Buying coffee beans online starts with the cup you want to drink. Chocolate and caramel in a flat white? Something fruity to sip black? Choose for your taste and your equipment, then check the roast date, bag size and delivered cost. A good-looking bag can get your attention. The coffee inside still has to suit you.
Here is a practical checklist for choosing your next bag in Australia, with examples from the FARCOFF range.
1. Start with flavour, and how you drink your coffee
Before comparing bags, decide what you enjoy about your usual coffee. Write down two or three words: chocolatey, caramel, fruity, bold or mellow. Then look for descriptions that match, together with guidance about drinking the coffee with milk or black.
If you like caramel and milk chocolate, for example, FARCOFF Smooth Coffee is a medium-roast option described for both milk coffees and drinking black. If you want a medium-dark espresso with dark chocolate and caramel notes, look at Traditional Espresso. These are starting points based on the product descriptions, not a promise that everyone will taste the same thing.
Choosing between milk coffees? Our flat white vs latte guide compares milk, texture and flavour to help you choose.
2. Treat tasting notes as a guide
Tasting notes describe flavours and aromas that a coffee reminds the taster of. A chocolate note does not, by itself, mean chocolate has been added. They are useful for comparing coffees, but your brewing method and personal perception also affect what you notice. Counter Culture Coffee's explanation of tasting notes describes this distinction.
You do not have to identify every note on the bag. Start with the broad difference between a chocolate-and-caramel profile and a fruitier one. That is already more useful than choosing by packaging alone.
3. Match whole beans or ground coffee to your equipment
If you have a suitable grinder, whole beans let you grind just before brewing and adjust the grind yourself. Without a grinder, choose coffee ground for the method you actually use. The National Coffee Association recommends grinding immediately before brewing and protecting stored coffee from air, moisture, heat and light.
FARCOFF offers Whole Beans, Espresso, Filter, Pour Over, French Press and Aeropress options. For an espresso machine, check its instructions too: basket type and the machine's recommended recipe matter. A pre-ground option does not provide the same adjustment control as grinding at home.
Need help choosing the option? Use our coffee grind size guide. If the first cup tastes off, our sour-or-bitter troubleshooting guide gives you a place to start.
4. Check the roast date and freshness information
A roast date tells you when the coffee was roasted. A best-before date alone does not tell you that. When ordering online, look for a clear statement about roast-date labelling; if the timing is unclear, ask the seller.
FARCOFF's beans are roasted in St Peters, Sydney, with the roast date on every bag. For more detail on resting and freshness, read coffee after roasting.
Once your bag arrives, keep the coffee protected from air, moisture, heat and light. Our storage guide covers the practical details.
5. Choose a bag size for your household
A 1kg bag can suit a household that makes coffee regularly. A 250g bag lets you try a coffee in a smaller quantity. Work out how much you use before choosing on bag price alone.
For a simple example, using 18g of coffee per brew gives about 14 coffees from 250g or 56 from 1kg, rounded. Four 18g coffees a day use 72g, so 1kg lasts roughly 14 days. These are quantity estimates, not a freshness guarantee; grinder retention, dialling-in and your actual dose change the yield.
See how many coffees 1kg makes for more dose examples. Check the current product price and shipping for the size you select.
6. Look for useful origin details
Read the origin information alongside the flavour notes. A country name is a starting point; a named region, producer or processing method gives you more detail about the coffee where those details are documented.
For example, FARCOFF's Ethiopia lists Sidamo Mirit'i from Sidama, a natural process, and apricot, yellow peach and bright citrus notes. Smooth Coffee lists Brazil and Colombia. Different coffees come with different levels of documented detail; do not fill in the gaps by guessing.
7. Check shipping, dispatch and the taste guarantee
Compare the total for the bag you want delivered to your address. A starting shipping rate is not necessarily the rate for a 1kg order. FARCOFF charges freight by state and order weight; see the delivery rates and dispatch information before buying.
Dispatch means the order is sent, not that it has arrived. FARCOFF's delivery page states dispatch within one week, with no dispatch on weekends or public holidays. Use tracking for your parcel's progress.
Read a taste guarantee's conditions as well as its headline. FARCOFF's guarantee covers one opened bag per order, with at least 75% remaining. Contact us within 14 days of delivery before returning it. The coffee must be returned; return postage is paid by the customer, and original shipping and return postage are not refunded under the taste guarantee. See the full taste guarantee and returns policy for all conditions.
Which FARCOFF coffee should you start with?
- Caramel and milk chocolate, with cardamom: Smooth Coffee. Medium roast, described for black coffee or milk.
- Dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla and golden raisin: Traditional Espresso. Medium-dark roast, made for espresso.
- Brown sugar, green apple, blueberry, chocolate and subtle spice: Sweet & Complex. A medium-roast blend with a more adventurous flavour description.
- Apricot, yellow peach and bright citrus: Ethiopia. A medium-roast single origin for a fruitier direction.
Choose the flavour that appeals, select your size and grind, then check the delivered total. Explore the FARCOFF range and find your next bag.