Aging Coffee Beans for Better Flavor

[Shel_B]

I'm subscribed to a "coffee-of-the-month" offering from a local coffee roaster. I receive their freshly-roasted beans within three days of their roasting. For example, the last batch of beans I received was roasted on 10/23 and was delivered to me on 10/25.

Instead of using them immediately, which often happens, would there be any advantage in letting the beans rest for a while before grinding and using them? I've heard both sides of the argument, and believe there would be no benefit to letting the beans rest, but would love to hear some other opinions and, more preferably, some experiences.

 

[Lubener]

When I had whole beans, I ground them daily as I needed them, not all at once. I believe their shelf life is lessened once the beans are ground up.

 

[ET16]

The fresher, the better, as far as I know and have been told.

 

[JonnyRingvald]

Actually it depends on several variables. The type of coffee, level of roast development and intended use will somewhat dictate how fresh it can be used for maximum flavor. For example, if I was using a full city roast Indonesian for drip/press/pourover 2-3 days post roast would be fine, but take that same coffee and use for espresso it'd benefit from 7-8 days post roast to really mellow out. There is no right/wrong approach and best thing to do is experiment for your use and go from there. Method of storage also really affects how it ages...

Fresh is of course best, but that has drawbacks as well. Too fresh for drip, press, etc. and you might see an insane bloom effect, similar to adding vinegar to baking soda. For espresso too fresh will tend to be explosive with crema production that dissipates rapidly and will be quite pungent. If you really want to accelerate the process you can grind a bit in advance as that will definitely speed up the aging process somewhat.

 

[Rand]

The fresher, the better, as far as I know and have been told.

That is only correct to a point.
Beans depending on the type and roast level should rest for *about* 3-5days. This lets them outgas from roasting etc.

otherwise they taste flat and have other minor issues.

My regular medium dark roast needs 3-4 days and a medium I would let sit at least 5 although after 3-4 it would be ok.

That is with relatively high altitude "hard" beans.. YMMV.. I'm only an amateur.

I'm subscribed to a "coffee-of-the-month" offering from a local coffee roaster. I receive their freshly-roasted beans within three days of their roasting. For example, the last batch of beans I received was roasted on 10/23 and was delivered to me on 10/25.

Instead of using them immediately, which often happens, would there be any advantage in letting the beans rest for a while before grinding and using them? I've heard both sides of the argument, and believe there would be no benefit to letting the beans rest, but would love to hear some other opinions and, more preferably, some experiences.

In your case if they are at least a med roast 3-4 days should be ok, 4-5 better.
but you should try it and see.

I did try it a few times myself to arrive at my numbers which are really only specific to the coffee I have.. although many would be similar.


An analogy that is used often is green beans are like flour and roasted beans are like a baked good (cake pie etc)

so if you use that analogy the initial period of resting is similar to how you let a cake cool when it comes out of the oven.. once it reaches that point its good to go no more aging will make it better.

 

[Shel_B]

When I had whole beans, I ground them daily as I needed them, not all at once. I believe their shelf life is lessened once the beans are ground up.

I wasn't clear. I don't grind all the beans at once. Just what I'm about to use.

 

[VTECOverRated]

My roaster sends their coffee in sealed myler bags. Completely secure for decades. Grind as needed.

 

[JonnyRingvald]

My roaster sends their coffee in sealed myler bags. Completely secure for decades. Grind as needed.

Regardless of bag material, nitrogen flushes, what have you... coffee starts to stale the moment it's roasted and doesn't have much of a useful shelf life regardless of what some wanna believe.

 

[Oro_O]

The fresher, the better, as far as I know and have been told.

This is what I’ve always been told (wrt to post-roasting, not just grinding). I’ve been told for many years freezing in air-tight bags is the very best storage technique for quality roasted beans and real lab resource has backed that up.

I talked to some real coffee gurus - artisanal small-batch roasters (locally, that means “early Microsoft employees who cashed out big in the 90s and have too much time and $$ on their hands”) and they said the same thing.

