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Main
Date: 05 Jan 2007 15:14:57
From: Sportflyer
Subject: Bean storage
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How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
with my foodsaver? Should I then store this in a freezer? Would constant
dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
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Date: 01 Feb 2007 08:27:52
From: finding z0
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On Jan 5, 6:14 pm, "Sportflyer" <mode1flyerNOS...@netzero.net > wrote:
> How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
> with my foodsaver? Should I then store this in a freezer? Would constant
> dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
I store my roasted beans (1/3 lb) almost @ r.t. (still a bit warm,
I got other things to do) in sandwich bags in the cabinet above the
cheap coffee maker (at work). At about day 2, I start using them. They
taste pretty good for the rest of the week. These poor bastards have
been subjected to temps as high as 450/460 deg F. Why them torture
them at -30. They live in their own outgas in the gladbag (store
version) in joy and happiness. The rest is just plain prissyness
(prissiness?). They ask no more of me. If they did, I would have to
ignore them.
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Date: 31 Jan 2007 17:35:16
From: Felix
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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Barry Jarrett (b...@rileys-coffee.com) writes:
> > Buying a canning jar in order to prematurely discard
> > these throwaway items makes no sense. If I owned one
> > already, I'd use it for something else, e.g. peppercorns.
>
> too bad this continuation wasn't last week. i've got a
> partial case of jars at the warehouse.
Maybe I'm being punished for not posting an article about the
parallels between coffee and black pepper. Vietnam is displacing
traditional suppliers in both cases. My last pepper purchase was
branded in Canada, imported from India, but was it actually grown
there?
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/05/06/stories/2003050601541100.htm
We debate cold storage for one while thoughtlessly storing the other
in the back of a cabinet. I freeze most of my pepper now, in a glass
jar with a cork stopper. There's room for improvement ...
Felix
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Date: 31 Jan 2007 09:20:02
From: Flasherly
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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I've done that, the French take. Not basically wrong coffee, just too
bland for me compared to a concentrate from espresso. Not proper nor
"steamed" espresso, but aftermath espresso - espresso without a
excessive attention to temperature, tamp, or grind. Homebrew
espresso. It works for a concentrate of coffee with interesting
flavors, far better than anything I've had from a non-espresso
establishment. Frozen beans may acquire a blander taste than freshly
delivered, only not much. Home roasted makes sense, then best vacuum
fozen or compartmentalized for quantities sufficient to use in their
entirety. All and any minute differences past initially accepted CO2
letting (an important subsequent factor to later crema formations) is
effectively traumatic to beans. Seven to ten days coutertop is
strictly what they're given - once beyond is considered an inferior
product.
On Jan 7, 9:01 pm, "L Littlehale" <llittleh...@carolina.rr.com > wrote:
> Here are some thoughts on the subject at hand:
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Date: 30 Jan 2007 20:09:21
From: Felix
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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Greg (gscace) asks:
> WRT the one-way valve in the vacuum bag, bypass the whole
> issue and use a re-useable canning jar. Why use a throwaway
> item when you don't have to?
Because the roasted beans I buy are packed in these vacuum bags, and
they're durable enough to survive the trips to/from my freezer. Buying
a canning jar in order to prematurely discard these throwaway items
makes no sense. If I owned one already, I'd use it for something else,
e.g. peppercorns.
Felix
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Date: 31 Jan 2007 16:55:20
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On 30 Jan 2007 20:09:21 -0800, "Felix" <felixyen@hotmail.com > wrote:
>Greg (gscace) asks:
>> WRT the one-way valve in the vacuum bag, bypass the whole
>> issue and use a re-useable canning jar. Why use a throwaway
>> item when you don't have to?
>
>Because the roasted beans I buy are packed in these vacuum bags, and
>they're durable enough to survive the trips to/from my freezer. Buying
>a canning jar in order to prematurely discard these throwaway items
>makes no sense. If I owned one already, I'd use it for something else,
>e.g. peppercorns.
too bad this continuation wasn't last week. i've got a partial case
of jars at the warehouse.
