Intelligentsia selling "older" Black Cat?

[Sherman]

One of the great joys of living in close proximity to Intelligentsia's shops is being able to pop into the stores on Tuesdays and score with the $2/lb. discount. However, I've noticed within the last month or two that they've started bagging and selling beans at the Broadway location that have older roast dates (e.g. selling bags today-4/22 that were roasted on 4/15). Previously, I was able to pick up same-day or one-day old roasts scooped and bagged straight from the BABs (the Big-Ass Bins), which would give me adequate time to rest the beans and still last throughout the week, but alas, this is no longer the case.

I've been pulling 15g double ristrettos with the stock double basket at about 23-25 seconds. The first couple of days' shots are everything that I could have hoped for, but it starts to fade quickly. I'm starting to notice a significant difference in shot quality past the 10-day mark, and am not sure of why this is the case. To the HB faithful, I submit two questions here:

1. Assuming that I'm buying weekly, what's the best way to maximize shot quality as the beans age? I recall a recent thread that Marshall posted about week-old coffee, but was wondering if there were other ideas and thoughts on the topic.


2. Does this mean that we will no longer be able to buy fresh-roasted BC? Or do I have to bite the bullet and go on other days where the discount is not in effect? A bitter pill, but if an extra $2 buys me that freshness, it ain't all too bad.

Curiously,
-s.

[ThaRiddla]

Hi Sherman,

Firstly, thank you for being a loyal Broadway customer. That is my alma mater and I love to hear about customers going there. Yes, we have recently switched from the old bins at broadway to our newer model of selling pre-bagged whole bean coffee. This was done in an effort to help promote freshness (1lb bags that are heat sealed instead of 10lbs sitting out in each bin) and reduce labor (baristas don't have to scoop and weigh).

As for the roast dates - we have always had a roast-date window at our stores. We sell whole bean coffee at any Intelligentsia store that is less than 7 days old. Roasting & delivery of specific blends/SO coffees is largely dependent on stock levels, sales and production schedules at the Roasting Works. Typically, coffees are pulled at the end of the day that have reached the 7 day mark. I'm sure this was an isolated incident I apologize that you purchased some BC that was at the 7 day mark. If you send me an email with your shipping address (mriddle AT intelligentsiacoffee DOT com), I'll be more than happy to send you a pound of Cat that is freshly roasted.

We're currently using BC at the 6-7 day mark at the stores. That's when I feel it's at its best. As far as the 2 for Tuesday deal...feel free to always check the roast dates on the bags and make sure that your BC is as fresh as possible.

[ccfore]

Wow, 1 hour 24 minutes to respond to a customer question. Simply awesome service and awesome coffee. Great work Matt and Intelligentsia! There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. Roger Staubach

[Sherman]

Upon re-reading the topic, I realize that it may come off as being inflammatory; it was not intentionally worded as such. Please let me clarify - I consider myself lucky to enjoy the luxury of having access to great local roasters whose product at 7 days' age has little competition. While I appreciate the quick and certainly generous response, there was no master plan to scam a freebie just by posting a quasi-newbie question.

We're currently using BC at the 6-7 day mark at the stores. That's when I feel it's at its best.

Regarding the "peak" for BC, I won't rehash other threads, which seem to point to a similar window opening at 3-4 days and peaking at 6-7. I'm just trying to figure out how to stay "in the zone" for the longest possible time.

With respect to this, I'm also curious as to other users' experience with BC: when do you start noticing a drop-off? I'm finding consistent changes (less crema, more astringent) starting at 10 days. This is ameliorated somewhat using Marshall's above-mentioned "updose and coarser" method, but I don't know if this is par for the course.

-s.