Finding the best coffee beans in the world can be a lifelong adventure.

There are different types of coffee beans. With new and different varieties, knowing the coffee regions and how they taste to you is important in your coffee journey. Also, find common-sense, easy to read reviewd from other coffee drinkers. And of course, your personal taste remains paramount at all times.

You have plenty of different beans to sample on the market. Unless you're a true coffee afficionado, I suggest buying roasted beans from a reputable merchant rather than buying green beans. Later, when you want to experiment with the freshest possible coffee, you can try to roast at home. For now, this is what you need to concentrat on to find the best possible gourmet specialty coffee:

• Pay attention to the type of bean.  For now, only buy Aribica, not the less expensive but lower quality Robusta. (At some point, you will experiment with blends that include Robusta and the extra kick it can give, and the body and crema it can add to espresso).
• Buy whole beans, not ground coffee. When you buy ground coffee you are losing the subtle coffee flavors that shine in freshly ground coffee.
• Explore beans from around the world and learn about the origin of the bean (what country, what region, what grower).
• Shop around for a tried and tested merchant who expertly roasts your beans (light, medium, dark or French Roast)
• Your coffee merchant may be local or online. Either way, be sure to get only the most freshly roasted coffee beans, that have been properly packaged immediately after roasting.
• After you buy your beans, store them properly at home, in an air-tight container, keep them cool (but don't refrigerate them) and out of direct sunlight.

If you ignore any of these instructions, buying the very best beans in the world won't matter. The finest gourmet coffee beans lose their great qualities and subtle flavors after they go stale.

Kenyan Coffee

Along the shores of beautiful Lake Victoria in the Rift Valley in Kenya, grows some of the most flavorful and prized coffee in the world. Kenya has long had outstanding coffee production and distribution that emphasizes quality and flavor. One Kenyan coffee of note is offered through Terroir coffee.

Columbian Medellin Coffee

The Colombian Medellin coffee is the best known of Columbian coffees notes for pleasant flavor and mild taste that is very popular in the United States. Coumbiais the second largest coffee producer in the world, after Brazil, but Columbia's coffee is known to be excellent, nutured high in the mountains on small peasant holdings, then is carefully picked and wet-processed. Medellin coffee is known for a heavy body, rich flavor and fine, balanced acidity. There are two other coffees grown nearby, Manizales and Armenia, that have thinner body and less acidity. You need to be specific about Medellin coffee, since Columbia often markets these three coffees todgether as MAM (short for Medellin-Armenia-Manizales), and if you buy coffee that is just says Columbian coffee, it is likely from any of these three coffees.

Indonesia

Indonesian coffees are some of the oldest in the world, after those of east Africa. Sumatra is probably the best known of the Indonesian coffees. Sumatra coffees can be roasted medium-dark to dark. Medium-dark reveals the best flavors but you will find them more commonly dark roasted .This coffee has a rich flavor, full body and wonderful aroma with spicy undertones. Medium-dark roasts give a more nutty aroma and flavor.

The other beans from Indonesia include Sulawesi beans, which are similar to Sumatra beans and with very earthy notes and low acidity. East Timor produces mostly organic coffees, with the typical Indonesian earthy, rich flavor, but with spicy notes of sweet cinnamon and mild acidity. Java beans are grown east of Jakarta. Java is often blended with beans from the Mokka region to make Mocha Java. That isn't chocolate like the name implies, but refers to the Mokka region. Java beans have a cleaner flavor than either the Sumatra or Sulawesi, and a lighter body and slightly more acidity than other Indonesians.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is once of the most celebrated and most expensive coffee in the world. But be careful, because lowland coffees of Jamaica are mediocre and should be avoided. Avoid "Blue Mountain Style" coffee, too. Jamaican "High Mountain" coffee is better but not as good as authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain.

Today, reputable roasters only consider estate-produced coffees grown at over 3,000 feet in the Blue Mountain district of Jamaica to be authentic Blue Mountain. Most will be either Wallensford (best) or Silver Hill Estate Mountain.

What is the Best Coffee?

Colombian coffee at its finest is, like Costa Rican or the best Kona, classic and enjoyable. It is extremely well balanced. It is generally full-bodied, but not so full-bodied as a Sumatran. It is acidy, but not nearly so much as an Ethiopian or Kenyan. Richly flavoared, it is not quite so rich as a Sumatran or the best Jamaican Blue Mountain. The best Colombians even give a slight winey taste similar to African coffees, but these winey tones are light and subtle.

Enjoy your lifelong adventure to find the best coffee ever.