America is a country of coffee-drinkers. According to the National Coffee Association, in 2007, coffee consumption surpassed soft drink consumption for the first time, and in 2008, 57% of Americans declared their allegiance to the little bean that could. But what do we really know about what we’re drinking—and where it comes from?

“Coffee’s typically grown in countries all along the equator,” says Melissa Floyd, café manager at the Wilmington, NC-based chain Port City Java. “We can’t grow it here because there’s not enough heat and not enough altitude.”
Choosing Your Poison

Just like wines from particular vineyards have their own character, coffee beans’ flavor is unique to the country from which they hail, says Floyd. “Sumatran coffee tends to be earthy, not sweet. Costa Rican is mild to medium, lighter, floral. Columbian is medium and smooth, whereas Brazilian is nutty, with kind of an earthy flavor. The African coffees–Ethiopian, Rwandan, Kenyan—tend to be citrusy, kind of sweet, floral.”
When it comes to coffee, the descriptor ‘mild to medium’ refers to the level of roasting. “The longer you roast beans, the less caffeine they have,” Floyd says. “Dark roast coffee actually has the least caffeine.”
The uninitiated should also be clear on one thing: there is no espresso bean. “Espresso is a blend of beans, typically two or three different coffees. It’s a mix of finely ground, finely pressurized beans, extremely concentrated,” says Floyd. “A cup of coffee will actually keep you up more than a shot of espresso… If you’re worried about a drink keeping you up, you’re better off drinking a latte than a cup of coffee.”
… And Keeping It Safe

Coffee is at its best and most flavorful about 48 hours after roasting. That said, unless you’re a java professional or in the throes of studying for finals, chances are that you’re not going to be able to consume the entirety of your purchase within two days after its departure from the roastery. Even worse, if, like most folks, you purchase your coffee from the grocery store rather than directly from a coffee establishment that roasts its own beans, you’ll be hard pressed to discover a date-stamp on the packaging.
So what’s a caffeine addict to do? Well, first of all, don’t buy pre-ground beans if you can possibly help it. Coffee beans have oils that are released in the roasting process, which imbue your morning cup of Joe with its distinct flavor. Over time, this flavor weakens, even in whole beans—and grinding them weakens it even more. For maximum goodness, purchase your coffee from the people who have roasted it, so that you know what its shelf life is—no more than one or two weeks after roasting, even if stored properly.
Don’t store coffee in the freezer unless you’re not going to use it for quite a while. Though it seems like keeping your morning fix at sub-Zero temperatures is a good idea, the fact is that your freezer door probably opens and closes several times per day, thus making it impossible to keep your coffee at a constant temperature. Coffee that’s kept in the freezer runs the risk of having water molecules attach to its surface and freeze. Then, when the beans thaw, water will penetrate the surface—since roasted coffee is porous, the quality that enables roasters to create custom-blended flavors like French vanilla and hazelnut–and the beans will begin to deteriorate. Refrigerating coffee is even more hazardous to its health—don’t even think about it!
If you need to store your coffee in the freezer, leave it in its original packaging and then place it inside an airtight Ziploc bag to minimize ‘flavor migration’ (the process by which the smell and taste of other foods in your freezer find their way into your unsuspecting java). If you’re feeling particularly paranoid, you can place the Ziploc bag inside a paper bag to add another layer of protection. This is a good way to store extra beans if you’ve purchased a large amount and will only be using a portion of it at a time.
For everyday storage, your best option is keeping the beans in a light-proof container that you can close tightly, stored at room temperature. Ceramic containers are ideal because, unlike metal or plastic, they don’t allow flavors from the outside world to enter, thus creating an environment that preserves your coffee’s integrity. But if you don’t have a ceramic container, any airtight container that protects against sunlight will do just fine.