Too Much Coffee

OK, so given that my regular supplier (Tinderbox in Glasgow) has decided they don't sell decaf coffee beans anymore I've decided to order some online.

Now I've gone for some fully caffinated ones from hasbean but was wondering what volume most people would buy at any one time?

I've opted to go for three bags totalling 750g but would like an understanding of others buying habits.

My thought was that 500g was probably sufficient but since getting my MC2 have found that I need to redial it when I change beans so opted for a little more.

Was this sound judgement, would you have ordered the same, less or slightly more?

Depends on how much coffee you get through

I personally get through just over a bag a week, but then I get another bag a week for cafetiere also.

Ideally use coffee up to a week, week and a half?

Bearing in mind the compak k10 is very easy to dial in and very consistent, not sure how the iberital is.

As RP said, it depends on your coffee drinking habits. After awhile you will find out how much you can use up in 10-12 days. That's the amount you should buy. If you're using 14-day old coffee it's stale, if you run out of coffee you're in serious trouble.

bruceb wrote: if you run out of coffee you're in serious trouble.

Run out of coffee, run out of coffee?!?!

Depends on where you stand on the coffee freezing debate. We order about 3Kg from Monmouth at a time and freeze it. - Postage is too expensive otherwise

I tend to go for 4 or 5 x 250g bags at a time to economise on postage and freeze what I'm not going to use immediately. I usually have one bag for Her Baby and two different filter/FP coffees out at the same time.

Thanks. At least I know I'm not orderig way too much.

As for freezing I don't know where I stand?!? I used to keep beens in the freezer but havent done in years now I try to buy less but often.

One of the interesting things about our passion here is that we can always be experimental, we don't have to accept "universal dogma" or other people's opinions. You can buy some beans that you like, divide them and store half in the freezer, then drink the other half. As soon as the first half are gone, warm up the ones from the freezer and try them. Make sure you have enough that the first half last about 10 days. Then you can decide for yourself whether the beans from the freezer are just as good, not quite as good or horrible, according to your own taste.

If you do put beans in the freezer make sure they are in really air-tight containers containing as little air as possible and most importantly, let them warm up to room temperature before you open the container.

qwerty69 wrote:

My thought was that 500g was probably sufficient but since getting my MC2 have found that I need to redial it when I change beans so opted for a little more.

Was this sound judgement, would you have ordered the same, less or slightly more?

The MC2 is a bargain and I'm still happy with mine, but it can be a pain to dial in again because the adjustment is so fine.

For me one of the big advantages of home roasting is that you don't have to navigate between the scylla of coffee going stale and the charybdis of running out. 15 minutes on a Saturday morning and all of that stress can disappear.

Hi guys,

I normally buy 8-12 bags (250g) per order, basically I tend to buy more and freeze it, saves on shipping and you always have some beans in the fridge.

Regards,
dsc.

dsc wrote:...basically I tend to buy more and freeze it, saves on shipping and you always have some beans in the fridge.

I used to pop some in the freezer, and use it directly from there, but was never sure if this was a good means of storage and haven't done so for a few years now.

Maybe I'll try this again and see what results I get.

I know this topic is old but I contacted Hasbean and told them I was thinking of buying their espresso starter pack consisting of 5x250g beans and how should I store the bags that have not been opened. I suggested freezing them and the guy Steve told me to buy coffee regally as the freezing thing just don't work and that's coming from someone that sells the stuff for a living so for me to keep buying 1x250g bag at a time it would cost a fortune in p&p which I don't intend to do so if anyone has any tips on storing beans then please let me know.

Please search the archives here. There are endless discussions on this topic. Coffee is NOT a storable commodity. No matter what you do with it, after two weeks it is stale and rancid. Freezing may even speed up the process. If you don't want to roast your own, buy just as much as you can use within 10-14 days time. There is no alternative.

Bruce is right, "Coffee is NOT a storable commodity."

However I think 2 weeks is a bit extreme. It will depend on your own taste buds and for what you are using the coffee, espresso or drip etc.

So buy the smallest quantity that makes economic sense to you, bearing in mind the postage costs. What you are not using should be stored, so far as possible in a cool dark location. Fridges and freezers are probably not a good idea.

And you simply have to accept that the last pack will not taste as good as the first. But it will (normally) taste far far better than what you could buy from a local supermarket.

As bruceb earlier suggested: try it out for yourself. I have very good experience with freezing beans; lots of crema and flavour after proper thawing. I did observe possible quicker ageing, i.e. declining crema after five rather than seven days. Avoid moisture at all stages: store in airtight bags or containers in the freezer and do not open the bag until the beans are at room temperature.

Most beans for me lose complexity in espresso drinks between day seven to 12. One notable exception was the SQM winter blend. It was still amazing after three weeks, albeit with reduced crema.