Vending Machines: Your guide to choosing a coffee roast.

Vending machines are becoming increasingly popular all over the world as an easy alternative to making a cup of coffee, especially in the work place, but would you like to know a little more about the types of coffee bean that are available to you?

The coffee bean is actually the seed of the coffee plant so strangely enough isn’t a bean at all, they have been given the name as they resemble the shape and appearance of a bean, these beans are found in coffee cherries that grow on trees. The coffee trees are now cultivated globally in over 70 countries with 45% of exports coming from South America other regions that cultivate coffee include the Middle East and Africa. Once the cherries are ripe they are then picked, processed, dried then roasted, the roasting process is important to attain the desired flavour.

Beans from different countries are distinguishable by differences in flavour, aroma and body. The two most common coffee beans are Arabica and Robusta, the Robusta has a fuller body and tends to have a more bitter taste, it also contains around 45-50% more caffeine than Arabica, Robusta is often used to make espresso coffee which is a small strong shot of coffee.

Vending machines now have a huge selection of coffees for you to choose form, here are some examples of the roasts available, it may shine some light on which ones you may prefer. The lightest roast are called New England, Cinnamon and Half city, these flavours are achieved when the beans are roasted only until they first crack, this occurs after only a few minutes of the roasting process and beans visibly grow in size. Light roasts are light brown in colour and tend to have a higher acidity level than other roasts. Medium roasts have been named Regular, American and Full City and are slightly sweeter than the light roasts and have more body and aroma. The full roast is heated until the second crack and includes Viennese and Continental roasts; with the full roast coffees the body and aroma become somewhat heavier than in the previous roasts for a stronger taste of the roasting process evident in the finished product. Lastly there is the double roast which includes Spanish, French and Italian, the beans are roasted until they begin to smoke and caramelise, the double roast is the most popular for espresso coffees. The double roasted beans are very dark brown sometimes even close to black, the taste tends to be bitter-sweet.

At Nexus Drinks we supply vending machines for your convenience, so making a perfect cup of your favourite coffee couldn’t be easier. Our Flavia coffee maker offers a huge range of coffee blends, roasts and presentations so there is one to suit all of you coffee lovers.