These Two Things Might Be Hijacking Your Brew

March 6, 2023 by Brendan Ojala

 If you research or follow coffee geeks on the internet, you'll see a lot of talk and discussion around the latest brewer, and endless iterations of brew recipes that claim to make the latest and greatest best cup of coffee. While a solid brew recipe is important, and some brewers are slightly better than others, there are other components that are just as important to the final cup that don't get as much attention as they deserve. Two of the most important ones are bean storage and roast date.

First, let's talk about bean storage. Have you ever bought a fresh bag of beans, brewed it, loved it, only to find that less than a week later, that bag of bones just isn't tasting as magical as it once was?  Assuming you're bean pretty consistent with brewing, there's a good chance, bean storage is the culprit. 

Unfortunately, once you unseal your coffee bag, the clock starts ticking. Due to the introduction of oxygen to the beans, they start to degrade. I'm pretty sensitive to bean degradation, but even when sealing the bag correctly, I find that the magic in a cup can fade as early as 3-4 days after opening. This is pretty sad considering that most people can't get through a bag in this amount of time. The good news is, there are some pretty easy solutions out there to easily fix this issue!  Here are 3 different items that I've used, or currently used that will really extend the life of your beans. 

1. The first one is the Haioou Airtight Container. It's pretty cheap, and does a solid job. I'm not sure if it's as oxygen free as the next 2 items but it does a good job!
2. The second item is the Fellow Atmos 0.7 L Vacuum Sealed container. This container has a sealing mechanism that gives you a lot of tangible feedback.  It truly feels sealed.
3. In my opinion these single serving bean storage vaults are the gold standard. Currently, this is the product I use because I think it preserves  beans as perfectly as you can get. I use it by placing 18 grams in each vault before placing the entire cast into the freezer. Each morning I take out 3 vaults, one for me, another for my wife, and lastly one for our 15 month yr old baby. (JK). I grind the beans in their frozen state and I never have to worry about the bean quality deteriorating!

Roast Date

The other component that could be contributing to a poor cup of coffee is the roast date. You may find differing opinions on google, but most people who are experienced in coffee will agree that coffee tastes best about 5-20 days from the roast date. The issue with brewing prior to around that 5 day mark, is the coffee is still pretty gassy from the roast process. You'll notice that letting the coffee rest for at least 5 days from the roast date will produce a cup that is just...better. I give a range of 5-20 days because I think that's very appropriate. If I had to pick the perfect day, I would say 10. Lastly, for the record, I'd rather drink a coffee 25 days off roast than 1 day off roast. 

For those utilizing the freezer, your coffee has a window of (no one really knows), let's call it a year! 

Assuming you have a good coffee, solid burr grinder, and a decent brewer and recipe, I believe these 2 components are equally as important. A new flashy brewer and the latest Hoffman recipe won't overcome a bag of beans that is a day off roast, or that crumpled up bag of bones laying under the heater. Dial in your roast date and your bean storage situation, and you'll notice that you brew better coffee more consistently.