Mixing it up! Find the right coffee for your team!

Too dark, not dark enough… too strong, not strong enough! How do you please the team when so many different people have so many different tastes? You have come to the right place! Let us give you a quick breakdown of coffee basics and how to best choose the flavors and tastes to keep your crew happy.

Coffee Beans

The two most common coffee beans are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica beans have a sweeter taste with higher acidity and Robusta beans have a stronger taste with twice the caffeine. Arabica beans are commonly considered the superior bean and lead to a more flavorful and aromatic cup of coffee. Once a roaster has the bean, they bring out the flavor through a variety of roasts.

Roasts

Let’s keep it simple:

• Light roasts are lightest in color, have no oil on the surface, and might have a fruity or cinnamon taste that makes them good for drinking black.
• Medium roasts, the most common in the U.S., are slightly sweeter than light roasts and have a more balanced level of acidity and bitterness.
• Medium-dark roasts have a slightly oilier surface and are more bitter than acidic. Here you’ll find “city roasts” that have more bitterness than acidity and “full city roasts” that are more full-bodied and bitter.
• Dark roasts are the most full-bodied, have an oily surface, and are the most bitter of the roasts. You’ll taste less of the original flavor of the bean and more of the roasting process with these. That makes them a good choice for adding milk products. This is also where the bolder French or Italian roasts fall, including espresso.

Source: canteen.com

Putting it all Together

Now that you understand a bit about beans and roasts, let’s find a good balance for your team. We recommend spreading out the flavor profile to reach everyone’s tastes. Check out this guide, provided by our parent company Canteen, that will give you a great starting point for keeping your crew happy: Download Free Guide.

Have a Tasting!

Last but not least – HAVE A TASTING! Nothing shows you care more about your employees then getting their opinion first hand. Reach out to VVS today and we can provide a free tasting for you and your team! Put the guess work aside and let us create a flavor profile that fits your budget and satisfies your employees. Call us today – 800.662.2924.