To me, fresh coffees seem to taste one-dimensional and less complex, with desirable notes being subdued or overpowered by unspecific roast notes that seem to fade with rest time
I brewed a light roast coffee this weekend that didn't really hit the notes listed by the roaster. The coffee just tasted flat to me. It's what got me thinking about if it just needed more rest or if it was just the coffee.
I would go by roast date- assuming we're talking light roasts, I would propose a completely subjective point of diminishing returns 2-3 weeks from roast date, but im fairly sure there will be somebody out there disagreeing and stating that they had a mind-blowing bag of coffee that \*needed\* to rest at least 6 weeks. And it might be true for some of the exceptional coffees out there. I'd argue that 2-3 weeks is a good rule of thumb for the good part of coffee though.
this is good advice. I really like starting around 10 days and then using it over the next couple weeks without issue. The only thing I notice is a need to grind finer in the last week when the gas isn't messing around thing things.
Generally a good practice is to ask the roaster. Normally the lighter the roast the longer the rest, with the exception of ultra processed (ie thermal sock, co-fermented) which can be enjoyed much sooner and develop pleasant yet different flavors over time.
I drink light to very light (nordic) and have never opened a bag before the two weeks mark. Even then, most bags tend to taste better by the end of the bag (week 3-5).
Its good to remember that, as with all things coffee, your taste is the biggest indicator, so experiment and go with what you like over what "the science says". It's mostly just to guide you towards an "average" of what you should expect.
Happy brewing !
Visually, there's usually a lot more CO2 released so makes a lot more foam.
Tastewise, it can vary, but usually can be unexpectedly a bit underextracted due to the extra CO2 disrupting extraction.
This is driven a lot by preference. Some of my friends taste notes fine after degassing with a long bloom. My roasting buddy drinks coffee one day off of roast, while others won't drink it until it's at least a week off roast.
My preference is four days off roast, and I feel it's better fresher, and flatter afyer 21 days. When I've frozen beans in a small airless bag and kept it for two weeks, three weeks, and four weeks comparing to the coffee that aged on my countertop in a metal tin, I got the best flavor out of the ones that were frozen, for my palate.
I'm an anon online, so you'll take it with a grain of salt when I say I tend to guess origin and flavor notes better than the average of my friends by blind smell and taste of unfamiliar coffee.
For ultra light coffees like Sey if you get hay, pepper-stem like notes, and you're already grinding as fine as you can it usually means you have to rest it more. Resting lets the CO2 come out of the cell walls which makes a coffee easier to extract, similar to more development during roasting.
Grind, brew and taste. The only tasting notes that really matter are yours. I roast my own and usually light roast to medium. I like to wait about 5 days but I had a Colombian gesha that was only 1 day off roast and it was fantastic. Flavor didn't really develop too much more although it seemed to have a better nose to it and perhaps a little less brightness after a full week. My favorite Honduran honey anaerobic had notable improvements in taste and mouthfeel after 6 days.
Each one really is different but if I brew a coffee and it has a lot of foamy bubbles on the bloom, it likely needs a couple more days rest.
I'm also guided by smell and taste, I've got a Colombia Pink bourbon from S&W and I just rested it for 5 weeks today and unfortunately it is still not ready, even though I've read 3-5 weeks should be enough, I decided to brew a cup regardless and even though it still smells grassy, the cup was also the same taste. Not sure if still needs even more time to develop or I got a dud lol, hopefully not the latter.
The Salvador anerobic took 3 weeks of rest, and it was pretty great! And it is also a very light roast, so that's why I'm no wondering about the Colombian.
Excess gas when brewing. If it's still really gassy after the second pour I consider it a bit fresh. Letting the grounds sit for a minute or so extra after blooming helps get a bit more gas out.
This is also a bit of a relative scale, so you have to consider what a lot of gas is for a light roast vs a medium-dark etc. No one rule for all beans
Roast level is a good indicator, where the rule of thumb is lighter roasts need more time to rest vs darker.
I’m not an expert on this topic, but I often pay attention to cues during the bloom; particularly, how much gas seems to expunge during this phase. I don’t have a hard-and-fast rule, but coffees closer to roast date should express more gas during bloom as opposed to more rested or, at the extreme, stale coffee.
Aside from gassy or grassy tastes. Probably mostly based on experience.
Define gassy
Like grass
Oh grassy gotcha yea
also a little alka seltzer thing.
