The freshness of coffee beans is actually a mystery

Many customers who bought coffee beans complained that the beans they bought were not roasted on the latest date, and they felt that they spent money but could not buy the coffee beans they liked, which inevitably made them feel uneasy. Some people who know about coffee may know that coffee is also an ingredient that needs to be properly stored and used fresh.

Not only does stale coffee taste bad, but if it is not stored well, it can even produce ochratoxins (mainly produced by a fungus Aspergillus ochraceus that is widely found in nature, which can cause renal failure in animals and toxicity to human renal tubular cells), which are harmful to human health. From the first wave of instant coffee to the second wave of Italian coffee and then to the current boutique coffee, people pay more and more attention to the quality of coffee, and one of the key elements of quality is "freshness".

What does fresh coffee mean?

There are three ways to explain fresh coffee: fresh green beans, fresh roasted, and freshly ground. Apart from grinding coffee at home, fresh green beans are a blind spot for most coffee consumers, but I have mentioned this in another article before (The biggest misunderstanding of coffee consumption: Is freshly ground coffee fresh coffee?). The only thing left to discuss is "fresh roasted".

So, what counts as “freshly baked”?

Freshly roasted coffee is not suitable for drinking directly, because the coffee beans will emit a large amount of carbon dioxide, which will result in the lack of coffee bean flavor (or roasted flavor). This period of time is collectively referred to as the "bean cultivation period". After the bean cultivation period, it will reach the "best flavor period". Once the best flavor period is over, it is naturally "expired".

Bean growing period → best flavor period → expired

If you look at it this way, it is quite simple and clear: as long as the coffee beans can be drunk just at the end of the bean-raising period and enter the best flavor period, they can be considered "freshly roasted".

For example, depending on the degree of roasting, most of our coffee beans will have a 4-7 day bean-raising period. So, if you plan to buy and drink them immediately, the coffee beans about 4-7 days after roasting are naturally the "freshest"; even if they are roasted half a month ago and have been fully raised, they are still considered "fresh" if you can drink them within the best flavor period; if you have some stored at home, or plan to give them away, then of course you can choose the beans that have just been roasted.

So why is coffee freshness still a mystery?

Because what we usually call the "4-7" bean-growing period or the "one month" best flavor period is actually a very subjective topic.

Many professional roasters have their own standards to set an average lifespan for coffee beans, but there are too many variables that we cannot control:

1. Coffee itself affects itself. Due to the different varieties, altitudes, processing methods, and roasting degrees of coffee beans, the emission of carbon dioxide is different. The bean-raising period and the best flavor period are not exactly the same.

2. Roasting techniques also affect the life of coffee beans. The heating method and roasting techniques of the roaster will also change the characteristics of coffee, ultimately leading to differences in the coffee bean-raising period or the best flavor period.

Therefore, even for the same beans, different roasteries will have different standards for the "freshness" of the beans. There may also be more extreme cases: some beans can reach their best flavor the next day after being roasted, but the flavor will be seriously lost in just half a month; some coffee beans will take half a month to fully develop their flavor, and will not deteriorate even if they are left for another month...

When in doubt, it’s best to ask a barista or roaster, who will be able to give you the best advice for your specific coffee bean.

In this way, everyone's thinking is much clearer~

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