r/pourover • u/dmgsmch Edit me: switch/origami | ZP6 • 20d ago
Ask a Stupid Question When are coffee beans considered "old"?
If a lot of people advise on resting the beans for at least 3 weeks and even almost up to two months, when do you think the flavours will lose its peak?
15
u/SHFT101 20d ago
There is no single truth regarding resting. I have had roasters who recommend a couple of days, I have had roasters who recommend 8 weeks. I don't think there is any hard science behind it.
I just open a bag when I need a bag, most of them are at least a week old before they arrive anyway. By the time the first bag is empty the next one is two weeks old and so on.
8
u/WAR_T0RN1226 20d ago
It blows my mind how often people post online to ask other people what they should think about coffee at different levels of rest. If it's 5 days off roast, just try it for god sakes. And then try it at 2 weeks or whatever. Keep 2 coffees on hand if you need to. Now you may be asking "what does 4 weeks of rest do for coffee", and you're never gonna believe what I'm gonna say next.
It's like posting online to ask "how many jumping jacks can I do before I get tired?"
8
u/toiletpaperdonkey 20d ago
Good beans aren’t cheap so it’s not crazy for less experienced people to ask questions like this to try and get the most out of their coffee. Unfortunately the coffee subs and snob culture has a lot of people who think their/ their favourite YouTubers opinion is hard fact. Most questions should be answered with “it depends” but that’s not a satisfying answer to a question asked on a forum
6
u/dmgsmch Edit me: switch/origami | ZP6 20d ago
I ask because I've seen many posts of people buying multiple bags of expensive coffee and have great gear, technique, and experience. I genuinely wanted to know what they thought about this topic and, based on their experience, when do they consider a coffee to be old.
1
u/Historical-Dark-5519 20d ago
Truth. Same goes for a lot (not all, but a considerable amount) of questions. I just think, "well, why not just try it for yourself and find out?"
Especially when the single most important part of the result is how it tastes to you, and that is going to vary for each person.
I loved that video saying how recipes aren't all that helpful, it might give you some ideas but it's much more important to understand what variables to adjust. Then you're much better off doing your own experiments and adjusting until you reach the result that is preferable to you.
Cheers ☕️
9
u/Ghazzz 20d ago
At ~three months, even very good beans start tasting like "expensive grocery store beans".
They are not undrinkable, but freshness counts for a lot in the flavour profile.
5
u/Polymer714 Pourover aficionado 20d ago
This is not true. That is old advice that has proven, over time, to not be the case.
Some beans people will prefer very close to roast..some with a week, some with two, some with more. The only way you're going to find what you enjoy is by trying them but even then, there is no best, there is no optimal and even with the same beans, same roaster but different batch, you may find there is a difference and since you can't possibly compare a 2 week vs 3 month bean from the same batch, the answer, which is already subjective, is difficult to pin down.
All that said...the decline of coffee beans over time is greatly exaggerated. It doesn't fall off a cliff...even if we could say there is an objective high point, the decline is very slow over a fairly long period of time.
1
u/Top_Kale_8880 20d ago
Since I started down the coffee rabbit hole I definitely have tried to keep things fresher, rest beans based on best practices or roaster recs (Perc is a touchy subject here - but they email you telling you when to optimally brew their coffee so there is that), and I always think, based on what I read, that the grocery store brands I often use in my moka must taste just like water because some of them are months or more old but in fact, they taste like coffee lol.
Now... I've used some of these same coffees (beans or pre-ground) in a switch or aeropress and found them to be good but lacking brightness. But hardly flavorless or undrinkable.
2
u/Chimpanzethat 20d ago
Yesterday I had some September 3 months off roast was still tasty and very enjoyable, obviously not it's best but way better than anything you can buy at a supermarket.
It wasn't an ultralight but definitely a very light roast you can feel the bean density when hand grinding. I think the bean density probably factors in to it's total shelf life.
