Coffee Freshness: When is it Best to Brew?

It’s a question we’re often asked, how long does your coffee last?
And the answer is more complicated than you might think. Fresh roasted coffee beans are what we specialize in but they don't always brew the best coffee.

Fresher is not always better.

Coffee beans don’t go off. They won’t spoil or go bad at a certain point. It’s not like milk, meat or even fruit. That’s why coffee in the supermarket has a best before date twelve months away. But that doesn’t mean that it’s at it's best for twelve months.

We label all our coffee beans with a roast date. Dated on the specific day we took those green coffee beans and roasted them in small batches. So you should brew the coffee right away, right? 

Not quite. 

Freshly roasted coffee beans need a few days to degas. After roasting, coffee continues to emit carbon dioxide. If you brew that coffee too soon, then the flavours won’t have developed and the CO2 can have a negative effect on the cup.

To brew the perfect cup you need the best coffee beans, roasted and brewed well. Particular brewing methods work better with coffee of different ages.

In particular, with espresso, if the coffee is too fresh, then it’s hard to dial in and the crema can be extra bubbly. The roasting process forms carbon dioxide that is then extracted under the pressure of the espresso machine. For that reason we recommend waiting five to seven days before brewing espresso with our coffee.

Whenever we grind coffee, it interacts with the air and oxidises. Ground coffee will stale as soon as you grind it. If you don’t own one, buying a grinder and grinding fresh is the single best thing you can do to improve your coffee.

When buying pre-ground coffee, then you are not drinking it at its best. No matter what the packaging says about valves and pre flushing with nitrogen, that ground coffee is sub-optimal. 

If you haven't already, buy a grinder!

When is Optimal to use the coffee?

There’s a difference between espresso and other brew methods. The pressure from the espresso machine draws the CO2 from the ground coffee and creates crema. Leaving the coffee to degas for a few days allows it to settle down and for the flavours to stabilize.

That's why it's important to choose the right coffee beans for your brew method. Our coffee blends are mostly designed for espresso (aside from our filter blend Sweet Science) and to be drunk with milk as that is most common in Australia. 

For Espresso

We recommend waiting at least five to seven days from the roast date, and it just gets better from there. The peak is often between fourteen and twenty-one days. This is hard to manage. Even in our roastery espresso bar, it's a constant struggle to not be using super fresh coffee.

But at our espresso bar in Ballarat, Cobb’s Coffee, they have plenty of storage and they brew the coffee when it's between 14 to 21 days. And it’s always the most delicious coffee I drink.

Week old coffee is good but there’s a big difference when you drink espresso that is two to three weeks old, then it’s delicious. The flavour profile of the coffee opens up over time and you can enjoy the great clarity and sweetness of specialty coffee.

Competitors in Barista Competitions will work out when to roast the coffee on the exact day that they need before the comp and it’s often thirty days earlier.

Then, after four to six weeks the coffee will start to fade. You can still brew a good cup of coffee but the crema will be lighter and the more delicate aromas and flavours will fade. The good news is that the bolder flavours, like dark chocolate and caramel will last longer and still cut through milk.

For Filter Coffee

For filter brewing with a longer brew time, like Aeropress, Plunger, Pour Over etc. Then it doesn’t need to age as long. Think more like three to five days and then try to use it up before it’s a month old.

But if you've bought premium single origin coffee and want to appreciate the tasting notes listed on the bag you must grind it right before brewing. The best beans won't be able to deliver if they were ground weeks or even days before. Many coffee drinkers have been disappointed after buying some premium ground single origin coffee beans and not being able to taste the flavours described on the bag.

So How Should I Store My Coffee?

In an airtight container in a cool, dark place is a good start. Direct sunlight is the enemy, avoid it at all costs. Storing it in the bag it came in can work fine. Our 250g bags are resealable and work well. 

One tip that will help is to fold it so there is no air left at the top. You can then hold it down with a rubber band or even a peg. To go deeper into why that might be a good idea, check out this video from UK coffee roaster Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood.

Fresh coffee beans are important but there are other things to consider. Make sure you have a good grinder. Buy good coffee with a roast date. Grind immediately before you brew. Enjoy.