I've been roasting about 5 years now. I've roasted beans from Columbia, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, costa Rica and Ethiopia.

In general, I love all coffee and really enjoyed virtually every roast I've done once I really got the hang of it. I'm not a big fan of Ethiopian.. the floral component is very interesting and pleasant for a sip or two, but not what I'm looking for in a morning cup.

When it comes to green beans, I'm very much a novice. I really don't know the differences between a "high end" bean that's costs more and the average $5-$6/lb bean from SM.

I've never purchased a higher end bean.

I tend to buy about 10-20lbs at a time so I can really learn the roast.

I was just about to order from SM when I realized I'm just shooting in the dark!

Can someone recommend a good "introductory" higher end bean to practice on and vendor? Under or around $10/lb preferably. Any origin or processing is fine with me. The darkest I will roast is near 2C. Usually drop at 405-410. I mostly brew drip, but I also pull SO espresso from the same roast on the weekends. I only brew SO at the moment. I want to really learn the various bean characteristics well before I start blending.

Thanks!

"High End" is often just pricey coffee. You likely will get by with good coffee, which usually comes with high ratings. SM has a lot to offer in this category, but agree it is a bit daunting. Unfortunately IMO very good coffee is usually hit or miss. A good place to start might be this thread Greens Alert

That said, many folk around here (Including myself) like Ethiopian and other African coffees which usually come with floral aromas and fruit flavors for a interesting cup. But I also love some lower grown, less acidic beans that make all around crowd pleasing coffee. A nice Brazil, Guatemalan or other Central American beans usually fit this niche well.
Try Daterra Sweet Yellow from Theta Ridge. It is a higher grade sweet Brazil coffee. It can be roasted medium to dark. I prefer roasting to the light-medium side and getting a nice balanced sweet roast. Roasting it too dark ruins the sweetness you pay the higher price for, but it still very tasty. https://shop.thetaridgecoffee.com/colle ... eet-yellow

Thanks for the info Eddy! I love sweetness in my cup, so I'll give the Daterra a try.

I'm going to disagree with EddyQ a little but he does make a valid point.

The reason for the disagreement is that there are a few physical factors that factor into coffee price: geography, varietal, and processing to name a few.

Examples:

Yemen coffee. It is an expensive green (usually $10+/lb) because it is scarce from a volume standpoint but also hard to get because of the war. I like it quite a bit but am usually only into it to support their industry.

Hawaiian coffee is expensive because of US labor costs. I don't like it at anywhere close to its green costs and would rather buy $5-6 lb low altitude greens from other locales. This is one of EddyQ's valid places.

Geisha's are expensive because of their cultivar as are Pacamara's. Both are expensive relative to the norm but can offer exceptional flavors. Not always though as some trade on hype not quality.

Sumatran coffee can vary in price quite a bit with processing. Better attention often results in a better cup. This holds with other regions too. Grade 1 Ethios vs Grade 3 Ethios can all be tasty but with cheaper Grade 3 you're gonna have more quakers and greater bean inconsistency or defects. Its just does the quality difference to you justify the cost difference which is what, $1-2/lb?

Gimick coffee (cat poop, whatever) is just that IMO.

If you want to expand your palate maybe buy a couple lb of some of these when they come up to see what the fuss is about. Then your more educated palate can determine if the cost is worth the value to you.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.

Thanks Tom. When you purchase from a place like SM, that may have quite a few from a particular region, can you assume they are all decent?

Any of the Crown Jewels off the royal website are great. currently I'm going through a fruity Ethiopian and it is amazing but as an espresso and a drip.

https://royalcoffee.com/product/cj1307/

When you purchase from a place like SM, that may have quite a few from a particular region, can you assume they are all decent?

In the case of SM, I would say Yes, you can assume they are all decent. Which is to say that they are well-sourced and of reliably good quality; but not to say that they will necessarily be to your taste.

I bit on Sweet Maria's Fruit Basket sampler, but haven't roasted any yet.

https://www.sweetmarias.com/fruit-baske ... e-set.html

I have tired both of the guji's they have listed. The fruits are pretty subtle so try and keep the roast on the lighter side. I did around 1.5mins after 1st crack. Next time I think I will go a tad shorter

Andy wrote:In the case of SM, I would say Yes, you can assume they are all decent. Which is to say that they are well-sourced and of reliably good quality; but not to say that they will necessarily be to your taste.

I concur.

I buy based on flavor profile and what I want the coffee to do: blend component or single origin; espresso, pour over, or drip; keep for self or for others.

Frankly though, I don't overthink it. If it sounds good I'll try it. If I don't like it I won't get that profile again. I do try to identify the dislike element though like origin/ estate/ process/ variety/ price vs value/ flavor profile. Meaning: one crop from one farm one year may not meet my tastes. The next crop from that farm may be different the next year so I can't broad brush my conclusions.

Case in point: I've been on a Washed African kick recently. I don't understand or honestly favor many of them with their tea like characteristics, floral notes, and clarity but they're new to me so I'm trying to broaden my horizons.

A log/journal is important for both roasting and cupping as my mind is a sieve.