First 48 hours post roast

[Panda]

Ok .. I'm still learning theory and practice ... can someone explain this please :

As I understand it, during the first 48 hours from roasting, the beans continue to undergo certain changes. I think they continue to release CO2 and I expect that this is as a result of chemical reactions within the beans.

I have seen comments like :

- when buying roasted beans always source freshly roasted beans which are less than 48 hours old (why ?)

but also

- the beans' flavour stabilises after 48 hours and prior to that the CO2 releases means that the flavour may not be fully/correctly imparted into the water when brewing (really?)


Is this all just a question of taste (ie they will taste different when ground & made pre versus post 48 hours from roasting) or is there a consistent opinion about the 'best' way of doing things?

[ivdp]

On your questin you will geta wide range of answers: some will say drink it fresh, do not wait.
others will advice to wait 24-36-48 hours, some will advice even a longer wait depending on the coffee.

Like with taste, you have to experiment yourselves. Test first what you like best: old coffee or fresh coffee....

Other peoples preferences should not be a guideline.

Ivo

[jumper]

i agree with ivo most people tell me to wait but sometimes i can't (waited till i was out of beans before i started roasting) and it just didn't make much of a differance it might have been better still its all subjective
mark

[simonp]

For espresso I would always wait at least 48 hours, before this you get foamy light crema, and it is hard to judge the grind setting as the volume will seem really big in the cup, then soon fall to a much lesser ammount when the big bubbles go. Also you will often get a strange taste like baking soda with all the CO2 in the crema.

Like the others say, try it yourself and see.

The lighter the roast, generally the longer the rest.

[Steve]

I'm with Ivo on this one drink when you think it tastes the best experiance will tell you when its ready