Home / Coffee Matchmaker / How matching works
How matching works
The Matchmaker asks five questions in the words you would use at a café, then checks each answer against what a coffee’s own label documents. Every rule it uses is on this page. Every result card shows which of them fired. Nothing is scored.
The five questions
What a rule may read
Only what is documented: origin, region, process, variety and roast as the label or the listing title states them; how the label says to brew it; whether it is whole bean, ground, pods or instant; and the live Amazon price at the moment the page was built. A rule answers fits, doesn’t fit, or the label doesn’t say. The last is shown on the card as a gap and is never counted against a coffee.
The rules
What do you usually drink? → Black filter / pour-over
- Reads on the label
- brew method
- What the card says
- You drink black filter coffee → the label says to brew it as pour-over.
- Why we read it that way
- The label names a filter method.
What do you usually drink? → Espresso or espresso-based (latte, cappuccino, flat white)
- Reads on the label
- brew method
- What the card says
- You drink espresso-based coffee → the label says espresso.
- Why we read it that way
- The label names espresso.
What do you usually drink? → Milk-forward (mostly milk, a little coffee)
- Reads on the label
- brew method
- What the card says
- You drink mostly-milk coffee → the label says espresso, the base of a latte or cappuccino.
- Why we read it that way
- Milk drinks start from a concentrated shot; the label names espresso or moka.
What do you usually drink? → Cold brew / iced coffee
- Reads on the label
- brew method
- What the card says
- You drink cold brew → the label says cold brew.
- Why we read it that way
- The label names cold brew.
How do you make coffee at home? → Pour-over / V60 / Chemex / French press / Espresso machine / Moka pot / Drip machine / Pod / capsule
- Reads on the label
- brew method
- What the card says
- You brew pour-over → the label says pour-over.
- Why we read it that way
- The label names a method you use.
How do you make coffee at home? → I don’t brew at home yet
- Reads on the label
- whole bean / ground / pods / instant
- What the card says
- You don’t brew at home yet → this comes as ground, so no grinder is needed.
- Why we read it that way
- The label says ground, pods or instant.
What gear do you have? → No grinder (I buy pre-ground)
- Reads on the label
- whole bean / ground / pods / instant
- What the card says
- You don’t have a grinder → the label says ground.
- Why we read it that way
- The label says ground, pods or instant.
What gear do you have? → Burr grinder
- Reads on the label
- whole bean / ground / pods / instant
- What the card says
- You have a burr grinder → the label says whole bean.
- Why we read it that way
- The label says whole bean, which a burr grinder is for.
Which sounds more like you? → Bright and fruity
- Reads on the label
- roast, process, origin
- What the card says
- You picked Bright and fruity → the label says light roast.
- Why we read it that way
- Light roasts, natural or honey processing and East African origins tend to read bright and fruity as a class — a pattern, not a tasting of this bag.
Which sounds more like you? → Chocolatey and rich
- Reads on the label
- roast, origin
- What the card says
- You picked Chocolatey and rich → the label says dark roast.
- Why we read it that way
- Darker roasts and Brazilian coffees tend to read chocolatey as a class — a pattern, not a tasting of this bag.
Which sounds more like you? → Smooth and easy
- Reads on the label
- roast, origin
- What the card says
- You picked Smooth and easy → the label says it is from Brazil, an origin that tends that way.
- Why we read it that way
- Medium roasts and Central and South American origins tend to read smooth and even as a class — a pattern, not a tasting of this bag.
Which sounds more like you? → Nutty and balanced
- Reads on the label
- roast, origin
- What the card says
- You picked Nutty and balanced → the label says it is from Brazil, an origin that tends that way.
- Why we read it that way
- Medium roasts and Brazilian, Guatemalan, Costa Rican and Mexican coffees tend to read nutty and balanced as a class — a pattern, not a tasting of this bag.
Which sounds more like you? → Something bold and strong
- Reads on the label
- roast, robusta in the blend
- What the card says
- You picked Something bold and strong → the label says dark roast.
- Why we read it that way
- Dark roasts and robusta blends tend to read bold and strong as a class — a pattern, not a tasting of this bag.
What do you want to spend per bag? → Under $15 / $15–$20 / $20–$30 / $30+
- Reads on the label
- live price
- What the card says
- You’d spend under $15 → this bag is $12.00 on Amazon right now.
- Why we read it that way
- The live Amazon price, at the moment the page was built. A bag with no price on file is never counted against you.
How results are ordered
By how many rules fit, then by how much of the label is documented. Coffees still tied after that sit in a fixed order that depends on your answers — not on their names, so no brand takes first place by being early in the alphabet, and the same answers always give the same order. A coffee whose label documents a different way to brew than the one you drink is left out; every other mismatch is shown, not hidden. The count is never printed — you see the reasons, which is the part you can check.
What the Matchmaker never does
It never tastes for you, never guesses a fact a label leaves out, never gives a percentage or a rank, never says best for you, and never uses a model that cannot explain itself. If nothing fits, it says so and asks what you were after, so the catalogue can grow toward it.
Questions
Does the Matchmaker taste the coffees?
No. It reads what each coffee’s own label documents — origin, region, process, variety, roast, how the label says to brew it, and whether it is whole bean, ground, pods or instant — and the live Amazon price. We have not cupped these coffees, and no rule pretends we have.
Why is there no match percentage?
A number invites you to compare two coffees by subtracting, and it would have to rest on a tasting we did not do. Results are ordered by how many published rules fit, and every card shows the rules that fired so you can judge the fit yourself.
What happens when a label does not say?
The rule returns not documented and that appears on the card as a gap. A coffee is never counted against you for a fact its label leaves out, and a gap is never filled in by guesswork.