7 Best Green Coffee Beans For Home Roasting (Best Unroasted Beans)

Best Green Coffee Beans For Home Roasting

• Best Overall: Fresh Roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
• Best for Dark Roast: Fresh Roasted Sumatra Mandheling
• Best for Blending: Fresh Roasted Brazil Cerrado
• Best Fruity Flavor: Smokin Beans Tanzanian Peaberry
• Best Sustainably Sourced: Heirloom Coffee Brazil Adrano Volcano Coffee
• Best Wild-Grown: Papua New Guinea Organic Wild Grown
• Best Single-Origin Option: Unleashed Mundo Nuvo

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7 of the Best Green Coffee Beans for Home Roasting

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Fresh Roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

Best Overall

This coffee bean belongs to the Ethiopian Heirloom variety. It is grown in Kochere, a district in the Southern region of Ethiopia. This region has an altitude of 1,525 meters. The soil in the region is also acidic and filled with minerals. 

The high altitude and the soil quality of the place yield coffee beans with complex flavors. Ethiopian Yigarcheffe beans are described as having a fruity and floral aroma. The flavor notes are sometimes characterized as sweet to nutty citrus and chocolate to spiced wine and fruits.

Fresh Roasted Ethiopian Yigarcheffe coffee beans can be roasted light or medium. With a medium roast, the coffee comes out with a flavorful body and a marked acidity.

These beans are also good for making blends. The resulting flavors from every batch are always consistent. This makes it easy to anticipate the flavors you will get when you make a blend of different beans.

This coffee is recommended for those who love sweet, fruity, and floral flavors.

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Fresh Roasted Sumatra Mandheling

Best for Dark Roast

The Sumatra Mandheling of Fresh Roasted belongs to the Ateng, Tim Tim, and Bourbon varietal. These varietals are grown in Bener Meriah, Sumatra, where the altitude is 1,200-1,500 meters above sea level. 

The beans are wet-hulled then sun-dried. This process gives the beans an intense syrupy aftertaste. 

Sumatra Mandheling is characterized as having a smooth, rich, and heavy body. It is known for having lower acidity than other Arabica varietals. Its flavor notes are usually described as earthy, chocolate, or nutty.

Medium to dark roast is recommended for this coffee. The bold and earthy flavor of this coffee shines best at this roast level.

his coffee is best for those who are not so fond of fruity and floral notes. It is an excellent coffee if you love smooth coffee with a heavy mouthfeel.

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Fresh Roasted Brazil Cerrado

Best for Blending

The Brazil Cerrado belongs to the coffee varieties of Mundo Novo, Yellow Catuai, and Red Catuai. These varieties are grown in Cerrado, Brazil. The altitude of the place where these are grown ranges from 200-800 meters above sea level. 

This coffee undergoes a wet process and is sun-dried on patios for 2-3 weeks. This gives the coffee a smooth body with a nutty flavor.

As with most coffee grown in lower altitudes, the Brazil Cerrado is not so sweet. Depending on the roast level, it can exhibit a taste of chocolate, cinnamon, and caramel.

 A medium to dark roast is recommended to bring out the optimal flavor of this coffee. Also, the mild taste of this coffee makes it an excellent choice for blending.

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Smokin Beans Tanzanian Peaberry

Best Fruity Flavor

Tanzanian Peaberry is grown in the Mbeya region of Tanzania. This coffee farming region has an altitude of 1,200 to 1,500 meters above sea level. 

This coffee bean belongs to the bourbon varietal. It is known for its complex fruit flavors. The flavor notes of this coffee are often stated as fruity and floral. More specific descriptions include cherry, ginger, lime, and fruit cocktail.

Smokin Beans sources this coffee from small farming regions in the Mbeya Region. The coffee beans are hand-picked and sun-dried. It is then sorted, graded, and transported to the United States for final selection, cleaning, and packing.

The flavors of this coffee are better appreciated with a light to medium roast. A darker roast will tend to overwhelm the subtle and distinct fruit flavors of this coffee.

