Most people let coffee sit for 2-7 days after roasting (for good reasons). Is there anything that can be done to reduce this (say to overnight)? For example, keeping it warm so that it off gasses faster? Or blow air through it?

Grind it, let it sit for 30 minutes. It's ready.

Not to say there might be a slight change in a few days as further degradation sets in, but a 20-30 minute rest after grinding will allow you to brew it without it off gassing so bad that it throws off your extraction. It's easy to do when finished with a roasting session and can give you a lot of information about how your roasts turned out.

Tom and I were posting simultaneously. Great minds ...

You can grind it and let it sit for 30 minutes before brewing or pulling it.

What they said, pre-grind it for really fresh coffee that you must serve before it's rested.

I was returning from Southern California on the same day that Handsome Coffee Roasters was having their soft opening for their LA cafe. You can bet that I detoured with the whole family to drop in and try some of their coffee (since I'd been part of the Handsome Wager and been receiving their roasts before they opened). They told me that they hadn't really expected to be soft opening that day and that their coffee was all very recently roasted, like the previous day. It tasted great, so it can be done in a pinch.

Thanks. I assume that the techniques can be mixed in some exponential decay way. For example, if the roast is one day old and 4 days is ideal, then let the ground coffee sit for 10 min.

I didn't know this, thank you.

I often test a coffee right after roasting, all the brewing/espresso stuff is so close anyways.

jonr wrote:Thanks. I assume that the techniques can be mixed in some exponential decay way. For example, if the roast is one day old and 4 days is ideal, then let the ground coffee sit for 10 min.

Letting the ground coffee sit before brewing will help degass it, but it won't help rest it, so I think it will still be less than ideal, it just won't be gassy. You may have to change your dose or temps to help get the most out of coffee that's that fresh.

Resting for seven days would be extreme, especially since those same people tell you roasted coffee is only fresh for 9 to 14 days. I roast small batches every two days, but if I forget, I will drink the one day old stuff. After I roast my coffee, I leave it in an open glass bowl overnight. Since the beans are heavily degassing, I don't worry about oxygen decaying them. The next day I saran wrap them, and then they are gone.

ripcityman wrote:Resting for seven days would be extreme, especially since those same people tell you roasted coffee is only fresh for 9 to 14 days.

I'm one of those same people I guess. Some lighter roasts don't reach peak for at least 10 days. I've tried them earlier and they were like cardboard until the flavors opened up after day 9. Resting time depends on what beans and how they're roasted.

You may have to change your dose or temps to help get the most out of coffee that's that fresh.

I haven't found anything that replaces time, but if there is, I'd like to try it. I tried the above suggestions to grind and then wait 30 sec and that worked. Is it completely equivalent? - I'd need a controlled test and more than one shot to tell.

I agree that lighter roasts need longer.