Coffee freshness – Important Facts

The really sad thing about coffee is the amount of stale, bitter coffee sitting on retailer’s shelves. Most people just don’t realize the difference in the taste of fresh roasted coffee. It is important to note that the freshness of coffee has to do with when it was roasted not when it was harvested. After roasted coffee has been exposed to air, the flavour will begin to deteriorate extremely fast. In fact, a huge portion of the flavour is lost in just 7 to 10 days!

Vacuum and nitrogen injection packaging will slow down the deterioration process, but it will still become stale and even rancid after a fairly short period of time. In most retail stores and gift shops it is almost impossible to buy fresh coffee. They just don’t do enough volume to keep the fresh inventory flowing.



Freshness Tip #1

Buy directly from the roaster’s website. Many places will roast the beans and ship directly to you within 1 or 2 days after roasting. This is fresh, gourmet coffee! Roasted coffee beans get their best flavour and aromatic properties from the oils in the beans. After roasting, these oils will come to the surface and evaporate taking the flavour and aroma with it. The less surface area exposed to air, the longer it takes for the flavour to deteriorate.

Freshness Tip #2

Buy whole bean coffee and only grind as much coffee as you plan on using that day. Heat, light, humidity, and oxygen are accelerants to deterioration of flavour and aroma by damaging these delicate coffee oils.

Freshness Tip #3

Store your coffee in a cool, dark, air tight container. Don’t store in the refrigerator because it will absorb odours which will affect the taste. If you don’t plan on drinking your coffee within a couple of weeks, you could try storing in the freezer, but condensation will affect the beans once they warm so don’t take them in and out very often. Take this advice - drink what you buy and you wont have to worry about extended storage.