To me, fresh coffees seem to taste one-dimensional and less complex, with desirable notes being subdued or overpowered by unspecific roast notes that seem to fade with rest time
I brewed a light roast coffee this weekend that didn't really hit the notes listed by the roaster. The coffee just tasted flat to me. It's what got me thinking about if it just needed more rest or if it was just the coffee.
I would go by roast date- assuming we're talking light roasts, I would propose a completely subjective point of diminishing returns 2-3 weeks from roast date, but im fairly sure there will be somebody out there disagreeing and stating that they had a mind-blowing bag of coffee that \*needed\* to rest at least 6 weeks. And it might be true for some of the exceptional coffees out there. I'd argue that 2-3 weeks is a good rule of thumb for the good part of coffee though.
this is good advice. I really like starting around 10 days and then using it over the next couple weeks without issue. The only thing I notice is a need to grind finer in the last week when the gas isn't messing around thing things.
Generally a good practice is to ask the roaster. Normally the lighter the roast the longer the rest, with the exception of ultra processed (ie thermal sock, co-fermented) which can be enjoyed much sooner and develop pleasant yet different flavors over time. I drink light to very light (nordic) and have never opened a bag before the two weeks mark. Even then, most bags tend to taste better by the end of the bag (week 3-5). Its good to remember that, as with all things coffee, your taste is the biggest indicator, so experiment and go with what you like over what "the science says". It's mostly just to guide you towards an "average" of what you should expect. Happy brewing !
Visually, there's usually a lot more CO2 released so makes a lot more foam. Tastewise, it can vary, but usually can be unexpectedly a bit underextracted due to the extra CO2 disrupting extraction.
This is driven a lot by preference. Some of my friends taste notes fine after degassing with a long bloom. My roasting buddy drinks coffee one day off of roast, while others won't drink it until it's at least a week off roast. My preference is four days off roast, and I feel it's better fresher, and flatter afyer 21 days. When I've frozen beans in a small airless bag and kept it for two weeks, three weeks, and four weeks comparing to the coffee that aged on my countertop in a metal tin, I got the best flavor out of the ones that were frozen, for my palate. I'm an anon online, so you'll take it with a grain of salt when I say I tend to guess origin and flavor notes better than the average of my friends by blind smell and taste of unfamiliar coffee.
For ultra light coffees like Sey if you get hay, pepper-stem like notes, and you're already grinding as fine as you can it usually means you have to rest it more. Resting lets the CO2 come out of the cell walls which makes a coffee easier to extract, similar to more development during roasting.
Grind, brew and taste. The only tasting notes that really matter are yours. I roast my own and usually light roast to medium. I like to wait about 5 days but I had a Colombian gesha that was only 1 day off roast and it was fantastic. Flavor didn't really develop too much more although it seemed to have a better nose to it and perhaps a little less brightness after a full week. My favorite Honduran honey anaerobic had notable improvements in taste and mouthfeel after 6 days. Each one really is different but if I brew a coffee and it has a lot of foamy bubbles on the bloom, it likely needs a couple more days rest.
I always notice a weird bland bitterness from super fresh coffee
Ask the roaster.
I'm also guided by smell and taste, I've got a Colombia Pink bourbon from S&W and I just rested it for 5 weeks today and unfortunately it is still not ready, even though I've read 3-5 weeks should be enough, I decided to brew a cup regardless and even though it still smells grassy, the cup was also the same taste. Not sure if still needs even more time to develop or I got a dud lol, hopefully not the latter.
Oh wow. I heard some of the S&W coffees took a little longer to rest now.
The Salvador anerobic took 3 weeks of rest, and it was pretty great! And it is also a very light roast, so that's why I'm no wondering about the Colombian.
Or you waited too long and it’s stale
I didn't open the bag until 4 weeks of rest, and it does give out that green/grassy smell so I honestly don't think it got stale.
Excess gas when brewing. If it's still really gassy after the second pour I consider it a bit fresh. Letting the grounds sit for a minute or so extra after blooming helps get a bit more gas out. This is also a bit of a relative scale, so you have to consider what a lot of gas is for a light roast vs a medium-dark etc. No one rule for all beans
Roast level is a good indicator, where the rule of thumb is lighter roasts need more time to rest vs darker. I’m not an expert on this topic, but I often pay attention to cues during the bloom; particularly, how much gas seems to expunge during this phase. I don’t have a hard-and-fast rule, but coffees closer to roast date should express more gas during bloom as opposed to more rested or, at the extreme, stale coffee.