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How long is roasted coffee good for?

Or if you use a $15 drip pot and then lace it with cream and sugar, I don't think anyone would tell the difference between good fresh roasted beans from year old crap discount grocery store beans, or whether it was ground 5 minutes ago, or 5 months.

Really? I use a $15 pot & I sometimes _lace_ my brew with cream so I guess I couldn't tell $h1t from shinola. Guess I ought to just buy whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart, huh?
 
Really? I use a $15 pot & I sometimes _lace_ my brew with cream so I guess I couldn't tell $h1t from shinola. Guess I ought to just buy whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart, huh?
I always put cream & sugar, or at least sugar in my coffee. And my Melitta drip didn't even cost that much. That 1/2 lb of Kona that'll be roasted on Wednesday and shipped out the same day could've bought me a year's worth of drek at ChinaMart. Wow! Who knew? :crying:
 
Really? I use a $15 pot & I sometimes _lace_ my brew with cream so I guess I couldn't tell $h1t from shinola. Guess I ought to just buy whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart, huh?

I always put cream & sugar, or at least sugar in my coffee. And my Melitta drip didn't even cost that much. That 1/2 lb of Kona that'll be roasted on Wednesday and shipped out the same day could've bought me a year's worth of drek at ChinaMart. Wow! Who knew? :crying:

Not quite sure if those replies should be taken as sarcasm or not.:confused1
 
Not quite sure if those replies should be taken as sarcasm or not.:confused1

Here's an unsarcastic reply: You came off like a snob and your claim, "If you use a $15 drip pot and then lace it with cream and sugar, I don't think anyone would tell the difference between good fresh roasted beans from year old crap discount grocery store beans, or whether it was ground 5 minutes ago, or 5 months." is wrong.

Hope that helped.

Steve
 
Here's an unsarcastic reply: You came off like a snob and your claim, "If you use a $15 drip pot and then lace it with cream and sugar, I don't think anyone would tell the difference between good fresh roasted beans from year old crap discount grocery store beans, or whether it was ground 5 minutes ago, or 5 months." is wrong.

Hope that helped.

Steve

Well Steve (and anyone who agrees with Steve), I can assure you it wasn't intended to be snobbish, and that it wasn't meant that way, and I apologize to insulting anyone.

That being said, I do stand by the basic intention of my statement, possibly worded different.

I am entitled to my opinions as are you. When you say my statement is wrong, do you mean incorrect or "wrong" as in "Badly worded and in bad taste"?

Regards!
 
So, what I'm gathering from this conversation is that the coffee beans (whole, not yet ground) that have been sitting in my freezer for a few months are probably no longer good? If I have little to no idea what "good" coffee tastes like, can I still go ahead and use them?
 
Cim Can, I've frozen beans for a couple of weeks while on vacation, with decent results. For months, I can't say what they'd be like but I don't think you have anything to lose by trying them. If you don't like it, ditch them.
 
Well Steve (and anyone who agrees with Steve), I can assure you it wasn't intended to be snobbish, and that it wasn't meant that way, and I apologize to insulting anyone.

That being said, I do stand by the basic intention of my statement, possibly worded different.

I am entitled to my opinions as are you. When you say my statement is wrong, do you mean incorrect or "wrong" as in "Badly worded and in bad taste"?

Regards!

Well, I wasn't "offended" offended, but those other two guys were a little aggravated and I understand why. I have owned a $20 coffee maker and can tell the difference between a bag of fresh roasted coffee and that same bag a month later (much less a year and 4 months later). So, with an incredibly small sample size of one, I disproved your admittedly unsubstantiated opinion (which I thought was quite nice of me since the onus of proof was really your responsibility).

So, you're wrong/incorrect. I'll take your word that you weren't trying to insult anyone, but I recommend you choose your words more carefully so that if you do insult someone, you can at least be right. See Jasonian's posts for example (not that I completely agree with him, but at least he's civil).

Steve
 
Not quite sure if those replies should be taken as sarcasm or not.:confused1

Sarcasm would NOT be the right way to take my reply, at least.

A $15 French press makes far better tasting coffee than most electric drip coffee makers, and many roasts actually taste better with cream added (don't know about the sugar since I don't use the stuff: I'm diabetic), so, in the poster's frenzy/haste to proclaim his knowledge of the finer points of coffee drinking, he/she, no doubt, forgot to put the disclaimer, YMMV, up for those readers who fancy themselves coffee gourmets.

I prefer to use my grinder, BTW, but for daily use my wife insists on ground coffee from the super market since the fancy Cuisinart coffee maker she bought has a timer built into it. She wants her coffee waiting for her when she gets up, and says I make it too strong, so she sets this monstrosity up every nite before bedtime. I learned long ago that there ain't nobody happy if Momma ain't happy, so I tolerate this most weekday mornings.
 
or daily use my wife insists on ground coffee from the super market since the fancy Cuisinart coffee maker she bought has a timer built into it
Arrange... an accident... then get a... less complicated machine. Complain about how all the complicated electronics and the grinder just make the thing unreliable.
 
