I have very limited choice for local fresh beans supply. I can get some from a micro-roaster or from a coffee boutique. I never tried online beans suppliers 'cause I'm using less than 250 gr per weeks only.

The micro roaster prints the roasted date on every bag, so know how fresh it is. But they are roasting almost all varieties from mid-black to black. The beans are always oily and do not produce much crema. However, the taste is good.

At the boutique, I was told the roaster is located in Montréal (300 miles from here) and he is shipping beans in vacuum sealed bags to the boutique. They claim the coffee is always fresh. The employees can tell me when the opened the bag but it is impossible to know the roasting date of any product. They have lot of peoples coming every day and have a good rotation of inventory.

So my question is, how fresh can remain beans in vacuum sealed bags and can I rely on this method to get decent fresh beans?

Thanks,

lgxiii wrote:I never tried online beans suppliers 'cause I'm using less than 250 gr per weeks only.

Why not order a kilo from a reliable online roaster, split the shipment into 250 gram airtight jars and freeze them? As Ken and Jim have documented at length in Coffee: To Freeze or Not to Freeze, it works quite well.

The beans are always oily and do not produce much crema. However, the taste is good.

Classic symptoms of stale coffee: Oily surface and no crema. Stale coffee also requires a very fine grind.

So my question is, how fresh can remain beans in vacuum sealed bags and can I rely on this method to get decent fresh beans?

A quality vacuum sealed bag adds a few days of freshness compared to paraffin-lined paper bags. There's no magical quality of vacuum sealed bags; staling continues, albeit at a slightly slower pace. If the coffee doesn't indicate the roast date, it's a crapshoot. The coffee could be one week old and near its prime, it could be three months old and be dull/flat tasting. If you appreciate good coffee, it's worth sourcing fresh roast from a reliable roaster.

Classic symptoms of stale coffee: Oily surface and no crema. Stale coffee also requires a very fine grind.

But how can 4 - 5 days old roasted beans be stale? The beans I talked about are from the micro-roaster and I believe the roasted date. I think they roast too dark. Can this makes stale coffee?

Why not order a kilo from a reliable online roaster, split the shipment into 250 gram airtight jars and freeze them? As Ken and Jim have documented at length in Coffee: To Freeze or Not to Freeze, it works quite well.

I was understanding to freeze beans minutes after roasting! I should give it a try!

Thanks,

Are you sure they are "vacuum" sealed and not simply sealed in the normal manner with a one-way valve to release escaping gas?

lgxiii wrote:But how can 4 - 5 days old roasted beans be stale? The beans I talked about are from the micro-roaster and I believe the roasted date. I think they roast too dark. Can this makes stale coffee?

Yes, overroasted coffee has many of the same characteristics as stale coffee. That said, I do like some dark roasts, though I believe it requires considerable skill to elicit pleasant roast notes without completely destroying the coffee's varietal character. Many commercial roasters, unfortunately, use dark roasting to cover up flaws in their coffees.

Marshall wrote:Are you sure they are "vacuum" sealed and not simply sealed in the normal manner with a one-way valve to release escaping gas?

Don't know, never seen the bags myself. One thing for sure is their coffee doen't look bad at all, not staler than the micro-roaster is!

HB wrote:Yes, overroasted coffee has many of the same characteristics as stale coffee. That said, I do like some dark roasts, though I believe it requires considerable skill to elicit pleasant roast notes without completely destroying the coffee's varietal character. Many commercial roasters, unfortunately, use dark roasting to cover up flaws in their coffees.

My guess is they lack roasting knowledge a little bit and overoast their product. They sell bio-equitable coffee and are serious about their business. I should ask for special batch, if they want to do so.

But the best thing, as Dan suggested, is to buy some online coffee to compare. I know nothing about roasting and the real problem is to know what you have locally. I should compare with high grade coffee and see the difference. I'll have to pay for lessons