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Date: 30 Jan 2007 08:39:45
From: gscace
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On Jan 5, 6:14 pm, "Sportflyer" <mode1flyerNOS...@netzero.net > wrote:
> How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
> with my foodsaver? Should I then store this in a freezer? Would constant
> dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
I roast in 1 kg batches. I usually do a minimum of 2 batches. It
takes me a little over 2 weeks to go thru that much coffee, what with
feeding my popular espresso machine at work, plus keeping the home
front properly buzzed. My practice is to Immediately freeze what I
don't intend to use in the next 4 days. I use a large canning jar
with a clamp-on lid. The rest goes into my grinder hopper or goes to
work. When I'm running low on beans in da hopper I remove the jar
from the freezer and let it warm to room temperature before opening
it. That solves the problem of condensation. Freezing does extend
the freshness life of the beans. By how much I can't say, since I
don't let coffee sit around for very long. But frozen and thawed
coffee two weeks out of the roaster tastes better if it has been
frozen than it does if I leave it in a sealed jar at room temperature,
or in the fridge.
WRT the one-way valve in the vacuum bag, bypass the whole issue and
use a re-useable canning jar. Why use a throwaway item when you don't
have to? Also - in order for there to be net transfer of a material
from one environment to another (the fridge to the coffee) the
concentration of water in the freezer air has to be greater than the
water vapor concentration in the bag, or jar. FWIW there's likely to
be less water in the air inside your freezer than there usually is in
the room, particularly if your climate is humid. The problem occurs
when you expose cold things to the wet room air when opening up the
freezer or when removing the contents, not when things are lying in
state in your frozen mini-arctic diorama.
-Greg
-Greg
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Date: 31 Jan 2007 08:41:02
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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"gscace" <gregory.scace@nist.gov > wrote in message
news:1170175185.064302.215690@l53g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> WRT the one-way valve in the vacuum bag, bypass the whole issue and
> use a re-useable canning jar. Why use a throwaway item when you don't
> have to? Also - in order for there to be net transfer of a material
> from one environment to another (the fridge to the coffee) the
> concentration of water in the freezer air has to be greater than the
> water vapor concentration in the bag, or jar. FWIW there's likely to
> be less water in the air inside your freezer than there usually is in
> the room, particularly if your climate is humid. The problem occurs
> when you expose cold things to the wet room air when opening up the
> freezer or when removing the contents, not when things are lying in
> state in your frozen mini-arctic diorama.
>
> -Greg
>
> -Greg
>
I do more or less as you do, Greg, but I do leave beans in the freezer for
up to 3 months (more commonly, for a month). I roast beans for my friend
and internist also, and for them I put them in the taped over valve bags.
It's simply too much trouble to lend them my mason jars and to worry about
breakage.
For the blind tasting comparison that Jim S. and I will do next month, I've
used taped over valve bags. I just don't have the space or the jars to do
otherwise. My favorite jars are the ones that come with a certain brand of
spaghetti sauce that Costco sells; they are the best size for my consumption
and they don't have the two part lids, just one-part, which are easier to
use.
ken
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Date: 06 Jan 2007 04:56:33
From: Marshall
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On Fri, 5 Jan 2007 15:14:57 -0800, "Sportflyer"
<mode1flyerNOSPAM@netzero.net > wrote:
>How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
>with my foodsaver? Should I then store this in a freezer? Would constant
>dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
>
I run through about a pound a week. I normally buy two pounds at a
time from my local roaster (usually roasted the day of purchase). I
take one pound, tape over its valve and toss it in the freezer section
of my fridge (not exactly a deep freeze; but it's only going to stay
there for a week).
The other bag I open and pour 1/2 of into a clamp jar. I use what is
left in the bag over 3-4 days and then switch to the clamp jar. At the
end of the week, I defrost the frozen bag overnight. It starts
de-gassing and blows up the sealed bag like a balloon, which reassures
me it is still reasonably fresh. Then I repeat the open bag and clamp
jar procedure with the defrosted coffee.
A week later I am back at the roaster.
shall
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Date: 05 Jan 2007 22:26:43
From: Steve Ackman
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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In <VeednXRL9sFuRgPYnZ2dnUVZ_sqdnZ2d@comcast.com >, on Fri, 5 Jan 2007
15:14:57 -0800, Sportflyer wrote:
> How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
> with my foodsaver?
