h3yn0w wrote:How do these beans fare after the bag has been opened for a couple of weeks ? Any value in freezing these beans after the bag is opened?

I think you absolutely need to do something unless you go through a kilogram in 2-3 days. I got a 1-kilo bag of Kimbo Superior and got significant benefit out of vacuum packing and freezing in small mason jars (each with 3-4 days worth of beans). I kept some of it out in an Airscape container right after opening the bag, and started getting noticeable stale flavors by day 3. As I pulled each vacuum-packed jar out of the freezer, I let it come to room temperature before opening to avoid condensation on the beans, then into the Airscape. Tasted fine out of the freezer, but again started tasting stale about day 3.

There are lots of threads on to-freeze-or-not-to-freeze. I find it helpful to slow the aging process. Adding vacuum-packing removes oxygen and seals the coffee from any funky freezer odors. YMMV

What I found using these coffees is I needed to split the kilogram into 3 smaller containers and freeze 2 while maintaining the 3rd in the fridge until used up. Consumption rate was approximately 80 gram/day. That is a 4-5 day useful life. How long it actually stays good depends on user preferences and the technique and machine as well.

I've been using 1 kg bags of Italian espresso blends almost exclusively for the past 8 years. Open the bag, pour a couple of days worth (250g?) into a smaller container or bag, squeeze the air out and seal the bag with a rubber band or tape. Keep both in freezer. You'll need to open the main bag just four times before it's gone.

Treated in this way the beans will stay excellent for a month no problem. I've kept them in the freeze much longer with great results.

The main factors that affect quality are 1) the age of the beans when you buy them, and 2) whether the package was properly sealed and had not gotten a pin-hole leak at some point.

Most of these beans have a 20-month shelf life. The ones I just bought expire in March 2018. So if you get them with 20 months of shelf life left they're fresh. If they have 12 months or less avoid them. If order by mail I ask the vendors the ex. date before purchasing.

If they are old, or not properly sealed, you will know at once. The coffee will suck, no crema, impossible to dial in. They will smell stale when you open them. If they were fresh when opened, and frozen immediately, they will last a year in the freezer before they act like this. They will smell like roasted coffee when you open them, when you grind them, even after a long time in the freezer.

When you buy off the shelf in a store you can squeeze the bag - if air escapes only from the one-way value it's cool. If it escapes elsewhere run for your life.

I simply love Italian espresso blends. Every shot I pull, straight up or in milk, is a taste sensation in the old-world art of blending and roasting.

Personally i prefer illy over lavazza

1- Kimbo superior blend
2- Segafredo intermezzo
3- lavazza super crema
6- Caffé Motta lounge bar
6- Caffe Motta espresso bar
6- Vergnano
7- Danessi
8- Kimbo Napoletano


I have to revise the Caffe Motta.

recently, I have been constantly dissapointed with my shot with the caffe motta. I much prefer the Segafredo recently and its my go to coffee nowadays.

TomC wrote:Superior Blend is excellent. It's the only Kimbo blend I'll buy now, if I'm looking for that kind of shot. Much, much better than the 5 random blends I tried from them which were varying degrees of smoldering tire.

How are you pulling the superior ? Just bought a bag and looking forward to trying

Thanks!

It's been so long I don't remember exactly. But I'd keep a moderate dose (don't focus on updosing wildly), grind coarse and pull at a lower temp. The rest you'll just have to experiment with.

I usually dose 14g in for a shot weight of 18 to 22g.

A nice tight, but not too tight, ristretto.

Does anyone have a "superior" source for buying the Kimbo Superior?

Thanks!

Let me know if you find a place better than EspressoZone. It's been a while since I've ordered and Italian blend and I was thinking about it the other day. Amazon is hit or miss, and they usually gouge the price or shipping.