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If you didn't choose the mug life. But why is café coffee always better? From bean to brew, here's how to find the best roast for you

- Urvee Modwel

Ah, coffee. The stuff that fuels first dates, morning rituals, work meetings, breaks from work meetings, hipster conversations. It's the smell of potential, the taste of happiness and *record scratch* and why doesn't the coffee we make at home taste the same as in cafés? Why are beans so complicated? Why can you go wrong even with an expensive order? We asked some experts for help.

First, pick a side.

Team Robusta or Team Arabica? Robusta has more caffeine than Arabica, it's also more bitter, says Siddhant Devan of Devan's, a 62-year-old coffee roasting company in New Delhi. Purists consider Arabica the superior bean. The higher elevations it grows in (between 3,000-6,000 feet), have warm days and cool nights. This gives the cherries- and the beans inside them more time to develop and build a more refined flavour.

Test for taste.