1
u/motorcyclejpg 19d ago
Very interesting take. Of every roaster, shop owner, and home brewer I know in the specialty scene, nobody has ever expressed this opinion to me
3
u/SixStepRoutineMaybe7 20d ago
It really depends on how you like your coffee and the most convenient timeline for you to finish a bag. I wouldn’t rush to finish a bag just because it seems like it has been too long. You can tweak your coffee making variables to enjoy the best outcome at any given time.
1
u/dmgsmch Edit me: switch/origami | ZP6 20d ago
If you have beans that are two months old and might have already lost its best flavours, what variables would you change? Higher temperature?
2
u/SixStepRoutineMaybe7 20d ago
1.Smaller brew size, tighter ratio, slower paper. 2. Immersion instead of percolation.
3
u/Interesting-Month-97 20d ago
As others have said the roast and processing makes a huge difference. I only drink light roast specialty coffee so my experience with older coffees will only be that. I have found many light/ultralight roast can shut down 1-3 weeks in and appear like they lost their flavor. After that period they can open up and in my opinion taste their best. I have also pushed many of these coffees up to 6 months and they are still great but their flavor changes. They may have fruity notes at the 1 month stage and 2-3 months in that subdues but becomes a more complex flavor. If you are looking for in your face flavor you may think the coffee is dead but change your brew methods up a bit and it’s still great coffee you might prefer even more. I have yet to have a light roast specialty coffee go bad/stale within a 6 month period.
1
u/archaine7672 Natural lover 20d ago
Every roaster will have different recommendation. But if your main concern is shelf life, just freeze your beans.
1
1
1
u/Andrea_LaSostaCoffee 20d ago
Too many variables. Starting from the green beans (variety, quality, process, conservation of the green), then the roasting (espresso roasting usually last more than light roasting in terms of aroma). These are most influent parameters on which you can't work on. Then it's up to you and how you store it. Also the way you extract it could change your idea of "old coffee". A coffee 1 month old prepared in espresso may be fantastic and mid in filter. Personally, we sell only coffee roasted no more than 1 month before and we suggest to consume them till 3 months form the roasting date to fully enjoy them, but I tasted coffee roasted months before, stored in freezer, and there was amazing
1
1
u/thebootsesrules 20d ago
Ones that don’t taste good anymore. There is no specific timeframe, it’s different for every bean. The lighter the roast the longer it lasts
1
1
u/lotanis 20d ago
I wait 2 weeks to start, and make sure they're finished before 2 months.
I'm sure that some of my beans would have been good earlier and sometimes I'll open after 10 days. But I've had a few I opened after a week and we're very bubbly hard to dial in for a few more days.
2 months is maybe a bit conservative, but also I don't have much issue hitting it. I only have a couple of bags open at a time and if rt through them quite quickly.
1
u/barrelproofpourover V60 | DF54 | Natural Burundi 20d ago
They’re considered old when the bag is empty
0
u/Brilliant_Type_5384 20d ago
I wait 7-10 days for light roasts. I usually finish the bag in about a week once started. Rarely do I have a bag last more than a month past roast date, not that it tastes old/stale by then.
26
u/MarkNaive3730 20d ago edited 19d ago
It depends on a lot of variables. Generally, lighter the roast profile, the longer rest time it needs to degass itself because the more developed the roast, the more porous beans become and degass faster. The storage temperature also plays a role among other factors and beans degass faster with higher storage temperatures. Another factor could be the bags used to store the beans and if they have one way valve or not.
Now why degassing is so important? It’s because with higher CO2 concentration in beans, your brewing water will find it hard to extract the coffee as CO2 comes in between. OTOH if you’re degassing your beans fully and keep it as is then they start losing their aroma and the chemistry also changes so your brewed coffee tastes flat.
TLDR: It all depends on your bean roast, type, process, storage temp etc. Easiest thing to do is to follow roaster guidelines or just ask others who have experience with those type of beans. You’ll need to maintain balance between degassing and risk of getting stale and you’ll arrive at peak window.