5 Myths and Misconceptions About Coffee

Coffee is the most consumed beverage on the planet. It is a cornerstone of the world over. Every country, region, and culture has a different way of preparing and consuming coffee. There is nothing simple about a cup of coffee. The beans in your kitchen are just the beginning of a complex series of interactions between international corporations, roasters, shippers, marketers, and even the growers who put the seeds in the ground. It is complicated. It is a mess.

Coffee myths and misconceptions can help you become a more informed consumer.

Be sure to check out our other coffee guides, like the Best Espresso Machines, Best Latte & Cappuccino Makers, Best Portable Coffee Makers, and Best Coffee Subscriptions.

1. Coffee isn't a bean.

Coffee is not a bean. It is a seed. It is the endosperm of a special berry from the Coffea Arabica plant. It is wrapped in a thin red fruit that is peeled off during the cleaning process. It is a light silvery green color until it reaches your kitchen counter.

That doesn't mean you can grow your own coffee trees. Due to the roasting, the beans we grind are not plantable. It can take years before a coffee plant is mature enough to produce the coffee bean. Coffea arabica, the most popular coffee, only thrives in a few places in the world. It is a demanding little plant with very specific climate needs.

2. European coffee is not actually from Europe.

Coffee beans don't grow in Europe. Central and South America, East and West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia, and Hawaii are where they grow. Unless you live in Italy or France, you are likely to get pretty bad coffee if you buy imported coffee. The best tasting coffee is roasted before it is consumed.

If your coffee beans say they are from Ethiopia, that means they were grown there, not roasted there. If your coffee beans say they are from somewhere in Europe, it means the coffee was roasted there. Roasting brings out the flavors in coffee, but the flavor compounds start to break down shortly after they are roasted. Coffee roasted outside of your locale has likely been sitting in a shipping container or cargo plane for a long time. All the flavors that make the coffee so delicious when you sit in a Parisian cafe have degraded when it arrives.

My advice is to always buy locally roasted coffee beans and grind them at home with a burr grinder.

3. Dark Roasts don't have more energy.

We often hear that coffee with more caffeine is stronger, but that is not true. When green coffee goes into a roaster, it is toast to different levels of doneness, just like your morning toast.

Blonde roasts are the lightest roasted beans and they contain more intact caffeine compounds than medium or dark roasted beans. It also breaks down caffeine compounds. The longer a coffee bean is roasted, the less caffeine it will contain.