Quick guide to buying speciality coffee for the first time

It is quite incredible just how many different varieties of coffee there are available to purchase on the web. Do you, like wine, make your choice on the basis of its colour, its origin, its price?

I know that I've bought a bottle of wine on many occasions based on the floral language printed on the label only to be bitterly disappointed when I got it home. That's the problem with supermarkets, the label is king and expert advice has been discarded for the sake of efficiency and cost.

If you come into my shop, you'll be confronted with at least 12 different pods of coffee, so where do you start?

Well the first question we'll ask you is in what type of coffee maker do you intend to make your coffee?

Once again there are a myriad of devices, however they can be broken down into some overall categories as follows:

Turkish coffee pot
Espresso
Filters and Cafetieres or French press
Percolators

We believe that different infusion methods will show off the characteristics of a particular coffee better than others. Bear in mind this advice is for someone just starting to get into coffee, rather than a seasoned drinker who will experiment with all combinations.

We advise that for individuals who own a Filter or Cafetiere, they should start with a medium roasted coffee that has a good balance of acidity and body.

So I would recommend starting with our Colombian or Daterra "Sunrise" coffees. They're not going to scare you, however will deliver an excellent balanced flavour in the mouth.

If you want to be a little more adventerous you could try a blend of Kenya and Colombian coffees mixed in a proportion of 50/50. The Kenya will bring a higher level of acidity to the taste, whilst the Colombian will deliver the lower notes.

Should you want something that has a darker taste and is more aromatic, head towards our Carribean or Bourbon blends. People tend to think of these coffees as after dinner, as they will compliment other strong flavours such as a strong cheese.

However I'm getting a little advanced here, so my advice is to initially go with my first two recommendations. Personally I find that I need to be in "the mood" for darker roasted coffees.

Turning to Espresso based drinks, that includes Cappuccinos and Lattes and any other espresso based variation.

Our current favourite is the Costa Rican, however the Daterra Bruzzi delivers a good chocolatey taste, whilst our Bourbon blend has a great richness in the cup.

If you wanted to try something a little unusual give the Monsooned Malabar a try, however I would stay away from the Kenya and Ethiopian coffees initially, as these can might have too much acidity for the novice.

Traditionally the Ethiopian coffee is used in the Turkish coffee maker. If you want to go the whole hog throw in a little ground cardamon. However the Ethiopian alone does have a great wild fruity flavour to it.

Finally Percolators tend to need coffees that don't have high levels of acidity. This would again include our Colombian and Daterra sunrise, however I would add our Brazilian "poco fundo" to the list.

There is just one final comment I would like to make, and that is the importance of getting the coffee ground correctly for the appropriate coffee maker. You can have the finest coffee in the world, but if it is incorrectly ground you will struggle to get that great flavour delivered into your cup.

I hope the above helps. I am always interested if anybody out there has a particular favourite, please Blog me and let me know.