Well, I wasn't "offended" offended, but those other two guys were a little aggravated and I understand why. I have owned a $20 coffee maker and can tell the difference between a bag of fresh roasted coffee and that same bag a month later (much less a year and 4 months later). So, with an incredibly small sample size of one, I disproved your admittedly unsubstantiated opinion (which I thought was quite nice of me since the onus of proof was really your responsibility).

So, you're wrong/incorrect. I'll take your word that you weren't trying to insult anyone, but I recommend you choose your words more carefully so that if you do insult someone, you can at least be right. See Jasonian's posts for example (not that I completely agree with him, but at least he's civil).

Steve

As to the $20 coffee maker, there is currently only one consumer coffee maker certified by the SCCA, the Technivorm. The reason for this is that only the Tech provides water at the (SCCA's) correct temperature range of 200-205. Coffee makers generally available in stores deliver water at a temp of around 185 degrees, well below the established standard, IOW substandard. 185 degrees is inadequate to release all of the soluble compounds within the bean.
I leave to you to argue with the SCCA as to whether or not they chose the appropriate ideal temperature for coffee brewing.

As to coffee storage and the effects of age, Dr. Illy and others have studied this to death. It is incontestable that coffee begins to degrade to a significant degree, (even in Dr. Illy's products nitrogen environment) rapidly.

Whilst one may be able to tell a difference in a substandard brew as it ages, the fact remains that if one is brewing coffee at too low of a temp (with a $20 coffee maker), or with an incorrect dosage, or too long after roasting, or heavily adulterated, whatever subtleties make a particular coffee special are lost. One poster asked are beans "that have been sitting in my freezer for a few months are probably no longer good?". The answer technically is yes, they are not any good. Degradation has progressed too far. Does it mean you won't like them? No.

Ultimately, like putting ice cubes in your Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it's a matter of personal taste.
If you like it, that's all that matters.

But there are legitimate standards.
 
I wouldn't argue with a single thing you say about the SCCA -- or about one of its members, Kevin Sinnott, who does quite a bit to educate the public about coffee and all the accoutrements.

As I said earlier, I use a French press whenever my wife hasn't already started that electric thing, and I even go so far as to make certain that my water is heated to as close to 205 as possible. These are a lot cheaper than a Technivorm and, truth be told, can produce a terrific cup of coffee.


As to the $20 coffee maker, there is currently only one consumer coffee maker certified by the SCCA, the Technivorm. The reason for this is that only the Tech provides water at the (SCCA's) correct temperature range of 200-205. Coffee makers generally available in stores deliver water at a temp of around 185 degrees, well below the established standard, IOW substandard. 185 degrees is inadequate to release all of the soluble compounds within the bean.
I leave to you to argue with the SCCA as to whether or not they chose the appropriate ideal temperature for coffee brewing.

As to coffee storage and the effects of age, Dr. Illy and others have studied this to death. It is incontestable that coffee begins to degrade to a significant degree, (even in Dr. Illy's products nitrogen environment) rapidly.

Whilst one may be able to tell a difference in a substandard brew as it ages, the fact remains that if one is brewing coffee at too low of a temp (with a $20 coffee maker), or with an incorrect dosage, or too long after roasting, or heavily adulterated, whatever subtleties make a particular coffee special are lost. One poster asked are beans "that have been sitting in my freezer for a few months are probably no longer good?". The answer technically is yes, they are not any good. Degradation has progressed too far. Does it mean you won't like them? No.

Ultimately, like putting ice cubes in your Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it's a matter of personal taste.
If you like it, that's all that matters.

But there are legitimate standards.
 
SNIP<<<<
As I said earlier, I use a French press whenever my wife hasn't already started that electric thing, and I even go so far as to make certain that my water is heated to as close to 205 as possible. These are a lot cheaper than a Technivorm and, truth be told, can produce a terrific cup of coffee.

One of the best, in my opinion, and the Syphon is very close to it (some say better, some say not). I use both methods and while the Press may produce better flavour, the Syphon undeniably makes a "cleaner" cup.
 
Try one of these:

http://www.espressozone.com/zassenhaus-161ma-open-hopper-hand-coffee-grinder-Z_161MA.aspx

Someone above posted CoffeeGeek and Home Barista, and those are the 2 sites I was going to suggest.

As for the original question, I consider myself a bit of a coffee nut and have studied quite a bit, and I also speak from personal experiences.

One of the things you need to take into account is how you brew your coffee, and how you drink it.

As an example, if you have high tech Espresso equipment and only drink single or double shots, the age of the coffee will mean a lot to you.

Or if you use a $15 drip pot and then lace it with cream and sugar, I don't think anyone would tell the difference between good fresh roasted beans from year old crap discount grocery store beans, or whether it was ground 5 minutes ago, or 5 months.

Personally, nothing I roast for Espresso lasts past 12 days, because I roast in 320 gram batches and that normally lasts less than a week. I find it needs at least 36 hours rest post roast to degas properly for Espresso.

If I roast for my French Presses or Syphon, I have used beans 6 hours off roast with great results, but depending on the bean and roast level, age can improve them, up to a few weeks probably, depending on your tastes and what you expect.

+1 to everything in your post. Except that I can enjoy really fresh beans ~10minutes after roasting them if it is all I have. New roasted beans is always better than stale ones. :thumbup:
 
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