Purchased beans are hardly ever fresh enough to bother
sealing.
> Should I then store this in a freezer?
If you seal them within an hour or so of coming out
of the roaster, it certainly helps. More than a couple
days out of the roaster, and it probably doesn't make
any difference.
Nothing conclusive here, but may be of some help:
http://twoloonscoffee.com/storage/temp-offgas.html
> Would constant
> dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
Freeze in a package size you'll use up in a week or
less. Remove from the freezer the night before you
need it, and just leave it at room temp as you use it
up.
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Date: 05 Jan 2007 22:00:31
From: Jeff
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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Sportflyer wrote:
> How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
> with my foodsaver?
You can store the beans as long as you like. The issue is how will it
taste?
I stashed several pounds of freshly roasted beans (I allowed about 12
hours for out-gassing) in vacuum sealed bags in my freezer on a long
boat trip. This was an emergency supply for times when I was unable
to roast or purchase fresh. My recollection is that while the quality
was diminished somewhat, it was still quite drinkable, and a damn
sight better than what I occasionally purchased along the way. In
other words, this is not a perfect solution, but it may be better than
the alternative.
> Should I then store this in a freezer? Would constant
> dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
Thaw before opening, then leave at room temperature until consumed.
Opening a cold bag is a no-no.
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Date: 05 Jan 2007 21:02:13
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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"Jeff" <jeffmo@foo.net > wrote in message
news:bLudndAhW55JjQLYnZ2dnUVZ_qyjnZ2d@comcast.com...
> Sportflyer wrote:
>> How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack
>> it with my foodsaver?
>
> You can store the beans as long as you like. The issue is how will it
> taste?
>
> I stashed several pounds of freshly roasted beans (I allowed about 12
> hours for out-gassing) in vacuum sealed bags in my freezer on a long boat
> trip. This was an emergency supply for times when I was unable to roast
> or purchase fresh. My recollection is that while the quality was
> diminished somewhat, it was still quite drinkable, and a damn sight better
> than what I occasionally purchased along the way. In other words, this is
> not a perfect solution, but it may be better than the alternative.
>
>> Should I then store this in a freezer? Would constant dethawing the
>> coffee beans accelerate its deterioration? Tks
>
> Thaw before opening, then leave at room temperature until consumed.
> Opening a cold bag is a no-no.
Obviously this is not any sort of scientific conclusion on your part. My
own practice differs in that I freeze coffee immediately after home roasting
in semi airtight containers, in a very cold freezer. When the coffee is
removed from the freezer, the outgassing that was arrested by immediate
freezing resumes. I know this because when I open the mason jars, a big
"whoosh" sound emerges:-) I also occasionally freeze in plastic valve bags
with the valve covered over with scotch tape. When the bags are removed
from the freezer they noticeably balloon up over a period of hours to a day
or two.
In my own experience, I am unable to detect any significant degredation from
freezing, done the way that I do it. At the same time, I have not
scientifically tested this.
Jim Schulman and myself plan to test this scientifically, in paired shot
blind tastings, in the early spring. I have already frozen some coffee that
will be used in this test, which will have had ~2 months in the freezer when
it is defrosted for the test, and will roast the beans for the ~1 month
batch the end of this month.
As to the effect of removing beans from the freezer, taking some out, then
refreezing, I have no experience with this as it is "aesthetically
displeasing." At the same time, the dogma that this results in
"condensation" which degrades the beans is totally untested as far as I
know. That makes it basically an internet urban legend until someone tests
it. We are not planning to test this particular phenomenon, but would be
happy if someone else would:-)
ken
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Date: 07 Jan 2007 21:01:29
From: L Littlehale
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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Here are some thoughts on the subject at hand:
I make drip/filter cone/French press coffee from the best beans I can
find in my city. I make sure the bags are sealed and place them in the
door of the freezer. As I use them I open the bag I've chosen,
dispense about 1 oz. of beans into a Stainless Steel bowl on the
scale. Then I roll the bag down tight and put it back in the freezer.
I immediately grind/brew what I dispensed.
I won't say this method preserves the flavor of the beans to
perfection as I work through my supply. What I do assert is that
whatever changes to flavor occur, I can accept them. In fact I enjoy
the slight variations I have tried refrigerator storage but the temp
range and the defrost cycles seem to bring out un-savory flavor
changes. Same for room temp storage.
