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The difference between fresh coffee beans and stale coffee beans

19/1/2014

3 Comments

 
fresh roasted coffee beans - the perfect extraction
fresh roasted coffee beans - the perfect extraction
Over the holiday period, I used more coffee than I expected and was faced with a dilema - do I use those emergency coffee beans at the back of the pantry? I thought, why not, that's what they are there for - for times like this, just in case I run out. The coffee beans I am reaching for are now 8 months old - roasted 8 months ago. When you think about it, that's not so bad - supermarket coffee and most of the coffee from big coffee brands in Australia are 12 months old by the time you get them home anyway. 

I poured the beans into the grinder at home, sure they were a little more glossy than usual, but they smelt okay - sure, it wasnt the immediate blast of aroma that I am use to, I expected the flavour to be down a little -but a fair compromise for fresh roasted coffee beans I convinced myself, in my time of need.

Grinding these coffee beans produced a little more clumping than usual, so I adjusted the grinder a touch to accommodate, loaded up the coffee portafilter basket and started the extraction. What happened next I was not prepared for - the usual volume of crema was gone - in fact, there was almost no crema, and what crema there was dissipated pretty fast.  After steaming the milk to a nice texture, there was no surprise that the coffee looked flat, and there was almost no contrast when combined with the milk. My coffee was pretty boring, not awful, but definitely not exceptional. 

I learned something new today - fresh coffee beans make all the difference! My coffee making skills are pretty good and I find my coffees to be consistent, but these less than fresh beans changed everything - no longer was I enjoying spectacular coffee, but 'average', 'okay' coffee - that's just not good enough I thought!

So, I decided to take some time out, roast up a new batch of coffee beans and the difference was amazing. 
3 Comments
Trent @Food Assault link
19/1/2014 05:18:53 am

Hey James, amazed that of all people, YOU, would run out of coffee beans. You must have gone through a lot :)

How long would you recommend keeping beans for until they're not as fresh? Also, with your new bags that your beans come in, would you recommend storing them differently to what they come in to keep as fresh as possible and if so, what would you recommend?

Reason for my questions is I go through periods of drinking more coffee and other times not so much and would like to keep as fresh as possible at all times.

Cheers,
Trent

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James Axisa
19/1/2014 05:37:49 am

Hi Trent. I did go through a LOT of coffee these holidays - lots of iced coffee and cold press coffee, and Tirramasu and affagatto and, you get the idea!

3 months is perfectly fine for freshness, ideally monthly will keep you at the flavour peak.

With the new bags, I fold the bag down and seal it with a clip - then store them in the pantry.

Reply
Trent @ Food Assault link
25/1/2014 02:38:24 am

I really need to venture out with what I'm making....... some nice variety you mention there.

Great, thanks James....I'm falling at about 2 - 3 months but guess I need to pick up the pace a little :)

I do love the flavour of your beans, I'll only change the bean, not the supplier......your customer service can't be beat or others don't even come close.

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