# Fact or fiction



## CoffeeAdrenal (Apr 6, 2020)

Ive read that you can tell how fresh roasted beans are by how glossy or shiny they are.

Is that true?

I just paid a premium on beans from a company who claim to roast their beans two or three times per week so that your bought beans are always super fresh.

Said beans arrived today, swiss water decaffeinated. I opened the bag eagerly anticipating shiny but found very dull beans indeed.

Hmmmm


----------



## KingoftheHeath (Nov 22, 2019)

That sounds like nonsense to me. If a bean is shiny then that's because it's oily and oily means it's been roasted to death.


----------



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Nonsense I am afraid. Beans are roasted to a profile using different heat settings and times. No two beans are the same. Beans grow in different countries, climates and at height! Some beans will be very glossy, some will be dull.....it is only when you try them, and master them, will you know if they are for you


----------



## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

That is totally untrue.

Oil on the surface of beans is an indicator of a long and dark roast. When a bean is roasted long enough the cell structure starts to break down and the oils seep from the bean on to the surface. This can take place quite quickly in a very dark roast or after a few days in a slight less dark (but still dark in relative terms) roast.

Most companies that roast coffee to order nowadays will not be roasting anything like this dark.

If you like coffee that dark then great but it certainly isn't a measure of bean freshness.


----------



## Wha burst the ba (Jun 20, 2020)

It's a shames really that such a good story gets in the way of the truth

I wonder how many more stories are out there where people have no idea that they're false?????


----------

