I don't understand this coffee freshness craze - Page 9

by **DonTom** on Mon May 23, 2011 8:40 am

I may have missed the point a little, but I would suggest that there is a section of the "aging curve" which is quite flat. An artisan roaster may be able to manage his roast/ blend to be best in that plateau, so that the result is more consistent. Many winemakers will make similar suggestions.
I know that the blend our cafe used between 2-7 days needed more adjustment in day 2-4 than afterwards, and that my second barista had trouble managing that.

by **appa** on Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:57 pm

What I would like to know (as a self admitted bad barista)
is if a seller is saying 7 days rest is best, what can I do
(or should I do ) with that coffee @ day 2 or 3?

I can discuss specific blends if anyone cares.

Do I just wait?

Do I stale it at the doser for a bit?

Can I make it taste good in a different way @ day 2-3, and just have
different expectations about the coffee at that age, with the understanding
the parameters and taste may be very different?

I know the answer is it depends, but would appreciate some guidance.

Thanks

by **another_jim** on Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:02 pm

Most roasters and shops cannot readily change dose, grind and extraction variables on the fly. Instead they use some fixed dosing method. Their age recommendations are based on whatever method they use and may not work for any other dosing scheme.

At home you can vary dose and grind, grinding finer and dosing less if the coffee is too harsh, and grinding coarser and dosing higher if it is too soft. Using this method, you can extend the age range of your coffees by grinding younger coffees finer and dosing them lower, and older coffees coarser and dosing them higher. If you do this, you may still like the coffee best after X days, but the tasty range of days before and after day X will be considerably extended.

Letting coffee sit ground in the doser for a half hour will work for a good coffee for a day or two after roasting, and it does work to get the rubbery taste out of too fresh robustas; but I've found it hit or miss in other situations.

by **appa** on Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:14 pm

Thanks again Jim, helpful as always.

My biggest challenge with very fresh coffees so far
has been how sensitive they are to small changes in
grind and dose. I go from gusher to dripper with little
tweaking.

I guess its something ill have to work at more, but with
the price of coffee these days, it hurts when it goes wrong.

Thanks

by **Marshall** on Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:22 pm

It's also good to remember that shops can be much pickier about their "best" day, because any bag they open is likely to be empty by the end of the day. Consumers have to plan for a range of days.

by **michaelbenis** on Fri Jun 24, 2011 3:40 am

I think that's an excellent point Marshall, and one I was making to a roaster friend only the other day.

If he is recommending that a roast needs to wait 10 days and a given customer only drinks one or two doubles a day, they could be drinking stale coffee before they get to the bottom of the bag.

But his reply was equally valid: it's only a suggestion, not a rule carved in stone.

In the end we all have to experiment to find what we like....

by **appa** on Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:33 pm

After following advice on dosing,etc from people here
(particular thanks to Jim S. again), Ive noticed that
even if I dont like a particular coffee when its very fresh,
I get a much better understanding of the "essence" of the coffee
when very fresh.

For example: The blueberry coming out of the recent Counter Culture Idido
was much more intense from days 2-5. I loved it, but even if it would have
tasted unbalanced, it gave me more insight to what the coffee was about than
having it after day 7.

Im sure this doesnt apply to all coffees, and peoples tastes are different,
but for me at least, pulling some ultra fresh shots has been akin to
a form of "espresso cupping".


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