anyone come close to an Ill-y blend?

[Gouezeri]

Changing the discussion slightly, I think part of the problem for me is that there are just too many factors involved with trying to keep beans fresh, to the extent that it seems pointless when most of us here have easy access to fresh beans whenever we want. Furthermore, if I know exactly when the beans were roasted, then it is easy to make the decision as to when to use them at their peak, whether it be only 24hrs or 7 days later.
However, when all is said and done, there is always bound to be a degree of personal taste involved here.

[scottwhite]

Spot on monkey some beans do require so time to calm down. I think where me and Scot disagree is when it comes to in a bag for six months unopened are as good as freshly roasted.

Me and Scot are big boys and often have a difference of opinion, and that’s good as it opens discussion and proves that I'm right after all After all even Scots allowed to be wrong (only j/k Scott don’t beat me up, I bleed easily).

yes it is very healthy to have that difference and keep it as just a discussion, for me that's what this place is all about.

















plus Steve gets to learn new things from me, which is great.

[CakeBoy]

Okay it's a pregnant pause before the punchline .... I know that now, but idiot boy here has been sat staring at the space above wondering when the photo was going to load!

[espressomattic]

Okay it's a pregnant pause before the punchline .... I know that now, but idiot boy here has been sat staring at the space above wondering when the photo was going to load!

No surprises there then Spongemonster!

Having been deprived of Fresh Roast for some time now, at least in the home anyway, I have and can detect even more so now when beans are on the turn. Take for exapmle I tried some Yirg a couple of weeks back along side an espresso blend from Laroma. The blend was about three days old and I was told the yirg was just turning. Whiklst the Yirg was great, it had lost that initial punch of upfront cirus that you would expect that characterises the cup. The blend on the other hand was bright, clear and full bodied. It just became very clear which was the freshest.

Maybe this highlights in a way what Scott is saying. After several days the charateristics change and sometimes for better, sometimes not.

I have also had espressos where the beans are clearly old even if they have just been taken from a sealed bag before me and it is so noticable. It literally does taste stale, old etc. Thankfully this was in the uk not here.

Just to muddy the waters at the risk of being shot down....

I think it reflects the attitude/lack of knowledge by the general consumer. They can buy a coffee that is six months old and to be frank, think it is fine because that is all they have ever been offered. To them, fresh coffee is made in front of them and roast date etc have little if any, bearing on their thought process.

I hate to harp on about the southern hemisphere, but the public here generally demand a better product and they get it. Oh I am sure that crap is out there, but the majority get fresh roasted, fresh brewed coffee. It all boils down to what you personally know and are used to. Of course all in my Humble opinion.

Personally, from experience, fresh is best and anything over a few weeks old is simply unacceptable to drink, but then I have learnt theat this is best.

[lukas]

Okay, as I say I change camps on this regularily, so here it is. Just had opened a sealed bag that was from the same blend I talked about earlier, but a month older. Crap. A month younger. Delicions. A month older. Crap. Could have been a bad sealing, but could have also been that three months was too much but two months was just fine.

I guess I need to get more experienced to build a full blown opinion on this

[bruceb]

Okay it's a pregnant pause before the punchline .... I know that now, but idiot boy here has been sat staring at the space above wondering when the photo was going to load!

Being a pregnant pause it obviously will take 9 months.

[GreenBean]

Being a pregnant pause it obviously will take 9 months.

Unless it’s a photo of an elephant when it would take 22 months. Or perhaps it’s a photo of a mouse …….

[Walter]

Okay it's a pregnant pause before the punchline .... I know that now, but idiot boy here has been sat staring at the space above wondering when the photo was going to load!

Just so you don't feel too bad: Last night I was sitting over Lukas' post at the bottom of page 2 and wondered why nobody had taken up such a sensitive topic for so long. It was only this morning that I noticed that there are already 4 pages...

----

Anyhow, there's no point in arguing the importance of freshness with fellow homeroasters, but I find it hard to believe that any coffee-afficionado could think that coffee sealed in valvebags wouldn't stale for as much as 6 months.

Being new to the speciality coffee business I was hoping that valve bags could prevent my freshly roasted coffees from staling for - at least - several weeks, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to work. Only, coffee sealed in valve bags seems to age differently than the same coffee stored in jars or something else. But still, to me the staling becomes clearly noticeable within one or two weeks and after 4 weeks everyone (except, maybe, a heavy smoker) can easily tell that this coffee isn't freshly roasted. And I am not talking about bags being opened and resealed...