I understand that the kind of extraction used for Espresso reveals
more subtle layers of flavor so this storage method may not be
acceptable for those who enjoy that..
As for the conjecture that opening/closing the bag will produce
condensation on the beans and some kind of thaw/re-freeze cycle: I
have never noticed any freezer burn on the beans at the bottom of my 1
pound bags, nor have I ever discovered any ice crystals accumulated
amongst the beans when I dispense them. I don't believe my beans have
a chance to defrost because the bag is not out of the freezer more
than the time it takes to open, dispense, close and return.
Keeping the beans frozen in their original packaging allows me to
enjoy the coffee to the end of the bag. Its always got lots of aroma
I've noticed some pretty dark brown crema forming when I brew in my
Melitta pot. By lowering the temps as much as possible, any flow of
oil to the surface of the beans is impeded. The oils stay in the bean
where oxygen can't easily reach. Upon grinding, the non-oxidized oils
are released into the hot water during brewing.
I also would point out another flaw in the condensation argument. The
flavor components are contained in the oils left after the beans are
roasted to temps well above the boiling point of water. Espresso
beans, especially. The last time I checked, oil and water don't mix.
Properly roasted beans should resist taking on water, much like
well-seasoned wood reaches a point where it no longer absorbs moisture
as quick as it did when green. They should have a coating of oils
sealing them from external moisture.
In regard to stale beans: I have often blanched walnuts, pecans and
such to restore them to a fresh-tasting condition. I place my chosen
quantity in a quart measure and fill it with hot tap water. Then I
strain out the nut-meats and toast them in the oven until they are dry
and sizzling. It might be interesting to try this with coffee that has
staled which would normally be discarded.
"Ken Fox" <morceaudemerdeThisMerdeGoes@hotmail.com > wrote in message
news:508l8bF1eoseaU1@mid.individual.net...
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Date: 08 Jan 2007 17:00:24
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On Sun, 7 Jan 2007 21:01:29 -0500, "L Littlehale"
<llittlehale@carolina.rr.com > wrote:
>Properly roasted beans should resist taking on water, much like
>well-seasoned wood reaches a point where it no longer absorbs moisture
>as quick as it did when green. They should have a coating of oils
>sealing them from external moisture.
if your coffee is as old as the well-seasoned wood, then perhaps that
is the case.
otherwise, roasted coffee is hydroscopic.
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Date: 06 Jan 2007 13:39:18
From: Jeff
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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Ken Fox wrote:
>
> Obviously this is not any sort of scientific conclusion on your part. My
> own practice differs in that I freeze coffee immediately after home roasting
> in semi airtight containers, in a very cold freezer.
The reason why I allowed some time to outgas before freezing is that
when I froze immediately, the vacuum pouches expanded slightly during
the freezing. I thought it better to allow much to the gas to out.
> When the coffee is
> removed from the freezer, the outgassing that was arrested by immediate
> freezing resumes. I know this because when I open the mason jars, a big
> "whoosh" sound emerges:-) I also occasionally freeze in plastic valve bags
> with the valve covered over with scotch tape. When the bags are removed
> from the freezer they noticeably balloon up over a period of hours to a day
> or two.
>
> In my own experience, I am unable to detect any significant degredation from
> freezing, done the way that I do it. At the same time, I have not
> scientifically tested this.
I can't say that the frozen beans suffered greatly, but I never
thought it was "as good as almost any I've had" which seems happen at
least sometimes when I don't freeze. But, at worst, it was certainly
much better then leaving it simply sealed for a month or two.
>
> Jim Schulman and myself plan to test this scientifically, in paired shot
> blind tastings, in the early spring. I have already frozen some coffee that
> will be used in this test, which will have had ~2 months in the freezer when
> it is defrosted for the test, and will roast the beans for the ~1 month
> batch the end of this month.
So you're testing "roasted and frozen for 2 months" against green
beans that are not frozen and then roasted, hopefully to the same
profile. If you really want to be scientific, why didn't you freeze
the green beans?
In any case, I await your conclusions.
