Luckily for everyone, coffee is about as unique as the individuals that drink it. There are tons of coffee brands out there that serve a wide range of needs and communities. The best coffee brand to buy is the one that you feel best represents what you want out of your cup.

You should pick a specialty coffee brand (like us!) if you are looking for:

• Freshly Roasted Coffee - Specialty coffee roasters often roast to order, so you get your beans as fresh as possible.
• Wide Selection - Small farmers have a better chance of selling their product to specialty roasters since they are not able to provide the quantity needed for mass production. This leads to a greater variety of coffees and flavors available on the market due to smaller roasters.
• Single-Origin Coffee - For a lot of the same reasons you can access a larger variety of coffee in specialty coffee, you also gain access to single-origin coffees as well. These beans are unique and are best celebrated by themselves instead of being lost in a mass produced blend.

You should pick a commodity coffee company if you are looking for:

• Cheap Coffee - Everyone knows that prices go down with quantity and a loss of quality control. With specialty coffee, each chain on the link cost slightly more because it is a quality product that produces a living wage for those involved. Some unsavory practices are used by some coffee growers to be able to produce commodity coffee at the lowest price possible.
• Single-Use Pods - While there are reusable options where you can use your own coffee grounds, most interested in single-use coffee pods are looking for convenience over quality.
• A Way to Waste Money - I'd say we aren't trying to knock commodity coffee, but come on... try some specialty coffee and then go back and tell me the alternative is even viable.

At first glance, it would seem like the most economical way to buy coffee would be to go to the big box store and get the preground, blasted to hell tubs of coffee. In reality, that coffee is more likely to get thrown away after you taste it the first time... or after it's as stale as most of my jokes from sitting around your pantry. The most economical way to buy coffee is to buy coffee that you know you are going to savor and enjoy. Life's too short to drink bad coffee.

The great news here is you are in the right place! When you brew at home, the added cost of specialty coffee goes out the window since you are only having to pay for the materials themselves, potentially saving you hundreds, thousands, or even millions (unlikely millions... but we don't know you and your spending habits). We recommend getting a wide variety of coffees for home use and experimenting to find the perfect cup for you!

Use our roast preference calculator to determine which coffee might be right for you!

The first thing to do is look at the beans. As they say in computer science, garbage in, garbage out. Your cup will only taste as good as the beans you put in. Other than that we of course recommend freshly grinding your coffee to preserve freshness. We also recommend buying local because that's always going to make you feel better about your purchase!

Taste is subjective, we totally get that! Everyone should be able to enjoy the cup of coffee they find most pleasing. Most people only think to add cream or sugar to their coffee, but there are a lot of different options. We even experimented with adding ground spices to our brew to see how it impacted flavor.

Coffee is graded based on factors:

• Size
• Defects
• Density
• Moisture Content
• Cup Quality

Specialty coffee is typically graded on a 100-point scale by certified Q Graders, with scores above 80 considered specialty-grade. Defects, such as broken beans or insect damage, lower a coffee’s grade, while larger, denser beans with consistent size and exceptional flavor receive higher ratings.

You can see the differences by picking up a bag of whole bean commodity coffee and comparing it to specialty coffee. The commodity coffee looks like it went through hell to get to your house!

Really the only way to know if the coffee is specialty is to find out more about the beans. Most reputable specialty brewers give extensive notes and information about their beans. If you can't find any information about where the coffee comes from beyond the country of origin, that's a huge red flag that you are drinking commodity coffee. Specialty roasters are transparent about their beans because they are proud to show them off. Commodity producers instead try to hide behind indiscriminately blending and a heavy hand on the roaster's gas to unify the beans.

When you're looking for a bag of coffee in your local grocery store, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Local - A lot of grocery stores have a dedicated section to some local vendors. This is a good way to explore some fun coffee and support your local economy!
• Roasted On Date - Most grocery stores push for a "best by" date instead of showing the production date since coffee is technically shelf stable. This allow them to keep coffee that is beyond its prime on the shelves. A coffee that has a "roasted on" date give you a clear indication of just how fresh your coffee is.
• Whole Bean - Just a general rule of thumb, whole bean and freshly ground coffee is going to give you a better cup than pre-ground. The precious compounds in coffee start to break down when exposed to air and light so it's best to crack into them right before use.