Coffee freshness is one case that is very crucial yet full with misconceptions. We wrote these series of article to address that issue. Our discussion will be divided into three bite-sized parts focusing on different aspect of freshness. In this first part, we first set our perspective into similar page by: defining coffee freshness, discussing what makes coffee ‘fresh’, and what makes them the stale.
What Is ‘Freshness’?
When it comes to coffee, the term ‘freshness’ is often thrown around, but what does it truly mean? Might it be relative to some people, but we define ‘fresh’ as the state where the coffee showed the most vibrancy and aroma when brewed. Although coffee is considered a shelf-stable product and often has expiry date within 12-24 months; this duration, however, is only the reflection taken from the food-safety’s perspective. Contrary to the popular belief, the state of coffee freshness doesn’t last that long. Depending on how you store them, it generally only last from 2 weeks – 2 months after roasting and starts deteriorating beyond that period. For more detailed information on the freshness-window, refer to the second part of the article.
What Makes Coffee Fresh?
‘Fresh’ coffee taste vibrant and smells amazing. The source of these pleasantries is the high concentration of volatile aromatic compounds that are formed inside the beans during roasting process. How does this aromatic compound affect our taste? Our sense of smell (olfaction) is a major contributor in our capability to perceive taste, this is the reason why the foods suddenly taste dull when you have blocked nose. When coffee is roasted, The Maillard Reaction occurs, creating these aromatic compounds that contribute to coffee’s unique and varied flavors. The challenge is that these compounds are volatile, meaning they can easily evaporate or break down, leading to a loss of those flavors we love.
What Makes Coffee Goes Bad? (Stall)
Sadly, nothing last forever. When the coffee stalled, it tastes generically flat, uninteresting, and, sometimes bad. There are two reasons why. The first, like previously mentioned, is from the loss of volatile aromatic compounds. Volatility means it readily diffuses in air. This means, these delightful flavors are fading overtime, inevitably reducing the ‘goodness’ of the coffee.
Not only that, overtime, new unpleasant flavor will also develop. The main cause of this is what James Hoffmann called the rancidification, where the lipids (fat and oils) inside coffee beans oxidize overtime and break-down into unpleasant cardboard-flavor generally found in stale coffee. Oxygen and moisture play major role in this stalling process; though, we can prolong it by properly storing our coffee. Refer to part #3 of the article to learn more about proper coffee storage.
What’s The Take-Home Message?
Enjoy you coffee in while they’re still fresh! Because life it too short to drink bad coffee. Once we know what is fresh, what is stale, and the reasons behind them, the next question will be: When is the best time to drink our coffee? This question will be answered in the next part of the series: where we delve deeper into the role of roasting dates, the concept of degassing, and the ‘prime’ period for coffee. So, stay tuned to learn more about the fascinating world of coffee freshness!
