"My coffee is stale..."

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Randy G.
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#1: Post by Randy G. »

Yesterday morning I got to the last 20 or 25 grams at the bottom of a jar of homeroast and dumped it. The previous morning I had pulled two doubles and both were troubled. Thin, plenty of sprites, and really, to be honest, they should have gone into the sink as they were not up my normal standards. I have been doing a number of test roasts, and can only give away so much coffee were I live, and have been switching around with different batches. SO there have been times when a batch is around a little longer than is optimal. I knew right away, just from watching the extraction issue forth into the cup that the beans were stale. Even with around 100 pounds of green on hand, from the days when my stock was thinner I still am quite frugal with my coffee beans and hate wasting them. I remember when Cea from Smith Farms in Hawaii commented as to how picking coffee was such back-breaking work and that every bean is thus valuable.

We have all read many reports from people with extraction problems and the solution to their problem was to get rid of the stale coffee, and as that thought was considered, this popped into my head:

"My extractions were terrible today. I bought coffee last week and up until this morning it was good, but today it was a mess. Spraying all over, very watery in the cup, and tasted bitter. What should I do?"

"Drink more coffee."
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peacecup
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#2: Post by peacecup »

I usually buy commerically-roasted Italian espresso blends, which I get "fresh", ie well-packaged. These beans stay very good even for a whole kg if kept in the freezer after opening.

But once in a blue moon I get a bag that must have had a bad seal or pinhole, and as you say it's easy to see it's stale. That happened last week, and I am counting the days until I finish the bag. I know I should just compost it and move on, but I still have 500g and I hate to waste it, so I'm enduring it.

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baldheadracing
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#3: Post by baldheadracing »

Randy G. wrote:"My extractions were terrible today. I bought coffee last week and up until this morning it was good, but today it was a mess. Spraying all over, very watery in the cup, and tasted bitter. What should I do?"
Pull out the Aeropress :D.
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DrugOfChoice
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#4: Post by DrugOfChoice replying to baldheadracing »

I only drink brewed coffee, and it is definitely a lot more forgiving of coffee aging than espresso.

I mostly buy in 5lb bags, which take me about 4 weeks to finish. Without freezing, the coffee is still very good at the end of the bag. The flavor obviously develops somewhat differently as the coffee ages (and some coffees age better than others), but it's usually still good (at least to my taste) at the end of a bag.

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drgary
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#5: Post by drgary »

A new topic was introduced and split to its own thread:

Which Roasters Offer 5 Lb. Bags?

Now, back on topic ...
DrugOfChoice wrote:I only drink brewed coffee, and it is definitely a lot more forgiving of coffee aging than espresso.

I mostly buy in 5lb bags, which take me about 4 weeks to finish. Without freezing, the coffee is still very good at the end of the bag. The flavor obviously develops somewhat differently as the coffee ages (and some coffees age better than others), but it's usually still good (at least to my taste) at the end of a bag.
Four weeks? What coffee are you drinking? :|
Gary
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Marcelnl
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#6: Post by Marcelnl »

Wow, 4 weeks..I find myself throwing out coffee after ten to twelve days...
Did you ever compare fresh roasted vs 4 weeks old? I recently diagnosed myself with a growing staleness intolerance, most brew coffee is made with stale beans or preground which is even more stale but once you have a decent grinder and buy fresh roasted beans I'd give it a try to freeze them in portions, or at least freeze one portion and then compare results against the 4 week old beans....
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Marcelnl
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#7: Post by Marcelnl »

To Gary, think you should consider writing a coffee consumption plan and start using a planning app :mrgreen:

That way you can plan ahead and track the amount you need to drink on a daily basis in order to prevent your coffee going stale, and to waste. I envision a tool in which you enter the roasted amounts and roast dates with their typical cutoff point, the program calculates of what bean you need to drink what amount and adapts the forecast according to the amount used after entering your specific recipes for Each beverage you make :lol:
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canuckcoffeeguy
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#8: Post by canuckcoffeeguy »

I recently brewed 4 week old Ethiopian Guji beans with a surprising result. It tasted much better than I expected. I had a few cups worth left and thought I'd see what it would taste like.

I used my Pharos to grind and brewed with Aeropress equipped with the metal Able filter(standard version).

Obviously got less bloom, but it was still there. And I could still taste the peach notes that were there in week 1 and 2. Basically it didn't taste stale to me.

I didn't bother trying espresso with them, of course.

My storage routine is simple. If I don't freeze, I keep the beans in a one way valve bag. I remove as much air as possible when sealed. I then roll the excess part of the bag tight, but leave the valve exposed so it can release the off gassing. I then wrap an elastic band around the bag to keep it tight, so any gas is pushed out the valve as it's released from the coffee. This seems to preserve the coffee well.

The key seems to be eliminating as much air as possible, while having a one way valve, with a tightly packed bag, so that off gassing is expelled continuously as it's released. That's why a jar to store beans gets worse over time. With less and less beans in the jar, the air volume increases, speeding up oxidation. So basically you need a vacuum(to keep air low) combined with a way for the off gassing to release. For me, a one way valve bag kept tight is the easiest solution.

Here's an interesting entry from a Toronto roaster. They experimented with how coffee aging affects extraction and came to some conclusions. They brewed a coffee every day for 30 days to track the changes. I don't understand it all. Maybe you will:
http://www.pilotcoffeeroasters.com/blog ... ty-and-age

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drgary
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#9: Post by drgary »

Marcelnl wrote:To Gary, think you should consider writing a coffee consumption plan and start using a planning app :mrgreen:

That way you can plan ahead and track the amount you need to drink on a daily basis in order to prevent your coffee going stale, and to waste. I envision a tool in which you enter the roasted amounts and roast dates with their typical cutoff point, the program calculates of what bean you need to drink what amount and adapts the forecast according to the amount used after entering your specific recipes for Each beverage you make :lol:
You mean to Steve?

I FREEZE my coffee at peak. It's sooo easy. I'm just finishing a 5 lb bag of Compass Coffee La Berlina that's been frozen airtight for about 3 months, and it's fine.
Gary
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RioCruz
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#10: Post by RioCruz »

I roast my own beans using a Fresh Roast 8 roaster that I got from Sweet Maria's over 10 years ago. Small roast batch means I never worry about coffee going stale.

When I do buy from commercial roasters, I do what Gary does and just put the beans in a jar in the freezer. To my taste, freezing does change the taste a bit but it's much better than trying to drink stale coffee.
"Nobody loves your coffee more than you do."
~James Freeman, Blue Bottle

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