# Why do old beans not work for espresso?



## peterj (Dec 23, 2014)

I use freshly roasted beans and of course, they are great....but I ran out yesterday and thought, well let's have a go with some supermarket beans I have hanging about...

So I'm grinding fresh beans depending on what they are at around 4-5 on my Rocky....but no matter what I did I could not get the supermarket beans to grind fine enough to produce a sensible shot time...

I don't care that it doesn't work....I'm just wondering why?

I notice that supermarket beans seems very dry compared with fresh roasted beans...does this have something to do with it...?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Because they're shit

(caveat - i have had a couple of nice shots from supermarket beans)


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## peterj (Dec 23, 2014)

jeebsy said:


> Because they're shit
> 
> (caveat - i have had a couple of nice shots from supermarket beans)


I know they are shit







I'm just wondering what it is that makes it that way.. I do notice that supermarket beans 'seem' old....they are so dry and crackly, they even sound different in the grinder...strawlike almost.

Perhaps it's the lack of oils or something?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

They'll be old, stale, low grade coffee that's probably sat about in a warehouse for months before getting to a shelf.


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## qpop (Jan 4, 2015)

I read somewhere that beans are generally given a "best before" of a year after they're roasted. If the best before is 6 months away, for example, chances are the beans have sat around for the previous 6 months.


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## peterj (Dec 23, 2014)

Okay, I'm getting the impression it's the age, so the bean loses moisture and just generally starts to break down? Does anybody know of any books that discuss the actual chemical processes going on? Nothing too hardcore.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Coffee is a fresh product, its a fruit.

It sits around for ages. It gets roasted, gives off gasses and starts going stale.

Eventually it just isn't any good any more.


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## Montana (Jan 3, 2013)

I got hold of some very fresh supermarket beans and they were still nowhere near as good as Rave or Hasbean which I normally use. Must be the grade of bean they use I guess.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Montana said:


> I got hold of some very fresh supermarket beans and they were still nowhere near as good as Rave or Hasbean which I normally use. Must be the grade of bean they use I guess.


Difference between Commodity & Speciality coffee.

And being roasted by someone who cares what they are doing vs an industrial roaster.

How do you know they were fresh if you don't mind me asking? They usually just have an arbitrary best before date.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Very poor quality beans, badly roasted and usually old....a triple whammy that guarantees poor results and flavour. The supermarkets sell such beans because the consumers who buy them usually don't know any better and the drek sold in the high street chains is often even worse.


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## Montana (Jan 3, 2013)

I plastered a couple of shower cubicals in Union Coffee in Dartford, they roast coffee for a few supermarkets and also McD's if I remember correctly. Each day they gave me a couple of bags of beans roasted that night. Left them to rest for 5-7 days but the coffee was never that great.


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