scwheeler I’m off to Vancouver tomorrow so I’ll try an experiment and pick up 2 identical bags - one I’ll tape and one I won’t and I’ll see if I can taste a difference. If anyone can recommend any roasters out there that would be great!!!
If you like medium dark Italian style coffee, try Milano Coffee. They have several cafes in Vancouver. However their freshest coffee is available online. You could order say 1 week in advance and specify the location where you are staying. They typically roast on Thursday’s, so when I order on a Monday they ship by Wednesday and you will have it by Friday. They don’t note the roast date, but that is how I estimate their roast date. The bags in their stores are somewhat older than that, with an unstated roast date.
Alternatively I can ask my son (who lives in Vancouver) for a recommendation. He prefers medium to medium dark roasts. He’s also into sustainable packaging (ie likes to buy loose but fresh beans in a paper bag, or bring his jar). I can ask him for a sealed bag roaster.
However buying loose beans in a paper bag would be a perfect test, if you are able to grind and brew them using the same grinder, grind setting and brew equipment. So if you brought your hand grinder with you and did a v60 or used your portable espresso unit (such as a Picopresso), you could cup the result before and after air shipment, as long as you tasted the before and after within 24 hours.
You will also have to eliminate any human emotion variability; for example all wine tastes better when on vacation. 😁