The first time I stood in front of a wall of specialty coffee bags, I had no idea what I was looking at. Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. Washed process. 1,800 masl. Tasting notes: stone fruit, jasmine, bergamot. It felt like another language—and honestly, it kind of is.
Here's the thing: all that information exists because it tells you something useful. Specialty roasters aren't showing off. We put details on our bags because they help you find coffee you'll actually enjoy. The trick is knowing what matters and what you can safely ignore (at least for now).
This guide breaks down every element you'll find on a coffee bag, explains why it's there, and tells you which details deserve your attention when you're standing in the shop trying to make a decision.
Quick Reference: What to Look For
Short on time? Here's what matters most:
Always check: Roast date (within 2-4 weeks is ideal), roast level (matches your preference), origin specificity (country + region minimum)
Useful for flavor prediction: Processing method, tasting notes
Nice to know: Altitude, varietal, certifications
Red flags: No roast date, vague origin ("100% Arabica" with no details), pre-ground without dating
Ready to put this into practice? Browse our current offerings—every bag includes the details covered in this guide.
Now let's dig into the details.
Roast Date: The Most Important Number on the Bag
The roast date tells you when the coffee was actually roasted. It's the single most valuable piece of information on any bag, and it's the first thing we'd tell you to check.
Coffee is a fresh product. After roasting, beans go through a predictable arc: they need a few days to degas (release carbon dioxide from the roasting process), hit peak flavor around 7-21 days out, then gradually fade. Whole bean coffee stays good for 4-6 weeks in a sealed bag with a one-way valve, but the sweet spot is that 1-3 week window.
This is why specialty roasters print "roasted on" dates. We want you to know exactly how fresh your coffee is.
Mass-market brands take a different approach. They print "best by" dates set 6-12 months in the future, which tells you almost nothing about when the coffee was actually roasted. Those beans might already be weeks or months past their prime when you buy them.
What to look for: A specific roast date within the last 2-4 weeks. If a bag only shows a "best by" date far in the future with no roast date, that's a signal to keep looking.
For more on keeping your coffee fresh once you get it home, see our guide to storing coffee properly.
Origin: Where the Coffee Comes From
Origin information tells you where your coffee was grown. At minimum, you'll see a country. Better bags add the region, and the most detailed labels name the specific farm, cooperative, or even the individual producer.
This specificity matters because more traceable coffee is almost always higher quality. Here's why: separating small lots of exceptional coffee takes extra work. Producers only do it when the coffee is good enough to command a premium price. When a roaster can tell you the farmer's name, it means someone along the supply chain cared enough to keep that coffee distinct.
The levels of specificity, from vague to precise:
Country only (Ethiopia): Tells you general regional characteristics. Useful, but broad.
Region (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe): More specific. Certain regions are known for particular flavor profiles—Yirgacheffe coffees, for instance, are typically bright and floral.
Cooperative or washing station (Kochere Washing Station): Indicates processing consistency and usually means the coffee scored well enough to be separated.
Single farm or lot (Producer Name, Lot #3): Maximum traceability. This coffee was kept separate all the way from harvest to your cup.
What About Blends?
Single-origin gets a lot of attention, but blends aren't second-class coffee. Roasters create blends for good reasons: to achieve flavor balance, maintain consistency year-round (since single origins are seasonal), or hit a specific price point. A well-crafted blend can be just as intentional as a single-origin offering.
The difference between a good blend and a lazy one? Transparency. Quality blends often list their component origins. "Our house blend combines coffees from Colombia and Ethiopia" tells you something. "Premium Arabica blend" tells you nothing.
For more on this topic, check out our breakdown of single-origin vs. blends.
Processing Method: How It Shapes Flavor
Processing refers to how the coffee seed is separated from the cherry fruit after harvest. This might sound like an agricultural detail, but it has a massive impact on what ends up in your cup. If you remember one thing from this section: processing method is one of the best predictors of flavor profile.
Washed (wet) process produces clean, bright coffees. The fruit is removed immediately after harvest, and the beans are fermented in water to remove the remaining mucilage before drying. This method lets the bean's inherent character shine through. If you want to taste origin characteristics—terroir, if you want to borrow a wine term—washed coffees are the clearest window.
