How to Make Coffee from Beans for Complete Beginners

In our house, one or two cups of coffee in the morning have always been both a necessity and something that came ground up from a jar. Mum is one of those people who doesn’t function without at least three coffees before breakfast so quantity and speed of making is the priority!

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So, when it comes to how to make coffee from beans, I’m a complete beginner. But I’m always curious and find myself drinking more coffee all the time (am I going to become my Mum??). So, I decided to take a look at the world of coffee beans and all those different options.

Whole beans versus ground coffee

The difference between whole bean and ground coffee is relatively simple – whole beans are the entire bean as they come from the tree and after the roasting process. You need to grind it then to make coffee. Ground coffee is the ground-up beans that come in a jar or packet and are ready to use instantly. Each can use a slightly different brewing process to get the best results.

Ground coffee is the most accessible type, and that’s why it is always around in our house. If you told Mum she has to wait while we ground beans to make coffee, there’s a chance of a riot. Another reason ground coffee is so popular is that it is reliable – you know what you are going to get when you make a drink with it.

Whole bean is a little more complicated because you need to grind those beans. That means a coffee grinder, and there are various types of them. If you get the wrong beans for your taste buds or use the wrong grinder, the coffee may not be quite what you wanted. There’s more trial and error until you get the perfect system.

Where do coffee beans come from?

Coffee beans come from a type of shrub or bush that is called the coffee plant or, technically, the Coffea species. These plants came from tropical Africa originally in places such as Ethiopia, Madagascar, and the islands such as Mauritius and the Comoros. Nowadays, there are around 70 countries worldwide that cultivate coffee.

There are two main types of green coffee beans that are roasted and used to make our favourite drinks – Coffea arabica and Coffea robusta. Understanding the differences between the two is the first step to getting the hang of making coffee from beans.

Arabica coffee

Arabica coffee beans are the most commonly seen type and are grown around the world. It is used in some of the most expensive and artisan types of coffee, including Bourbon from South America.

Generally, you can say arabica beans are:

Better quality than Robusta
Grow at higher elevations
Growers give them a longer time, so they develop a better flavour

Robusta coffee

Robusta coffee is the tough workhorse of the family and is most commonly grown in Africa and Indonesia, although the single highest producer is Vietnam. It has led to the unique Vietnamese coffee, which is a very caffeine-strong drink.

Generally, you can say Robusta beans are:

Higher in caffeine than Arabica
Produce a higher yield for growers as they are more disease resistant, so are less expensive
Great for lower quality and instant coffee as they are budget-friendly

Single-origin or blended?

Another way to separate the different types of coffee is by whether they are a single original or a blended coffee.

Single-origin coffees come from a single region. This might be something like a Brazilian single-origin or a Tanzanian single-origin – beans are grown and produced in a single place.

Blended coffees use different beans without regard to their location to create a unique flavour of the coffee. They may blend four, five, six, or more single-origin beans into one blend so that when they are ground, all the beans mix together to create a distinctive flavour.

Coffee roast basics

The choice between Arabica or Robusta coffee beans is just the start of the decision process when you look at making coffee from beans. In fact, it may not even feature it, as the majority of coffee beans for sale are Arabica.

The next thing you need to understand to get your ideal cup of coffee is the coffee roast. Coffee doesn’t come straight off the bush and go into the grinder – it needs to be roasted first. There are lots of different ways and complex processes, but something as simple as an open fire can achieve roasted coffee ready to grind.

The coffee industry has a whole range of roasts that are used to help people understand the beans and the coffee they will make. There are four main ones to understand:

Light roast

These beans are light brown in colour and are ideal for mild-bodied coffees. They don’t have any oil on the surface of the coffee beans and are perfect for light, fragrant, or even fruity coffees.

Examples include Light City, Half City, Cinnamon and New England

Medium roast

These beans are medium in colour and don’t have an oily surface. They are one of the most popular types in countries such as the US and are the type known as the most traditional type of coffee.

Examples include City, American, Breakfast

Medium-Dark roast

These are a rich dark brown colour and have some oiliness on the surface. The beans have a bittersweet aftertaste and deep flavours.

Examples include Full City

Dark roast

These beans are almost black and have an oily surface with a bitter taste. The darker the bean, the less acidity in the coffee, so if you love those strong flavours, this is the one for you.

Examples include High, Continental, New Orleans, European, Viennese, Italian, French

It is also worth mentioning Double Roast, which is often Spanish or Turkish coffee, where the beans are taken to the point of smoking, and this gives them a smoky or charred flavour. It adds a touch of sweetness but with less body than the darker roasts.

What are the best coffee beans for espresso?

At the heart of the many different types of coffee we all enjoy, there is espresso. However, it is a common misconception that espresso is a particular type of bean or a roast of its own – in fact, it is a process used to make the coffee, a popular brewing method.

You can use any type of coffee bean to make espresso, but typically, it is dark roast beans that are used. It is the process of forcing high-pressure hot water through very finely ground coffee in a level or automatic machine that makes the coffee espresso. So, don’t go to the shop looking for an ‘espresso roast’ as you won’t find it!

