• Beans

  • Coffee best before dates

I think the biggest deterioration in taste comes from opening a bag of beans and then not storing it correctly. I had some coffee roasted on December 17th and I had drunk half the bag, but then it got pushed to the back of the worktop in my admittedly rather messy kitchen. All that time it had been just stored in its original packaging with a clothes peg on the top. I had to throw it away when I made a pourover last week as it was undrinkable. However, I then found some unopened beans in the cupboard roasted a month earlier (mid November) and it tasted fine. I have now put that away from light in an airtight container so hopefully it will last a bit longer.

    As with all food and drink, I work on the basis that if it looks and smells ok then I’ll use it regardless of date.

    OK, but let’s get to the heart of this thread! Nobody has answered the question in the title! What coffee should you drink before a big date!! I haven’t dated in 42 years, since I’m married, but you single Coffeetime posters really need to weigh in on this one…especially on Valentine’s Day!

    I’ve never really paid too much attention the the best before date on coffee I’ll leave it to rest for a week after roasting and then it either goes in an airscape / equivalent container and in a cupboard in 250g batches with the rest being frozen and used when the other 250g are finished. I’ll typically get through 250g in about 2 weeks (I have two coffees a day with alternate beans).

    Life’s too short for worrying about it any more but not sure why a roaster would print a best before 4 weeks on their coffee.

    When I first read this thread subject I thought you meant the best coffee to drink before going on a date.., you know, the one that will give you the best kick, have you fully wired, give you that old Dutch Courage… a sort of legal upper.

    19 days later

    What do you guys suggest for the degassing period for decaf beans after roast date? … Considering decaf beans go stale quicker than regular.

      BlackCatCoffee yes siree I would ditch most beans at 4 weeks. My milestones are:

      Dark: rest one week, then enjoy for 10 days after

      Medium: rest two weeks, then enjoy for 20 days after

      Light: rest three weeks, then enjoy for 30 days after

      I’m quite fussy though. I’m only interested in espresso at its peak. Others will enjoy well beyond my dates either because they don’t taste a difference or becaause they simply still enjoy it.

      I’ve based the above guidelines on a log I kept of over 100 at-home roasts. For the majoity of them I started tasting after seven days and kept sampling each day, noting when I felt that a bean hit full flavor and the day/s it tasted past it’s peak.

      I have settled on the phrase “best between” to descrribe the date range where I think the flavor will be at its peak.

      Vacuum sealing individual 18 gram portions at the start of the “enjoy” phase adds another two weeks on to the peak flavor duration. Foe example dark roasts go from 10 days to 24 days.

        drdre89 Decaf reamins a mystery to me but if you start tasting them on say day 7 and keep a note each day of your flavor impressions, you’ll soon have your answer. Very likely you will notice a higher volume of coffee in your cup at the same time that you notice a thinning of the flavor, assuming you keep the same grind size..

          I tend to degass for 7 days (medium roast decaf) and then portion then out and pop in the freezer, as decaf tends to be more for visitors than me. I then grind from frozen.

          As I tend to buy a kilo at a time (for free shipping), I tend to just let other beans degas for at least 1 week, and then they just get used at whatever my rate of consumption is (normally 250g per week if just me, but with guests it goes up). This means they typically are drunk within 6 weeks of roast date. Taste wise I actually think they suffer more by using too early than too late (within this window of time).

            hornbyben I find that grinding from frozen leaves a bit of retention in my Niche. It gets a bit messy with static as well. Because decaf are darker oily beans I am guessing.

            It’s a much cleaner grind when grinding at room temperature.

                hornbyben Taste wise I actually think they suffer more by using too early than too late (within this window of time).

                I agree with decaf 👍

                  drdre89 mine hasn’t been too bad from frozen, although I only do it occasionally. I tend to drink carinated and just stop after lunch, but my parents and in laws like an evening coffee.