There's a little roaster right near my brother's place in Santa Fe, and since we'd been there for a week and I couldn't roast (I thought it would be presumptuous to bring the Behmor along for the visit), I picked up a couple pounds of coffee so I'd have something to drink while whatever I roast tomorrow is resting. Wanted to try the 'Obama Blend' (Kenyan, Indonesian, and Hawaiian coffees), but they didn't even have enough to make up a pound, so I got a pound of Brasilian and a pound of Sumatran to blend myself. It was pre-bagged in glassine-lined bags (danger signal #1 - not airtight bags). I asked when it was roasted. The person working the counter didn't know (danger signal #2). I looked around the place and didn't see a roaster there, but since it's a suburban strip mall type of place, I figure they roast elsewhere. I bought the coffee because I wasn't sure I'd have a chance to pick up anything else (although I managed a stop at Klatch on the way home, which is a good thing). Opened up the coffee when I got home today and though the roasts are not particularly dark, there's oil showing and a grind sufficiently fine to almost choke the Caravel with a 12-day old blend of my own roasting pours fast with almost no crema. I'm guessing this coffee is close to a month old.

Resolved: I will never, ever again buy coffee that doesn't have a roast date (and a recent one, at that), no matter what somebody else tells me about how fresh the coffee always is when they buy it.

Once you can tell the difference between fresh coffee and stale coffee there is no turning back.

I would rather go without espresso than try to make espresso with stale coffee beans.

Now that you have thrown down the gauntlet may I suggest you read this article http://www.home-barista.com/store-coffee-in-freezer.html about freezing coffee to help ensure your supply of the fresh stuff is not interrupted.