General rule to allowing coffees to rest?

[philee]

hi everyone,

i just received my shipments of la golondrina microlot from counter culture, and espresso classico from paradise roasters.

on some other roasters' sites, they list that coffee, like some types of wine, should be given time to "degas".
what exactly does this mean? should i just leave the coffee in the original bag to 'degas' for a few days?

also, is there some general rule to allowing coffees to rest, or am i being obsessive?
ive read from various posts, dates ranging from 4-7 days after the coffee was roasted.

thanks everyone

-phil

[Grant]

I am far from being the most qualified around here to answer this, but I will give you my own opinion.

From my own experience, I have found that after roasting my beans, 4 days seems to be when things come together (for espresso). Before that, I find the extractions extra bubbly and the flavours sometimes a bit "off". At about 4 days, things just seem to come together...the flavours seems smoother and more blended, and the extractions are smoother and silky.

They say to "de-gas" the beans as they give off carbon dioxide as a by-product of roasting, and as this subsides many consider the beans to be at their best....too long afterwhich they begin to stale/age. If anything like a nice Ale, carbon dioxide has a "tang" or sharp taste, which I believe is why some Ale cans with a widget inside use other gases to not give an off taste.

I rarely ever let beans get past 8 days old, as I roast according to my usage patterns, but after that I find the extractions are starting to thin a little, I have to grind a bit finer etc.

For drip coffee/french press, I use them whenever and can find little taste difference before or after 4 days.

[another_jim]

You should try a shot every day from the time you get it.

Signs of more aging needed:

-- excessive, large bubble crema that quickly collapses
-- a lot of harsh flavors, both sour and sharp-bitter

Tuning espresso is mostly a matter of making changes relative to the last shot: tighter or looser grind, dose less or more, brew hotter or colder, use it now or wait. It's extremely rare for one to be able to say ahead of time "wait so many days," "brew it at such and such a temperature," "use this specific dose and grind," etc.