 

[VTECOverRated]

Regardless of bag material, nitrogen flushes, what have you... coffee starts to stale the moment it's roasted and doesn't have much of a useful shelf life regardless of what some wanna believe.

Good enough for me. Trying to waste my life span and electro magnetic neuron pulses inside my brain on extracting that last 1% from my coffee has become pointless. Aero Press + good beans = better than 99%.

 

[Rand]

My roaster sends their coffee in sealed myler bags. Completely secure for decades. Grind as needed.

not true. It goes bad over time regardless of the packing method.
Unroasted beans even have a shelf life and slowly go bad over years.
once roasted

Good enough for me. Trying to waste my life span and electro magnetic neuron pulses inside my brain on extracting that last 1% from my coffee has become pointless. Aero Press + good beans = better than 99%.

Its not complicated month old coffee in a ziplock bag > 6 month old coffee no matter what fancy process of packaging was used.

Yes they put a year or 18months date on it at the grocery store.
Ever have coffee made with an 18month old k-cup?

 

[JonnyRingvald]

This is what I’ve always been told (wrt to post-roasting, not just grinding). I’ve been told for many years freezing in air-tight bags is the very best storage technique for quality roasted beans and real lab resource has backed that up.

I talked to some real coffee gurus - artisanal small-batch roasters (locally, that means “early Microsoft employees who cashed out big in the 90s and have too much time and $$ on their hands”) and they said the same thing.

Before I built my roasting setup I did buy roasted to order bulk bags of blends I preferred at that time and would let the bag mellow out 4-5 days post roast then vacuum pack (light vacuum applied) in Mason jars then deep freeze. Wasn't a fan of plastic as it's a wasted resource and won't seal as tightly long term as glass, which is of course reusable indefinitely as well. Main things to keep in mind for freezing is what goes in comes out as in some think they can freeze any old coffee then blame it on the method for it tasting stale months from now as well as deep freezing being superior to a typical fridge/freezer as it pretty much prevents condensation buildup when under a constant temp. I know some won't believe deep freezing has merit, but it does indeed slow down the staling process quite well. Tried it for the 1st time using decaf for commercial espresso purposes and was blown away that at 7 weeks frozen (then thawed to use) it still extracted like it was 3-4 days post roast. I mention that as decaf for espresso really has a short useful lifespan.

 

[fantastic]

Beans seem to lose their oils etc over time which will take away their flavor. Grind fresh & buy whole beans if possible. We all know what spoiled milk tastes like . Always clean your coffee maker w/ vinegar at least once a month.

 

[y_p_w]

There's bean aging, but that's done before roasting.

 

[LongTime_Lurker]

LoL at these 2:00 AM posts on a thread about coffee!

 

[Pablo]

Think popcorn. The closest to roasting the better!

 

[TomYoung]

There is a dark, recondite, barely spoken secret about coffee. That secret is that for most people, the most pleasing coffee is instant Nescafe or Maxwell House. Diner coffee is up there, too.

 

[VTECOverRated]

not true. It goes bad over time regardless of the packing method.
Unroasted beans even have a shelf life and slowly go bad over years.
once roasted
Its not complicated month old coffee in a ziplock bag > 6 month old coffee no matter what fancy process of packaging was used.

Yes they put a year or 18months date on it at the grocery store.
Ever have coffee made with an 18month old k-cup?

Never said my coffee was 18 months old. My coffee beans last me exactly one month from the moment they reach my door.

I think coffee snobs should just grow up and touch grass but that is just my personal opinion on the state of the world as whole.

 

[Shel_B]

Never said my coffee was 18 months old. My coffee beans last me exactly one month from the moment they reach my door.
I think coffee snobs should just grow up and touch grass but that is just my personal opinion on the state of the world as whole.

Does wanting to get the best results possible from what one's able to afford and acquire make that person a snob?

 

[Hermann]

Does wanting to get the best results possible from what one's able to afford and acquire make that person a snob?

I prefer the word "Perfectionist"