>
> As to the effect of removing beans from the freezer, taking some out, then
> refreezing, I have no experience with this as it is "aesthetically
> displeasing." At the same time, the dogma that this results in
> "condensation" which degrades the beans is totally untested as far as I
> know. That makes it basically an internet urban legend until someone tests
> it. We are not planning to test this particular phenomenon, but would be
> happy if someone else would:-)
To expedite, you could open the bag even day and spritz a mist of
water in. Then, if you want to simulate pulling a pound out of the
freezer to use over several days, you should let is sit at room temp
for a while. Yes, I appreciate it if someone else would try this.
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Date: 06 Jan 2007 22:53:29
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On Sat, 06 Jan 2007 13:39:18 -0500, Jeff <jeffmo@foo.net > wrote:
>The reason why I allowed some time to outgas before freezing is that
>when I froze immediately, the vacuum pouches expanded slightly during
>the freezing. I thought it better to allow much to the gas to out.
1) that's letting the horse out before closing the barn door;
2) your freezer isn't cold enough;
3) profit
--barry "frozen underpants gnomes"
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Date: 27 Jan 2007 17:18:27
From: L Littlehale
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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I'm wondering why you covered the hole in the valve? If I understand
it correctly that is a one-way valve designed only to let gas out and
not let anything back in.....
"Barry Jarrett" <barry@rileys-coffee.com > wrote in message
news:71a0q2h61vao8et331c25613l74a3gigop@4ax.com...
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Date: 30 Jan 2007 00:14:19
From: Barry Jarrett
Subject: Re: Bean storage
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On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:18:27 -0500, "L Littlehale"
<llittlehale@carolina.rr.com > wrote:
>I'm wondering why you covered the hole in the valve? If I understand
>it correctly that is a one-way valve designed only to let gas out and
>not let anything back in.....
>
just in case. N% of valves fail open, and the freezer gnomes won't
alert me to those failures (some union dispute, or something like
that). one could use unvalved bags and avoid the whole issue and
added expense.
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Date: 27 Jan 2007 17:43:35
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Bean storage
|
"L Littlehale" <llittlehale@carolina.rr.com > wrote in message
news:45bbd079$0$28113$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> I'm wondering why you covered the hole in the valve? If I understand
> it correctly that is a one-way valve designed only to let gas out and
> not let anything back in.....
If the valve freezes in the open position then air in the freezer can move
in and out of the bag with the coffee. Taping over a valve that is not
going to work as it was designed to work anyway, prevents this.
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Date: 06 Jan 2007 11:48:16
From: Ken Fox
Subject: Re: Bean storage
|
"Jeff" <jeffmo@foo.net > wrote in message
news:c8CdnToQQv5EcQLYnZ2dnUVZ_sKunZ2d@comcast.com...
>>
>
> So you're testing "roasted and frozen for 2 months" against green beans
> that are not frozen and then roasted, hopefully to the same profile. If
> you really want to be scientific, why didn't you freeze the green beans?
I don't think that the green beans will change much over a 2 month period
sitting in my 54 degree F. basement, in the dark, exposed to relatively low
humidity. Freezing the green beans would introduce another variable which
I'd want to avoid since we are testing freezing of roasted beans vs. never
frozen roasted beans. I have quite a stash of MAO Harrar Horse, all bought
around the same time in the fall. One thing I've done to try to reduce
variability is that I selected one of the bags of green beans and am only
using beans from this (~11 lb.) bag for the testing to try and avoid any
variation that might have come from one sack of beans to the next.
>
> In any case, I await your conclusions.
so do we.
ken
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Date: 27 Jan 2007 17:17:13
From: L Littlehale
Subject: Re: Bean storage
|
I remember talking with a fellow who's family owned coffee plantations
in South America. He normally stored his green beans in the freezer.
I don't recall that he had any time table for using them up.
"Ken Fox" <morceaudemerde@snipThisPleaseHotmail.com > wrote in message
news:50a97hF1etvq3U1@mid.individual.net...
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Date: 05 Jan 2007 17:34:58
From: Randy G.
Subject: Re: Bean storage
|
"Sportflyer" <mode1flyerNOSPAM@netzero.net > wrote:
>How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack it
>with my foodsaver?
>
About as long as they could have been stored if you had not vacuumed
packed it, +/- about ten minutes... probably... maybe...
