17
Everyone swears by fresh-roasted beans within 48 hours but my best cup ever came from a bag that sat in my pantry for 3 weeks.
After roasting a batch of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe back in March I forgot about it in the back of the cabinet, brewed it last Tuesday out of desperation, and somehow got this insane blueberry note I never got from any of my fresh batches has anyone else had a stale bag surprise them like that?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
noah_chen1718d ago
Three weeks is rookie numbers honestly. I found a bag of Guatemalan Antigua that was six months past the roast date shoved behind some instant oatmeal. I roasted it myself too back in January, totally forgot about it until June. Made a pour over thinking it would be flat and lifeless, got this wild cocoa and dried cherry thing that was way smoother than anything I pulled fresh. My theory is some beans just need to degas way longer than people say. I've had a few other forgotten bags do the same thing, usually natural processed ones. Now I intentionally let some batches sit for a month before I even touch them.
4
jessicajohnson17d ago
Gotta disagree with you on this one. I mean, I've definitely had some older beans surprise me, but six months past roast is a whole different ballgame. In my experience, most beans lose their brightness and acidity way before that point, even if they get some random chocolatey notes. I think what you're tasting is more about oxidation smoothing things out than actual degassing, which is a different process. Maybe it works for certain naturals but I'd rather catch a bean at its peak than gamble on it turning into something else entirely.
2