Expect: crisp acidity, clean finish, citrus and floral notes, lighter body
Natural (dry) process creates bold, fruit-forward coffees. Whole cherries dry in the sun with the fruit still attached, and the bean absorbs flavors from the fermenting cherry over several weeks. This is the oldest method (it originated in Ethiopia) and produces the most dramatic flavor transformations.
Expect: berry and tropical fruit notes, heavier body, wine-like complexity, lower acidity
Honey process sits between the two. Cherries are depulped, but some of the sticky mucilage (the "honey") stays on during drying. The name comes from the texture during processing, not added sweetness—though honey-processed coffees do tend toward sweetness.
Expect: brown sugar notes, rounded acidity, medium body, gentle fruitiness
You might also see experimental processes like anaerobic fermentation or carbonic maceration. These borrow techniques from winemaking and produce intensified, sometimes unusual flavors. They're worth trying if you enjoy exploring, but they're not for everyone.
We go deeper on this in our coffee processing methods guide.
Altitude: What Elevation Tells You
When you see a number like "1,800 masl" on a bag, that's the elevation where the coffee was grown, measured in meters above sea level. Roasters include this because altitude correlates with quality—though it's not the whole story.
The basic principle: coffee grown at higher elevations develops more slowly. Cooler mountain temperatures mean cherries take longer to ripen, which allows more time for sugars and complex organic acids to develop. Higher-altitude beans are also denser, which gives roasters more to work with.
As a general guide:
Below 1,200m: Often softer, milder, with lower acidity
1,200-1,500m: Good complexity, balanced sweetness and acidity
Above 1,500m: Typically the brightest acidity, most complex flavors, fruit-forward characteristics
That said, altitude isn't destiny. Latitude matters too—Hawaiian Kona produces excellent coffee at relatively low elevations because its geographic position naturally slows maturation. Soil composition, rainfall, and varietals all play roles. Think of altitude as one useful data point, not the final word on quality.
More on this in our understanding altitude piece.
Varietals: The Coffee Plant's Genetics
Varietals are subspecies of the coffee plant, similar to grape varieties in wine. Within Arabica (the species used for specialty coffee), there are thousands of varieties, each with different flavor potential, disease resistance, and yield characteristics.
For most people buying coffee, varietals matter less than freshness, roast level, and processing. But they become interesting when you're comparing similar coffees or trying to understand why one Ethiopian coffee tastes different from another.
A few varietals worth knowing:
Bourbon: A foundational variety prized for sweetness and complexity. Common in Latin America and East Africa.
Typica: The genetic parent of many other varieties. Known for clean, balanced cups.
Gesha (or Geisha): The headline-grabber. Intensely aromatic, floral, tea-like. Gesha varieties regularly set auction records, which is why bags featuring Gesha often cost significantly more.
Ethiopian Heirloom: An umbrella term for the wild genetic diversity found in Ethiopia's coffee forests. Highly variable, often floral and fruity.
Caturra: A high-yielding Bourbon mutation popular in Colombia. Bright and approachable.
Our varietals guide goes much deeper if you want to explore this rabbit hole.
Tasting Notes: What They Are (and Aren't)
Tasting notes like "strawberry, chocolate, citrus" appear on most specialty bags. They're probably the most misunderstood element of coffee labels.
What they are: Descriptions of naturally occurring flavor compounds in the coffee. When you taste strawberry in coffee, you're detecting chemical compounds (like esters) that your brain also associates with actual strawberries. Roasted coffee contains over 1,200 volatile compounds, which is why flavor descriptions can get so varied.
What they aren't: Added flavors or ingredients. Nothing has been put into the coffee. It's just coffee.
Roasters determine tasting notes through professional cupping sessions. Multiple people taste the coffee blind, write down what they perceive independently, and the most common descriptors become the official notes.
Why your experience might differ from the bag? A few reasons. Professional tasters are calibrated with each other through repeated sessions—you're not calibrated with them. Your brewing method affects which flavors emerge. And you can't identify a flavor you've never consciously noticed before.
Our advice: use tasting notes as directional signals, not promises. If a bag says "tropical fruit, honey, bright acidity," you can reasonably expect something fruity and lively rather than dark and chocolatey. That's useful information. Just don't stress if you can't pick out the specific mango note.
More on this in understanding tasting notes.
