Patience is difficult, but worth it
I have talked about freshness of coffee to everyone I can. In my previous post, I mentioned discovering that coffee roasted 2 days prior was SO much better than coffee I had tried after it sat on the shelf for months and months. And that is true. But it is not the whole story.
After that first encounter with freshly roasted coffee, for a long time I tried as much as possible to get coffee and drink it as close to the roast date as possible. It was only after I started learning the craft of roasting that I found out it is not actually the best way to consume your coffee. When you roast coffee beans, there are a lot of chemical and physical changes that happen in the bean. For instance, at some point in the roast, you hit a point called 1st Crack. This is where the moisture in the bean expands and escapes, causing the bean to get much larger, but also lose some of its weight. By the end of the roast, the coffee seems ready to go. It looks ready. It smells heavenly. But it’s not quite done. The beans build up carbon dioxide during roasting. You could pull them out of the roaster, grind them, and make some coffee. But for peak flavor, it is best to wait just a bit. How much time you wait depends on factors like how dense the beans were to start, and how dark or light you roasted them. As a general rule, it is best to let the beans rest for 3-5 days before grinding and using them. Very light roasts may be good to go after 24 hours. Dark roasts may do best if you can be patient and wait 4 or 5 days. I tried roasting some Kona once, and it just was not tasting as good as I expected. A fellow roaster suggested letting that coffee rest for 7-14 days, and it definitely made a difference. It is hard to be patient, but worth it.
Now, if you are out of coffee and get something from me that I just roasted the night before, by all means don’t go without coffee just because it wants to rest. Just know that it will not be the best it can be.
At the same time, remember that coffee also has a fairly short lifespan after roasting. If you store it as whole beans, it can last as much as 1.5 to 2 months before it starts tasting old and stale. If you store it well, it may last a bit longer for you, but it is past its prime. Once you grind the beans, the lifespan is 48-72 hours. That’s why it is good to have your own grinder, even if it is a cheaper one. If you don’t have your own grinder, send me a message. I can give recommendations on some good ones to get at whatever price point you need.
All of this is why I put the Roasted On date on every bag instead of a “best by” date. You need to know how old the coffee is, for the best experience and most flavorful coffee.
Enjoy your coffee!