dfk41 For starters, name and shame!

Think that would be both rash and harsh. I’ve emailed the roaster and will wait to hear what they say.

    its a hard one for me as ive tucked in to beans a week after roast and also after a month or even 2,

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    For me, it is about perception. I want a bean roasted within a couple of days of being delivered so that I can degass it myself. Why use terms like freshly roasted (when)? If you walk past a bakers and smell fresh bread you want a nice warm loaf, not something they baked yesterday. All these roasters are so quick to create something. The obligatory carbon footprint/climate change nonsense. The photo of the farmer and his family living 12 in a tin shack without electricity etc. If they are selling a perception, then they ought to live up to it.

    I bought some beans from a roaster in Cornwall (Patrick knows the one). I was unhappy with the stuff they sent out, so I emailed them. I received an absolute load on nonsense back so I rang them and challenged them. It turned out they were actually roasting on a 1 kilo roaster (nothing wrong with that). The beans were stored by tipping them on top of existing beans in cardboard tubs with see through lids then mixing them! To be bagged some time later. Yet there website had all the obligatory stories, nonsense and usual claims. They just missed out the important stuff

    https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

    There’s a roaster local to me and their more unusual (and more expensive) beans always tend to be older. I assume they have a much lower stock turnover rate on the expensive stuff. As they have a small cafe/shop it must be difficult to gauge demand.

    I quite liked when I visited the Rave cafe as they sold off their older stuff at a cheaper price. Seemed like a reasonable compromise, I think Django also do this.

    If they don’t claim they roast to order, then it’s hard to hold them responsible. Technically. but I agree that would leave a bad taste.

    I was once delivered a one month bag, complained with them and got a 35% coupon for next purchase. It was OK-ish for me, but now I moved to roast to order roaster, and always get freshly roasted coffee. I can even ask them to make some changes to the order (like roast a bag to light instead of medium. it does not always work well, but I can)

    Systemic depends on the roast depth.

    I’ve done a lot of testing on this over 240 roast batches. And as always, just my opinion and legitimare alternative impressions will abound but here we go…

    Some light roasted beans dont hit peak flavor for 40 days post roast. Dark roasts can hit peak as soon as 8 days but normally closer to 14 days. I drink medium roasts from 18 days post roast but some have not hit peak flavor until 28 days. City (light/medium) hit peak after 21 days.

    I roast my own beans but if I had to buy some I’d gladly pay a bit more to secure a batch that was 2 weeks post roast as opposed to 5 days. Full respect to David, each to his own of course, but rather than name and shame, I’d be hoping they set up an outlet nearer to me!

        I normally find that beans are too fresh!
        I get them and want to use them immediately but they typically need additional resting time. I am therefore pretty relaxed about roast date as long as it is within a few weeks.

        Royal mail are of course doing a brilliant job of pre-resting most coffee I get.

          tompoland Some light roasted beans dont hit peak flavor for 40 days post roast.

          Interesting. I vacuum pack beans if I buy in bulk which does a good job but not, IMO, a substitute for freshly roasted. With regard to 40 day post roast wondering if the beans take on different notes?

            As I predominantly use pricier beans for pour over, degassing is less of an issue so prefer to use up a batch with a month from roast date. Getting a bag that is already two weeks in reduces the optimum use by period which roasters often recommend being one month.

            I received some from a well known roaster that were almost 2 weeks post roast, I wasn’t very impressed because they were on the medium ++ side . If they had been a light roast it wouldn’t have bothered me but I take about 2 weeks to get through a bag so by the end they were almost a month post roast and I felt like the clock was ticking.
            I thought about sending an e-mail but when I looked at the FAQ on their website it said “ Our coffee will be shipped to you within 3 weeks of being roasted. It arrives at peak freshness, ready for you to enjoy” so I didn’t bother. After reading this I would think twice about ordering from them again and they are quite a reputable roaster who supplies coffee shops local to me.

            Just had this from the roastery.

            “Thank you for reaching out regarding the roast dates of your recent coffee deliveries. Your feedback is important to us.

            I understand your preference for coffee with roast dates closer to the delivery date, and I apologize for any inconvenience caused. We prioritize freshness and are committed to improving our processes to meet your expectations. Please note I have arranged for a new bag to be sent out to you with a newer roast date – it should arrive to you next week.

            Your feedback is appreciated, and we value your business. If you have further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.”

            That’s excellent service so I’m happy to share that it was Atkinson’s, Lancaster.

            Happy ending. Think that’s what roasters should do :)

            4 months later

            Today, I received 0.5 KG of coffee from one of the roasters. It just mentions brew before Dec 2024. It doesn’t have a batch or a serial number either.

            Considering the best before is still 12 months away, I am assuming it was recently roasted probably in Dec 23.

            It doesn’t impress me when a roaster can’t be asked to put a roast date bags.

            Somebody gave me a bag as a gift for Christmas 2023. It had a roast date some time in mid Sep 2022 and the best before was by March 2024. The person insisted we brew this coffee immediately. We did and it was a punishment drink, which I would not even dream of giving it to my nemesis. I hate wastages. We tried to camflouge with a drop of milk and sugar, which are no no for me. After a few drinks, it went to the bin, unfortunately.

            These experiences make me a little suspicious. 🤷

            I have emailed the roaster. Let’s see. :-)

            My last 2 bags from the Barn just had a best before date, no roast date. As it took nearly 2 weeks to get to me, I was happy to tuck straight in & both bags were excellent.

            A roast date doesn’t strike me as that important if you are purchasing directly, especially as different roasters can have differing ideas of when their roast peaks. If it needs a long rest, I would rather they held the stock back until the ideal brewing time.

            Ultimately, if the coffee tastes OK, I don’t sweat it. If I suspect it’s past its best, or requires significant resting, then both of these scenarios are less than ideal to me. So a roast date (which is not a legal requirement) only seems informative with more info from the roaster.