# Fresh Up To 8 Weeks?



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Can anyone shed light on the veracity or otherwise of this statement I received from a roaster today:

this [3 week post roast date, espresso] coffee will still be tasting fresh, due to roaster that we use; it preserves the bean's cell structure during the roast and means that beans will stay tasting fresh for up to 8 weeks.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)




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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MildredM said:


> Can anyone shed light on the veracity or otherwise of this statement I received from a roaster today:
> 
> this [3 week post roast date, espresso] coffee will still be tasting fresh, due to roaster that we use; it preserves the bean's cell structure during the roast and means that beans will stay tasting fresh for up to 8 weeks.


Give him my email address and tell him I said he is talking bollocks!

Some beans if stored properly will last that long but most will be well on the way downhill by then


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## Chap-a-chino (Mar 31, 2017)

MildredM said:


> due to roaster that we use; it preserves the bean's cell structure during the roast and means that beans will stay tasting fresh for up to 8 weeks.


Must be a very impressive roaster to keep beans fresh for up to 8 weeks. I always thought beans were at their best around 7 to 21 days after roasting.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

Have you opened the bag? Maybe it's green beans? A sure way to preserve the beans cell structure.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

MildredM said:


> Can anyone shed light on the veracity or otherwise of this statement I received from a roaster today:
> 
> this [3 week post roast date, espresso] coffee will still be tasting fresh, due to roaster that we use; it preserves the bean's cell structure during the roast and means that beans will stay tasting fresh for up to 8 weeks.


Well, is it still tasting "fresh" (in the context of a dried, processed & roasted product, e.g. not fresh).


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MWJB said:


> Well, is it still tasting "fresh" (in the context of a dried, processed & roasted product, e.g. not fresh).


fresh is really just a perception, so what may be fresh to you, may not be to another......point is you do not expect to receive 3 week old beans from an well known artisan roaster.......it is not enhancing their reputation because of lazy staff


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> fresh is really just a perception, so what may be fresh to you, may not be to another......point is you do not expect to receive 3 week old beans from an well known artisan roaster.......it is not enhancing their reputation because of lazy staff


Unless they have a legitimate means of extending the window of brewing. Maybe they do, maybe they don't (some nitrogen flush & claim 3 months shelf life).

But my point is, @MildredM actually has the beans, if anyone knows whether the roaster's claims are true, she does/will. There's not a lot of point asking those of us who do not have the beans in question.

It's the same with all these roast date threads, if you need to see the date to know, it's not a real thing. If you are unhappy with the coffee (which can still be the case within a few days of roasting) take it up with the roaster & ask for refund/replace.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MWJB said:


> If you are unhappy with the coffee (which can still be the case within a few days of roasting) take it up with the roaster & ask for refund/replace.


she did that and they replaced it with another 3 week old bag! would you buy a 3 week post roast bag unless it carried wild claims about nitrogen flushing etc? nope, you have a picture in your mind of roast to order, which is exactly what most roasters want you to think with use off words like fresh..


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

MWJB said:


> Unless they have a legitimate means of extending the window of brewing. Maybe they do, maybe they don't (some nitrogen flush & claim 3 months shelf life).
> 
> But my point is, @MildredM actually has the beans, if anyone knows whether the roaster's claims are true, she does/will. There's not a lot of point asking those of us who do not have the beans in question.
> 
> It's the same with all these roast date threads, if you need to see the date to know, it's not a real thing. If you are unhappy with the coffee (which can still be the case within a few days of roasting) take it up with the roaster & ask for refund/replace.


Well, it arrived today with the roast date of 3 weeks ago. I will try it at the weekend and then every weekend for the forthcoming 9 weeks and make some notes.

I did get in touch with the roaster and part of the reply is in my original post. I haven't ever heard of a 'roaster' preserving cell structure before and wondered what it meant.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> she did that and they replaced it with another 3 week old bag! would you buy a 3 week post roast bag unless it carried wild claims about nitrogen flushing etc? nope, you have a picture in your mind of roast to order, which is exactly what most roasters want you to think with use off words like fresh..


Well you seem to have access to information that is not in this thread. If that roaster feels that 3 weeks is not an issue for their beans, you kind of get an idea of what you might receive in subsequent deliveries? 

I would make coffee with the beans, if it was good, I would continue. If it had an obvious flaw I would take it up with the roaster/bin it & vote with my feet next time.

Words like fresh & artisan have no place in any discussion about roasted coffee. I read nothing into the use of these words.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

MildredM said:


> Well, it arrived today with the roast date of 3 weeks ago. I will try it at the weekend and then every weekend for the forthcoming 9 weeks and make some notes.


I look forward to what you find, but is that what you normally do? It's just that I'm pretty sure you already receive coffee that suggests, "best within 4 weeks, but use within 3 months". How will these beans stack up against those back to back?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

MWJB said:


> Well you seem to have access to information that is not in this thread. If that roaster feels that 3 weeks is not an issue for their beans, you kind of get an idea of what you might receive in subsequent deliveries?
> 
> I would make coffee with the beans, if it was good, I would continue. If it had an obvious flaw I would take it up with the roaster/bin it & vote with my feet next time.
> 
> Words like fresh & artisan have no place in any discussion about roasted coffee. I read nothing into the use of these words.


If by that, you mean do I know who the roaster is, then the answer is yes, hence my ability to comment in the way that I did....without conjecture


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

MWJB said:


> I look forward to what you find, but is that what you normally do? It's just that I'm pretty sure you already receive coffee that suggests, "best within 4 weeks, but use within 3 months". How will these beans stack up against those back to back?


Agh! Typing isn't as easy as chatting!

No! I wouldn't normally do that! I actually thought you meant test them for taste during the coming couple of months to see if the taste was . . . 'Viable' for want of a better word!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

La Cabra say that some of their beans are at their best only *after* four weeks, and I know some folk in the coffee industry who just plain don't believe in "stale coffee", it's all usable even if it doesn't taste as amazing as it did at some window during the lifetime of it.

I regularly just use any old beans left over in the kitchen for a lazy french press and it still makes a better cup of coffee than you'd get down the street at any old place; so... try them and if you still like it after 7-8 weeks then that's good, and if not ... then you'll know.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

it remains a very spongy reply from supplier. Trying to make sense of the cell structure thing:

- cell structure breaks down at 2nd crack. Stopping the roast before that increases the chance of no oils escaping their surroundings

- due to their density, SHB/SHG coffees are more resistant to heat impact, slowly roasting them (again to light/medium level) causes less damage to structural integrity than charring a low altitude robusta

- said Nitrogen flush is a widely used practice in food processing and packing to displace lighter gases (such as Oxygen) out of a container. I believe the big Italian roasters (like Illy) apply this method, especially to preserve ground coffees. So we're talking industrial equipment - not necessarily something a small business is likely to invest in. Plus: it's not considered an organic treatment, so it voids all respective certifications.

Does it make sense?


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