Hi all, I had a client message me not long ago asking about our best before date. We give a roast date on the bag and say ‘best within 3 months’. They asked why we say 3 months as it is significantly longer than other roasters say. Some being 4 weeks. A fair question to ask but - Whilst at 3 months coffee will not be at its absolute peak it will still be more than enjoyable if it has been stored correctly in my experience. I frequently drink coffee a couple of months post roast. I often have lots of other roasters coffee about the place so took a look at some bags and whilst some had the same best before as us, one of them did say 4 weeks. To me this seems bordering on profligate. Do people really ditch coffee sealed in a bag at 4 weeks post roast?

BlackCatCoffee Do people really ditch coffee sealed in a bag at 4 weeks post roast? Absolutely not. I have had 2 KGs of beans sent with best before. Both were medium dark, if not dark roasts. Upon enquiry, we were advised they were roasted 1 month in advance. Assuming they were correct, we did freeze the coffee and consumed. The coffee from the bags was fine but had plenty of beehive hanging after a shot was pulled. Most of the coffee beans bag carry the date as best consumed in 2 - 3 months from the roast date. However, as you noted, they are excellent even after 3 months - if stored properly. In fact, we still have some frozen bags dated August. I opened one yesterday. The aroma, the freshness and the coffee on the whole were excellent.

The thing is, if you start with an amazingly roasted bean that tastes heavenly a week after roast, that same bean will still taste good after 2 months stored correctly BUT it won’t be heavenly, just good. You do lose flavour with age, but with a good bean there’s enough flavour to lose until you start to really notice. The real question is why would you buy expensive speciality coffee that has lost some of its flavour and is only just good? Might as well buy cheaper beans if you can’t assure its at its peak.

Unfortunately, ask the same question to 10 people and you will receive 10 different answers, all believing that they are right. I have NEVER seen a roaster declare roast date with a best before of 4 weeks, so I would personally challenge him on the basis he is spouting crap. but put in a way if he can find one who does, he keeps face!

Not sure freezing counts as a storage solution for most products (meat frozen for weeks will be absolutely fine but try putting that on an expiry or best-before date for your steak). Seems to me that beans for espresso regularly go south after roughly three weeks because of degassing - shots will often be underextracted/will channel etc. So perhaps it really depends on brew method? Something past the best before date should logically be different from the ‘consume by’ date - coffee is still plenty drinkable at four weeks but it would be far from best after six, I would wager, unless frozen. I think the phrase ‘best before’ actually has more meaning for coffee than for most other products!

BlackCatCoffee Do people really ditch coffee sealed in a bag at 4 weeks post roast? I regard Best Before Date as a very general recommendation, sometimes as a legal requirement, and use common sense instead. It makes no sense to me to through away good food (fruit, cheese, whatever) because the date on it has passed, just as it would be silly to eat bad food because the date says it is fresh. I know what food should look/taste/smell like, and I use my senses to decide if it is good or not (this Christmas my daughter’s boyfriend almost through away a whole brie because the date has past. It hadn’t even started to ripen at that stage….) Back to coffee. For me the only relevant date is the roast date. The pack can say it’s good for 4 weeks, 3 months, a year or whatever - I would ignore that, because for me it is meaningless. I know 3 months old (or a year old) coffee won’t kill me, but I would expect it to be passed it’s peak if it was that old. Then I would taste it, and see if I like it or not (but I wouldn’t buy it if it was already approaching 3 months from roast date). I expect people who buy specialty coffee from roasters such as yourself, as opposed to those who buy at the supermarket, would know that and be the same as me, but maybe I am wrong? Sorry if this isn’t very helpful.

BlackCatCoffee Do people really ditch coffee sealed in a bag at 4 weeks post roast? I don’t, packed well, especially as I don’t use valves, it’s good for months.

@BlackCatCoffee , Personally I don’t see the issue. The supermarkets reckon a year at least. You roast fresh and put the roast date, so people can make their own judgement.

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.

Dumnorix I completely agree with this…proper storage after opening is critical

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.

Coffee best before dates

drdre89

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 👍

hornbyben

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.

« Previous Page