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Heirloom Coffee Brazil Adrano Volcano Coffee 

Best Sustainably Sourced

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These beans originate from Pocos de Caldas, a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The region has an average elevation of 1200-1600 meters above sea level. The geography of the region highly indicates a volcanic crater. This makes the place an ideal environment for growing coffee.

The Brazil Adrano is a mix of single-origin coffee consisting of yellow Catuai and red Mundo Novo varietals. It is fully dry processed to develop a ripened taste. The blend of these two varietals produces a complex flavor with nutty undertones. Depending on the roast level, more specific flavor notes such as chocolate, honey, almond, nutmeg, and cardamom may be noted.

The recommended roast level is a dark roast. This produces a smooth body and a strong buttery aroma. Also, a dark roast goes well with the predominantly nutty flavor of the coffee. And, with the sweetness of the coffee bean, then you will still get a sweet finish with hints of cardamom, even with a dark roast.

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Papua New Guinea Organic Wild Grown  

Best Wild-Grown

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These Organic Wild Grown coffee beans are naturally organic since they are wild-grown in the mountains of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. This region has an altitude of about 1800 meters above sea level. This is one of the coffee regions with the highest altitude.

In addition to the high altitude, the region also boasts volcanic and mineral-dense forest soil. And since the coffee plants are grown in the wild, it has a natural canopy from other forest trees. This ideal micro-environment produces coffee that is smooth, rich, and buttery. It also exhibits unique floral and fruity notes.

Any roast level goes well with this coffee, but a medium roast is ideal for maximum flavor. With this roast level, you can enjoy a full-bodied, sweet coffee with fruity undertones. A darker roast will give you a heavier mouthfeel with lighter hints of fruity flavor.

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Unleashed Mundo Nuvo

Best Single-Origin Option

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Unleashed coffee is a family-owned and operated coffee producer. They sell coffee from their farms grown in Brazil. Every coffee from Unleashed is naturally dried under the sun and electronically sorted.

The Mundo Nuvo variety is a byproduct of a natural cross between the Typica and Bourbon varietals. It is naturally sweet and has a strong chocolate flavor. It has flavor notes of caramel and dark chocolate. There can also be hints of apple, cinnamon, and caramel.

Unleashed recommends a medium roast for this coffee. This roast level will give you a smooth, chocolaty, and nutty cup of coffee. Testing out a darker roast will not be so bad as well. After all, this coffee variety is naturally sweet, so even with a darker roast, it will rarely be bitter.

Benefits of Buying Unroasted Coffee Beans

Buying green beans and roasting them yourself has a lot of benefits. The following are some of the more significant advantages you can derive from doing it:

1. A longer shelf life

 Green coffee can be stored for as long as twelve months without compromising its flavor. Roasted coffee normally retains optimal flavor for 30 days after roasting. After this period, it becomes stale and loses its flavor.

2. Fresh coffee every day

When you buy green beans, you get to roast them yourself. This means you are sure that the coffee you brew every time has just been roasted.

Not all commercially sold roasted coffee indicates its roasting date. On average, these beans reach the consumer more than a week after roasting. So, you never really know how fresh the coffee you are consuming is.

3. Control over roasting

With green coffee, you can experiment and discover the perfect roast for you. You can also produce coffee closer to your preference since you can control the roasting and grinding processes.

4. Wider selections

When you get the hang of home roasting, you can start creating your blends. In this way, you can enjoy a variety of coffee blends not available in the market. 

5. More cups of coffee at lower prices

Green unroasted coffee is way cheaper than roasted coffee. You can make at least five times the number of cups you make from unroasted coffee with green coffee.

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What to Look for When Buying Green Coffee Beans

Variety

The flavor of the bean depends more on its species and variety rather than its roast level. That is why it is significant to consider this when buying green coffee beans.

The two main species of coffee that are commercially cultivated are Robusta and Arabica. Robusta is more known for its caffeine content and harsh, bitter flavor. Arabica, on the other hand, is more known for its variety of flavor profiles. Also, Robusta is a preferred choice in making specialty coffee due to its complex flavors.