How should you store coffee beans?

If you are going to start making coffee from beans, you will want to buy enough to last from one shop to another. But how do you store those beans until you are ready to use them?

The most important thing is that the beans are kept in an airtight container, cool and away from sources of light. This will keep the beans fresh and ensure they retain their flavour. Don’t put them in a cabinet near the cooker or one that gets sunlight most of the day.

Also, get a special container for your beans. You want something airtight to protect the beans and big enough to hold the amount you buy. You can also get some with a cool little spoon attached to help portion out the beans for grinding.

How long do coffee beans last?

It is also worth knowing that as soon as you open that coffee bean packet, the beans start to lose their freshness. That’s why people tend to buy them in small batches so they can ensure they get through them promptly. Aim to buy enough for 1-2 weeks at a time.

You can even buy two or three smaller versions of the coffee bean containers and split up a larger packet. This can help extend the lifespan because air is the enemy of beans, and it gets in every time you open it to remove some.

Then there’s the question of if you can freeze coffee beans . The answer generally seems to be yes, but… This is because the beans can suffer from freezer burn, air can be trapped in with them, or even molecules of water from the freezing process. This can all cause deterioration, so your beans might not be as good when you defrost them.

Coffee grind basics

So, we are getting closer to that ideal cup of coffee! You have the type of bean and the roast you want to try. Now you need just one more step to get to actually making the coffee – grinding those beans.

Coffee extraction

To get the hang of choosing the right grind, you need to understand a little about something called coffee extraction – particularly under and over-extraction. Both are bad, and both are the reason that your coffee might taste horrific.

It works like this – if the grounds are too coarse, the beans are under-extracted so there’s not enough flavour in the coffee. But if the grounds are too fine, then it is over-extracted, and there’s too much flavour, making it unpleasant and acidic.

That’s why coffee experts say that a blade coffee grinder isn’t the best option – not only does it create uneven grinds that don’t make the best coffee, it heats the beans up. This means you are interfering with the roast, and the results aren’t what you want. The answer is to go with a coffee burr grinder.

Types of coffee grinds

When you grab a coffee grinder, you can create different grinds, and these result in different coffees or work with certain coffee makers better than others. A quick overview is this:

Extra coarse – small pebble-like particles; cold brew coffee, cowboy coffee

Coarse – chunky like potting soil; French press, percolator, coffee cupping
Medium coarse – similar to rough sand; coffee maker
Medium – similar to sand; cone-shaped pour-over brewers, flat bottom drip coffee machines
Medium fine – finer than the sand; cone-shaped pour-over brewers
Fine – similar to sugar; espresso machines, pre-ground coffee
Extra fine – similar to flour or icing sugar; Turkish coffee

So, the best grind is often dictated by how you are going to make your coffee. Sure, you can try different grinds in different machines or systems and see what happens, but often, there’s a reason that certain grinds are paired with certain systems.

The best coffee grinders

When it comes to learning how to make coffee from beans, it is clear you need three things – the beans, a coffee maker, and the best coffee grinder to make the beans ready for the machine. There are a few types of coffee grinders:

Single-setting electric grinders – these make a single grind and are great if you know how you like your coffee and make it the same way every time
Multi-setting electric grinders – these have different settings to get different grinds and lets you select before grinding the beans
Burr grinders – these use abrasive surfaces called burrs rather than blades to grind coffee and come in both manual and electrical
Conical burr grinders – these are cone-shaped, so the beans pass through at a slight angle

As experts tell me that coffee burr grinders are the way to go, let’s take a look at a couple of examples.

Budget-friendly

Hand Coffee Grinder with Conical Burr If you aren’t 100% sold on the idea of making coffee from beans, then this is an ideal grinder that doesn’t cost very much. It is hand-operated so doesn’t make a load of noise to wake the whole house if you use it in the morning and has 16 different settings to make the perfect grind to work with your coffee machine.

Middle of the road

KRUPS GX5000 Professional Electric Coffee Burr Grinder For an electric option, this is a good burr grinder from KRUPS that has 9 different grind levels and allows you to set how many cups’ worth of coffee you grind at a time to avoid waste. It has a removable bean container for ease of cleaning and a special motor system to avoid overheating.

Serious grinder

Ariete-Delonghi Conical Burr Electric Coffee Grinder If you are willing to invest a little more, this one retails at around $100 and comes from the De’Longhi brand, so you know they know about making coffee! This grinder allows everything from an ultra-fine grind through 15 different settings and also has an adjustable cup size to get the right amount of coffee for your cup. There’s a removable bean hopper and an easy-to-clean bean cup.

Conquering making coffee with beans

For me, there’s definitely no way that making coffee with coffee beans is going to replace the simplicity of grabbing instant coffee, especially in the morning! But there are so many different beans and variations that it makes it well considering conquering the basics of bean coffee making and giving it a try.

If you are already grinding your beans, leave your top tip or a favourite bit of equipment in the comments below!

How to Make Coffee from Beans for Complete Beginners

Whole beans versus ground coffee