# How long after roasting should beans be dispatched?



## MooMaa (Jul 29, 2013)

Hi,

Just received a bag of beans today (30th December) they were roasted on the 15th of December is this ok? or should I expect fresher beans?

I still have beans to use and was expecting freshly roasted that I could leave to rest for a week and then use.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I would expect beans to arrive no later than a week from roasting.

Been a debate on here before about this, lots of different opinions...

Where did you get them from?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

This time of year , depends when they were posted and who long they took in the mail ....


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

I think if I was in your situation I would contact the roaster and lodge a complaint. It's either crappy service from your roaster or the same from the courier/mail.

I ordered stuff (not coffee) from Sevenoaks yesterday and it arrived today.

Ian


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

I would expect beans to arrive no later than a week from roasting.

In most cases I would expect to receive them next working day.


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## MooMaa (Jul 29, 2013)

just to clarify, the actual dispatch time from ordering was great ordered on 27th arrived on 30th.

I was more interested in peoples thoughts on sending out beans two weeks after they were roasted.

Maybe this is normal practice as I have only ever ordered beans about twenty times and they all have been dispatched on the day of roasting or the next day.

Have I just been lucky or is it normal practice to roast to order?

I have no idea how roasters business models work.

I am curious more than complaining.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

The roasters on Coffee Forums UK will usually roast and post same or next day

Some roasters (not usually found amongst the popular ones here) will send out older stock if they have not yet roasted what you have ordered (or have not received enough orders to make up a minimum batch)


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## Nimble Motionists (Oct 22, 2012)

I'd say that's pretty bad - I've only ever had one roaster ship something that was already 12 days old (probably best they remain nameless..) - others (including Rave & SmokeyBarn) have sent stuff 3-5 days past roast which I think is fine. Drop them a note and give them a chance to make it right perhaps? Maybe just an oversight on their part?


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## gingerneil (Aug 21, 2014)

The beans I buy from rave are usually roasted to order, and sent out the same day. 12 days!? Sounds like they found some old ones in the back of the cupboard, and hoped you wouldn't notice/care.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

Beans usually need to rest for 5-7 data and they're generally past their best around 4 weeks after roasting. That's why most roasters send out brand within a day of roasting.


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## MooMaa (Jul 29, 2013)

Quick update, emailed the roaster airing my concerns and they sent me a freshly roasted bag of beans which I look forward to


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Good, usually smaller online roasters set some days they roast each week (which they publish) and as the orders come in they roast em on that day and look to have shipped them all by the next day. it helps if they have more than one roaster so they can cover large and small batches...it also reduces the need to blend before roasting and broadens the range of blends they can offer.


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## Chris_on_caffeine (Jul 21, 2012)

Fresh roast and post has become the standard procedure, but I don't actually think it's the right way to do things.

IMO it's a coffee anal-ism that we shoot ourselves in the foot with. If you ordered bananas online, would you prefer they arrived perfectly yellow, ripe and ready to eat? Or would you want them to arrive green with a 2 week wait?

Personally, I get quite excited when I stumble across a bag of beans that are a month old. But for the record, the vast majority of most bags we send out are 1-3 days old.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

smokeybarn said:


> Fresh roast and post has become the standard procedure, but I don't actually think it's the right way to do things.
> 
> IMO it's a coffee anal-ism that we shoot ourselves in the foot with. If you ordered bananas online, would you prefer they arrived perfectly yellow, ripe and ready to eat? Or would you want them to arrive green with a 2 week wait?
> 
> Personally, I get quite excited when I stumble across a bag of beans that are a month old. But for the record, the vast majority of most bags we send out are 1-3 days old.


You are forgetting that they don't roast themselves, so they may have ordered from more than one roaster, have beans they need to use up, or want to split the batch and freeze half (although I never freeze my beans). To have the beans fresh allows them to finish what they have already and when they do, the new bag is ready and rested. It's quite hard for me as I am basically lazy and often let my coffee almost run out before roasting another load, which means I rarely wait the full resting period.* I do agree with you about people being a little over anxious about the age of beans*. At the moment I am drinking some Ethiopian Harrar Longberry I opened a few days ago (roasted on 17th December and sealed in a 1 way), 18 days old....it's still lively and very fresh tasting. I have others roasted on the same date, which I have yet to open, but for the next few weeks, I am sure they will all be fine...they have been kept in my workshop outside since roasting.

That said, I think all roasters should (as you did), set an expectation for when the beans have been roasted, so customers can plan appropriately....Perhaps a "ready to drink now" and "order to be roasted" options is a way some roasters with larger roasted stocks could consider?


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