Heard from one of the best baristas I've met in Boulder that they wait until 2 weeks after beans are roasted before pulling a shot and use it up to 3 weeks old because of the degassing and slower rate of oxidation. Any truth to this? I'm currently using BoxCar's Stella blend roasted right here.
I've read some posts on here where people say this is a myth?
I'm very new to making my own espresso tho I've drank it for years, so any light that can be shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

2 weeks is GENERALLY considered to be when roasted coffee is, for espresso use anyway, useless.

Though it does vary from bean to bean, and person to person, 14days is usually agreed upon to be the end. For brewing, I find I can sometimes stretch it to 3 weeks, but even still, it does taste like 3 week old coffee.


However, maybe at higher altitudes it does take longer.. I suggest getting a pound or two of coffee no more than 2-3 days old, and trying it. I generally let me coffee rest 3-4days at the least before I make espresso, and, again generally, will see the best flavor anywhere from days 6 to 10, after which it falls off quickly. So, try it out.. If you find the coffee still yields a deliciously sweet espresso 3 weeks post roast, enjoy. If not, drink it earlier. Making espresso with stale coffee yields quite an offensive beverage.. You'll know when the coffee is no longer worth using. Trust your tastebuds.

Every bean will age differently but I would be leery of that timeline. The easiest way to find out would be getting some freshly roasted coffee and sampling it over a 3 weeks period and draw your own conclusion. I tend to prefer my coffee more on the fresh side and often find it stale after 10 or so days but there is always an exception.

I'm not a physicist nor a chemist, however I do homeroast with commercial equipment and have been doing so for quite a few years at 5850 feet of elevation, where I live.

What you attribute to a barista at a somewhat lower altitude appears to me to have no basis whatsoever in fact. Yes, it is true that on average the atmospheric pressure and oxygen content at around 5000 feet is a bit less than it is at sea level, however how this would effect the aging/oxidation/staling of coffee is conjectural at best and certainly of minimal impact.

I think this is surely nonsense, and completely unsupportable on any scientific or other basis.

ken

I've bought beans from this place twice now and the last time on Saturday I'm pretty sure it was from the owner. He told an employee to go in back and get me an lb. of what they are using, she came back and it was roasted on Jan. 27th so it was over 3 weeks old! I said no-go and requested their freshest which was Feb 3rd so still 16 days post-roast at that point. Shots all tasted really really bitter and thought it may have to do with my technique because I just got my setup last Wed and all this is new to me, but I just pulled 2 sweet doubles from a different company that was roasted on Feb. 14th.
Really mad now for wasting $30 total on 2.5lbs of stale coffee! I just left a message with the roasters to call me, going to inquire what they consider the ideal time frame for their blend. I'd like to take the lb. of beans I still have back and call them out but the people at this place act like they are all knowing hipsters and I don't know enough yet about extractions to punk them like I would like to.

Just spoke with the roaster for a half-hour....he too feels that this blend seems to work best at the 2-3 week mark. Seems pretty crazy to me.... but I'm going to attempt to salvage this last lb.

Yes there is truth to it...scientific explanation may fall short, but the reality is coffee here isn't ready in 2 days of rest, and espresso takes longer and lasts longer without going stale...

We live at 6,300 feet (1,920.24 meters) above sea level, and it definitely affects how fast the coffee settles in. I often wait 3-5 days on drip and up to a week for my espresso before starting to use it, and we've used beans up to a month old for espresso with great results.

The drip never lasts that long.

And when we travel to lower elevations in the RV, we keep coffee frozen at -10 till we are ready to use it and then pull it and it degasses in 2 days and we have to use it in a week and a half or it 'turns' on us...