Beans

When grinding your own, the key to good coffee is to buy whole beans and grind them when you are ready to make the coffee - not before. Even with whole beans, coffee doesn't keep long. You want to buy the coffee from a purveyor who has roasted it recently - preferably in the last couple days. Find a coffee company in your area who roasts locally like CuppaChoice International, Higlander Coffee, Spinelli Coffee

There are two kinds of coffee beans available: arabica  and robusta . They come from different species of coffee plant and have slightly different flavors. Robusta beans are easier to grow but aren't as flavorful or complex; they are usually used as a filler in coffee blends, to make inexpensive coffee produces (such as instant coffee  ), or in espresso blends  to promote formation of crema. Arabica coffee, on the other hand, is more difficult to grow (and therefore more expensive) but brews a more flavorful, complex cup. Robusta also has almost twice as much caffeine as arabica.