mitch236 wrote:Do you guys rest the beans before freezing? I ask because now that I'm freezing my order when it arrives (usually about 3days post roast) I noticed that when I use the beans from the freezer, they taste too fresh. Maybe I should let them rest for a couple of days before freezing?

With the proviso that I can't speak for "you guys," nothing is gained by degassing prior to freezing. The aging of roasted coffee is not completely stopped by freezing, rather it is markedly slowed down. The older the coffee is before you freeze it, the longer you can keep it frozen with the then-defrosted coffee still being usable.

The risk of having to use coffee that is "too fresh" after defrosting is more theoretical than something that I see in practice. It can be dealt with in at least two obvious ways; remove the coffee from the freezer before you are going to need to use it, so it can age a little after defrosting, or, grind the coffee a few minutes or half an hour before you will use it to make an espresso. But personally, I freeze my roasted coffee right out of the roaster, and when it is time to use it, I generally defrost it the night before and start using it immediately the next morning, without dire consequences.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:With the proviso that I can't speak for "you guys," nothing is gained by degassing prior to freezing.

+1. IMO, for the way I prepare and prefer espresso, fresher frozen is better frozen.

The Frozen Coffee Storage Calculator was created to assist with this problem. It's at best an approximation, but simpler than doing mental gymnastics. Whenever I freeze a batch of coffee, I print a copy so I can tell its approximate 'age' and whether I let it rest for 1, 2 or 3 days after defrosting.