Coffee species have subclassifications called variety or cultivar. Varieties can exhibit different profiles depending on the environment in which it was grown. The method of cultivation also affects the resulting attributes of the coffee bean variety.

The cup quality of a coffee bean is one of the essential things to check when choosing. This refers to the taste of the coffee bean itself. Other factors you should consider are bean size, acidity, and caffeine content of the coffee.

Altitude

Geography dramatically affects the flavor profile of coffee beans. The higher the altitude at which a coffee bean is grown, the more complex its flavor profile is.

Places with an altitude of 900 to 1200 meters provide the ideal growing conditions for coffee. The colder temperature slows the growth of the coffee beans. The longer maturation period results in the coffee beans having more complex sugars. This also causes the coffee to have a deeper and more distinct flavor.

Altitudes of 1200 to 1500 meters produce the world’s most impressive coffee. At these altitudes, the flavor profile of coffee becomes more distinct and pronounced. The variety of flavor notes also increases. Countries where coffee is cultivated at this altitude include Ethiopia and Nicaragua.

Lower altitudes yield coffee with milder and less complex flavors. Coffee grown in places with altitudes lower than 600 meters is not ideal. Coffee yield from these places tends to be bland.

When choosing your coffee, it is best to choose ones from higher altitudes.

Origin

The origin of the coffee is essential because it dictates the environment in which the coffee is grown. The environment includes the soil quality and the frequency of rainfall. It also includes the year-round temperature and the amount of sunshine the coffee beans are exposed to.

The coffee plant grows best in tropical countries where the soil is fertile and constant temperature year-round. The frequent rainfall is also perfect for growing coffee. 

The amount of shade in areas where coffee trees are grown also affects coffee flavor. The more shade there is, the sweeter the coffee will be. This is because the growth of coffee is slower under a canopy. The longer maturation period imbues the coffee with more natural sugars.

Different regions will produce coffee with unique flavor profiles. Even the same coffee variety will have subtle differences from region to region.

Choosing single-origin coffee may be better if it is your first time roasting your coffee. You can narrow down the coffee you want by checking the specific coffee flavor from different regions. Also, with single-origin coffees, you can create your blend as you improve your skills in roasting.

Initial Processing

There are several steps that the unroasted coffee undergoes before you can purchase it. First, it must be harvested from the coffee plant. After that, the beans must be removed from the coffee cherry.

Various methods are used to remove the beans from the coffee cherry. Among the most commonly used are the following:

Drying or Natural Method

This method of processing involves cleaning the coffee cherry meticulously then sun drying it for a set time. Coffee that undergoes this process tends to have a fruity flavor and a full body.

Washed/Wet Method

With this method, the skin of the coffee cherry is removed through a depulper. It is then fermented with water to remove the pulp’s inner sugar layer. Then the beans are dried for a week or two. Washed processed coffee has a cleaner mouthfeel and a brighter taste.

Wet Hulled

This method is a variation of the washed method. The difference with the standard wet process is that it is only dried for a few hours to a day. The beans then undergo further fermentation during the transport period to the suppliers.

Wet hulled coffee beans tend to have earthy and strong flavors.

Honey Processed

This is a combination of the dry and washed methods. Coffee beans that undergo this process are the sweetest. This is because the part of the coffee cherry containing the most sugar is left with the beans.

Coffee producers always use the method of processing that will bring out the full flavor of the coffee variety. Whatever processing you choose, you are sure you will be getting the best flavor out of the unroasted coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Home roasting gives you better control over your coffee’s roast level. This can help you produce that taste you have been looking for but can’t find in commercially roasted coffee.

To start doing this, you will have to choose an unroasted coffee to use.

It can be difficult to choose with the wide array of unroasted coffee available in the market. You can narrow down your choices but taking into consideration the bean profile that fits your preference. From the bean profile, you can check which varieties have these characteristics and start choosing from there. If, after all, you still find it hard to decide, you can start with Fresh Roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. This green coffee bean is our best overall. You can also check out Fresh Roasted Sumatra Mandheling if you are not into fruity and floral flavors.

Have a great coffee experience!