Correct, roasted on or before 5-1 so the coffee was roasted 11 days ago or less. As a general rule, most coffee goes south after two weeks but there are always exceptions.

cannonfodder wrote:Correct, roasted on or before 5-1 so the coffee was roasted 11 days ago or less. As a general rule, most coffee goes south after two weeks but there are always exceptions.

I'm no math wiz, but if the goal is to have it roasted less than 11 days ago, then you want it to be roasted on or *AFTER* 5-1. If it was roasted *BEFORE* 5-1, then it will be older than 11 days.


*sigh* why is this so difficult?

so the general rule is that I don't even have 2 weeks to use a bag of beans even if I get them the day they are roasted? I'm a single guy so i'm the only one drinking coffee, I usually have 2 a day (morning and after dinner), if I buy a 1 kilo bag i'm pretty much screwed. Also that makes buying coffee online useless since I can only buy 1 bag at a time to ensure freshness?
I have to find a good local roaster that sells small bags for a reasonable price I guess.

Some people freeze coffees to extend the viability for espresso.
Others, myself included, roast our own. I roast 160g a few times per week, and have a queue of resting batches for the 2-4 shots per day that I pull.

Mason jars and the freezer are your friends. See Coffee: To Freeze or Not to Freeze for the gory details.

robbbby wrote:so the general rule is that I don't even have 2 weeks to use a bag of beans even if I get them the day they are roasted? I'm a single guy so i'm the only one drinking coffee, I usually have 2 a day (morning and after dinner), if I buy a 1 kilo bag i'm pretty much screwed.

If possible, find a local roaster and get 1/2 Kilo bags, fill a half-liter canning jars with beans as full as possible and put all but one in the freezer. The remaining jar is for current use. When that jar is empty, remove one jar from the freezer the night before and allow to thaw to room temperature overnight. The theory is to have only small portions of beans out at a time, and to keep the rest in as oxygen-free of an environment and as cold as is realistically possible. Will it work for you? Let us know!

Personally, I roast 1/4 kilo at a time and roast the next batch about two days before that one runs out.

Thanks guys. Roasting my own beans is probably a bit beyond what i am ready to do but i'm going to try and find a local roaster and freeze them as recommended.

Split follow-on discussion to I don't understand this coffee freshness craze.

allon wrote:I'm no math wiz, but if the goal is to have it roasted less than 11 days ago, then you want it to be roasted on or *AFTER* 5-1. If it was roasted *BEFORE* 5-1, then it will be older than 11 days.


*sigh* why is this so difficult?

Blame it on the glue. Picked a bad week to give up huffing....

Found a local roaster in town that the majority of the italian coffee shops use. Going to order a couple 1lb bags of freshly roasted beans and see if i can notice a difference from what i'm currently using. I'll also try freezing what I know I won't be using in the first 10-12 days.

Thanks guys.