How long can coffee bean flavor be maintained? how to judge the freshness of high-quality coffee beans?

Qianjie often comes across guests who buy coffee beans and ask how long the shelf life of coffee beans is, how long the flavor period is, and how long it is best to drink them. This is Qianjie for such a long time that it is very normal, after all, guests do not know that there may be other reasons! We all know that when the coffee beans are just roasted, they are very fresh. in this state, there is no way to brew the coffee with the original flavor and taste. It needs to be placed for several days to let the carbon dioxide in the coffee beans emit. The flavor period will gradually reach its peak, and this is a good time to taste it! To make a long story short, let's share the knowledge about the flavor period of coffee beans.

Bean cultivation period: freshly roasted coffee beans (after thoroughly cooling) should be stored in a bag with an one-way exhaust valve as soon as possible. Although this is the freshest, but the texture is not stable, for example, there will be a large amount of carbon dioxide escape, so we need to wait patiently for the coffee beans to enter a stable state. This process is commonly known as "raising beans", and 1-2 days is the shortest period for raising beans. After this stage, it can be used to make drip coffee. If it is used to extract Espresso or cup test, the bean raising period should be appropriately extended, such as 5-7 days. But it is important to keep in mind that too much is not as good as too much, and that too long a period of raising beans can only do harm and no good.

The latest fresh period: calculated from the end of the bean cultivation period, if we cut the packaging of coffee beans and start grinding, there is no doubt that coffee beans are at the best stage of flavor at this time. If it is well preserved, this stage lasts about 2 weeks, and we might as well call it the "latest fresh period".

Fresh period: from the end of the "fresh period" of about 2 weeks, the coffee beans in the bag gradually go down from the peak state. However, if it is properly preserved, the quality and flavor of coffee beans decline slowly in the first period of time, and the freshness of coffee beans is still at a high level. We call it a "relatively fresh period" for about one month. Every coffee lover and coffee shopkeeper should strive to use up the coffee beans purchased before the end of the "fresh period".

Disposal period: calculated from the end of the "fresher period" of about 4 weeks, the quality and flavor of ripe coffee beans has been much worse than before, it is difficult to act as the word "fresh", unable to meet the picky needs of professionals. However, it is OK to make some fancy coffee, such as refreshing coffee for family breakfast, black coffee for coffee shops, or blending milk, cream, chocolate sauce, etc., which need not be denied at all. We believe that this stage can be maintained for about a month, during which time we need to open the bag and use it as soon as possible, which can be called the "disposal period".

The total 10-week period from the latest fresh period everywhere is neither long nor short, and consumers should make good use of it. After the disposal period of coffee cooked beans, even if the bag has not been opened, but also a sharp decline in flavor, no sense of freshness, no taste value.

How to judge the freshness of coffee beans?

1. When the coffee is brewed, the hamburger is steamed.

Regardless of the degree of roasting of coffee beans, the fresher the coffee beans, the more obvious the hamburgers will grow when they are steamed. In terms of the degree of roasting, the deeper the beans are roasted, the more obvious the coffee hamburger is, the looser the fiber structure of the beans is, the lower the bean density, and the coffee particles will release more gas when they come into contact with water. thus to a certain extent will form a shape similar to "hamburger".

The bulging shape of deep baked beans

On the other hand, light-baked beans do not expand as obviously as deep-baked beans when they absorb water, the main reason is that the degree of baking of light-baked beans is not as deep as that of deep-baked beans, so the gas released will be relatively less, and the respiratory effect will be weaker, so the degree of expansion of light-baked beans is not obvious.

The bulging shape of shallow baked beans

2. The baking date on the coffee bean packing bag

The roasting date is the date marked after the coffee bean is baked. The most important thing to see the freshness of coffee beans is to look at the baking date rather than the shelf life. For example, the baking date of the picture is "November 21, 2019". If the packaging is not marked, it could be coffee beans that have been in place for some time.

After the expiration of the proper storage of coffee, people generally drink no problem, normally, generally after the best taste of coffee can actually drink, but the flavor and taste of the coffee is not so good.