Roast Level: Light, Medium, Dark
Roast level describes how long and hot the beans were roasted. It's one of the most important choices you'll make because it fundamentally shapes the coffee's character.
Light roasts preserve origin character. You'll taste more of the bean's inherent flavors—fruitiness, florals, bright acidity. Light roasts tend to be more complex but also more demanding; they reveal flaws as readily as virtues.
Medium roasts balance origin character with roast-developed sweetness. You get some of the brightness along with more body and caramel notes. This is where most people land.
Dark roasts emphasize roast character over origin. Expect chocolate, smoke, lower acidity, and fuller body. The beans themselves matter less; the roasting process becomes the dominant flavor factor.
The catch: there's no universal standard. One roaster's "medium" might be another's "medium-dark." Look at the beans themselves if you can—light roasts are pale brown and dry, dark roasts are oily and nearly black, medium sits between.
We also use descriptive language on our bags beyond just the level. Our roast levels guide explains our approach.
Certifications: What They Do and Don't Guarantee
You'll see various certification logos on coffee bags: USDA Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Bird Friendly. Each addresses different concerns, and none of them guarantees everything.
USDA Organic means no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers for at least three years. It says nothing about farmer pay, labor conditions, or taste. Certification costs thousands of dollars annually, which is why some excellent small farms aren't certified even when they grow coffee organically.
Fair Trade sets a minimum price floor and requires democratic cooperative structures. The limitation: only a fraction of certified coffee actually sells at Fair Trade prices, and after cooperative distribution, individual farmer premiums can be modest. For specialty-grade coffee (which already trades well above Fair Trade minimums), the price floor becomes less relevant.
Rainforest Alliance focuses on environmental sustainability—shade canopy, biodiversity, land management. It doesn't guarantee a minimum price and allows mixed-content products.
Direct Trade isn't actually a certification. Anyone can claim it. When practiced transparently (some roasters publish exactly what they pay farmers), it can deliver better outcomes than any certification. Without verification, it's just marketing.
Our take: certifications are one signal among many, not a substitute for transparency. We'd rather buy from a roaster who names their farmers and discusses their sourcing relationships than one who relies solely on a logo.
What Actually Matters When You're Choosing
If you remember nothing else from this guide, here's the hierarchy:
First priority: Roast date. Fresh coffee within the last few weeks will taste better than stale coffee with any other advantage.
Second: Roast level and origin. These should match your preferences. If you like bright, fruity coffee, look for light roasts and African origins. If you prefer rich and chocolatey, lean toward medium-dark roasts and Central/South American coffees.
Third: Processing method. Once you know how washed vs. natural affects flavor, this becomes a reliable way to predict what you're getting.
Fourth: Everything else. Altitude, varietals, and certifications add context, but they're secondary to the fundamentals.
And one final thought: the best way to learn what you like is to try things. Pay attention to what you enjoy, read the bag, and look for patterns. Over time, you'll develop your own shortcuts for finding coffee that suits you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long after roast date is coffee good?
Whole bean coffee hits peak flavor 7-21 days after roasting and remains good for 4-6 weeks in a sealed, valve-equipped bag. Ground coffee degrades much faster—within a week or two. Always buy whole bean and grind right before brewing.
What does single origin mean?
Single origin means coffee from one geographic location. That location might be as broad as a country or as specific as a single farm plot. More specificity generally indicates higher quality and better traceability.
Are coffee tasting notes flavoring?
No. Tasting notes describe naturally occurring flavor compounds in the coffee itself. Nothing is added. When a bag says "notes of blueberry," it means the coffee contains aromatic compounds your palate may recognize from actual blueberries.
Does the roast date have to be printed on the bag?
There's no legal requirement. Some roasters (especially larger commercial brands) only print "best by" dates set months in the future. Specialty roasters typically print roast dates because freshness is a priority. If you don't see a roast date, consider it a yellow flag.
What does "specialty grade" mean?
Specialty grade refers to coffee scoring 80 points or above on the Specialty Coffee Association's 100-point scale, as evaluated by certified Q Graders. It's a quality threshold, not a marketing term—though there's no enforcement requiring brands to meet the standard before using the word "specialty."
Ready to find your next coffee? Explore what we're roasting right now—complete with all the details you now know how to read.