> Should I then store this in a freezer?
>
Sure.. Why not?
>Would constant
>dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration?
>
If you mean thaw/freeze/thaw cycles, yes. This will cause condensation
on the beans which increases the moisture level in the stored
container and will/can/may accelerate staling... maybe.
Let's assume that the purchased beans really are fresh... And that's a
huge assumption given the amount of information you have supplied...
If they are fresh, immediately put them is small, air-tight
containers. Each container should be about two or three days worth of
coffee. The containers should be as full as possible to displace all
the air you can. Freeze these containers. Take them out, one at a
time, the night before you need them and allow them to thaw and come
to room temperature before opening them.
If at the end of the last container's term of use the coffee tastes
the same as the first, then one of two things happened- either the
process worked or the coffee was stale to begin with...
The bottom line is that if you store the beans in your sock drawer,
and they taste OK to you by the end of the batch, then by all means,
use the sock drawer.. In other words, try it and see if it was worth
the trouble.
IMO, the clock is ticking when the beans come out of the roaster, and
even if IMMEDIATELY vac packed or pressure packed in inert gas, once
that container is opened and oxygen admitted, the staling process is
off and running. Try it with a can of Illy. Very smooth and tasty for
the first day, and maybe the second, but by the third they taste three
weeks old.
And that brings up another point. How fresh is 'fresh' to you?
[rhetorical question, BTW] To me, coffee roasted two weeks ago is
unusable for espresso. Ten days is about the limit. I store it in a
sealed mason jar in a dark, cool cabinet.
Randy
"if assumptions sold by the pound, I could not have afforded to post
this reply"
G.
http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com
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Date: 05 Jan 2007 19:24:58
From: Sportflyer
Subject: Re: Bean storage
|
I buy beans which are roasted daily from the roaster . So they are
definitely "fresh" . I will try the small pouches method. TKs
"Randy G." <frcn@DESPAMMOcncnet.com > wrote in message
news:8eutp2hos6gca6coj0mjp2l8m23oh4tq7e@4ax.com...
> "Sportflyer" <mode1flyerNOSPAM@netzero.net> wrote:
>
>>How long can freshly roasted purchased beans be stored if I vacuum pack
>>it
>>with my foodsaver?
>>
> About as long as they could have been stored if you had not vacuumed
> packed it, +/- about ten minutes... probably... maybe...
>
>> Should I then store this in a freezer?
>>
> Sure.. Why not?
>
>>Would constant
>>dethawing the coffee beans accelerate its deterioration?
>>
> If you mean thaw/freeze/thaw cycles, yes. This will cause condensation
> on the beans which increases the moisture level in the stored
> container and will/can/may accelerate staling... maybe.
>
> Let's assume that the purchased beans really are fresh... And that's a
> huge assumption given the amount of information you have supplied...
> If they are fresh, immediately put them is small, air-tight
> containers. Each container should be about two or three days worth of
> coffee. The containers should be as full as possible to displace all
> the air you can. Freeze these containers. Take them out, one at a
> time, the night before you need them and allow them to thaw and come
> to room temperature before opening them.
>
> If at the end of the last container's term of use the coffee tastes
> the same as the first, then one of two things happened- either the
> process worked or the coffee was stale to begin with...
>
> The bottom line is that if you store the beans in your sock drawer,
> and they taste OK to you by the end of the batch, then by all means,
> use the sock drawer.. In other words, try it and see if it was worth
> the trouble.
>
> IMO, the clock is ticking when the beans come out of the roaster, and
> even if IMMEDIATELY vac packed or pressure packed in inert gas, once
> that container is opened and oxygen admitted, the staling process is
> off and running. Try it with a can of Illy. Very smooth and tasty for
> the first day, and maybe the second, but by the third they taste three
> weeks old.
>
> And that brings up another point. How fresh is 'fresh' to you?
> [rhetorical question, BTW] To me, coffee roasted two weeks ago is
> unusable for espresso. Ten days is about the limit. I store it in a
> sealed mason jar in a dark, cool cabinet.
>
> Randy
> "if assumptions sold by the pound, I could not have afforded to post
> this reply"
> G.
> http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com
>
>
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