I don't think enough has been said about the fact that coffee notes do change over time after roasting. I often find that fruity coffee from Ethiopia peaks in flavor after about three days after roast and the flavors diminish after that. The OPs description does seem on the extreme edge but coffee aging, out-gassing, and flavor change are pretty common.

Unfortunately I can't give any particular insight into the OP's problem. However, I have been drinking this coffee from Red Bird (Ethiopia Sidama Shakisso) and find it absolutely spectacular. I had a previous bag that I used over the course of about 4 weeks and it was still great at the end of that time.

I do notice that a given coffee can taste very different from day to day, depending on small variations in recipe, coffee aging, and in my own taste perception, but this particular coffee seems unusually consistent.

That said, I did get a subpar pot from my new batch yesterday, which I attribute to the thermal carafe on the Brazen Plus needing a deep cleaning (soak with fragrance free OxyClean, rather than the usual daily quick brush with dish soap). Today it's back to tasting great.

By the way, I would describe this more as a medium roast (as does the roaster) rather than light (as the OP describes it).

I've ordered a lot of coffee from Red Bird, and did once get a batch that I considered subpar. It was a coffee that I had not tried before and that he did not offer for very long, so I don't know whether it was some roasting defect or a problem with the beans themselves. In that case, I contacted Jeff and he was particularly gracious in addressing my disappointment.

Thanks all for the responses. I received two new bags (1lb each) of Ethiopia Sidama Shakisso from Red Bird yesterday (roasted on 4/28). Per everyone's guidance, I put the beans right into mason jars and into the freeze. I left one mason jar in the cupboard because we'll use it up in 2-3 days.

Made the first drip pot today and the flavors are back and the flavor is great. This is not a surprise, but gives me a baseline for future tastings. The blueberry flavors are not as strong in the past, but there could be a variety of reasons for this (as DrugOfChoice said). It's otherwise, delicious. I will update this thread as I go through the frozen beans I froze.

I often wonder if I should move away from my Bonavita and do Chemex or Hario. I suspect I will have more control over the temperature and the process overall, but my wife will not be bothered with this approach when I'm travelling. So I'm hesitant. Maybe I pull out my AeroPress tomorrow, lower the water temp, and see if there's a big difference in taste.

The absolute best cup of coffee I've ever had was at Blue Bottle near Bryan Park in NYC, via pour-over/hario. It was their Gikirima Release (Embu, Kenya). They're out of it now, but it just blew me away!

I'll add to perception. I order at least two roasts as one will not taste good in a day or two, then I switch back and forth. Usually none will taste as good as day one. It's not the beans it's your head. We are wired that way as perception and threshold of stimulus become muted. That and other previously mentioned factors usually have us chasing that memorable early shot.

marko16 wrote:It's not the beans it's your head. We are wired that way as perception and threshold of stimulus become muted. That and other previously mentioned factors usually have us chasing that memorable early shot.

If this was true, the beer I drink and love would taste less amazing over time and that couldn't be further from the truth (at least with me)

So we're almost two weeks into coffee beans that were roasted on 4/28. Following the freezer method described above and using mason jars, we've experienced no materially different taste differences over this period! Thank you to all who helped!

Now that I know the freezer method works, I've just ordered some of PT's RUSTY'S HAWAIIAN KA'U TYPICA! Excited to try a coffee I've heard so much about.

We will also continue to buy Red Bird's Ethiopia Sidama - Shakisso, which is an excellent coffee!