

VCC named Best Coffee in Tennessee by MentalFloss

We were among an awesome list of other coffee roasters around the country on Mental Floss as one of the best coffee roasters in Tennessee. We are honored by this designation and excited to share our delicious coffee with you!

Don’t head to Nashville for the state’s best coffee. Take a trip to the Vienna Coffee Company outside of Knoxville. The small-batch roaster has everything from single-origin and estate coffees to certified shade-grown, bird-friendly, Rainforest Alliance-approved, and fair-trade beans. If you aren’t in the area to come by for a free tasting, you can always sign up for their mail-order coffee club.

Check out the article and learn about the other great roasters on the list: http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86777/best-coffee-roasters-all-50-states

Grab a bag of our featured coffee this month to sample what they are talking about.