Aging and drinking time.
SPECIALTY COFFEE BEANS × AGING
Specialty Coffee × Aging
The general consensus is that coffee is best enjoyed between 2 days and 2 weeks after roasting, and that it becomes less palatable due to oxidation thereafter. However, this is only a general guideline and does not necessarily apply to specialty coffee.
There is no clear definition of what constitutes coffee's "best before" period or "shelf life," and these periods vary depending on the roaster and shop.
In this article, we will explain the best before period, shelf life, and aging of specialty coffee as simply as possible.
What is Aging?
Aging refers to allowing roasted coffee to rest for a certain period of time. During the aging period, unnecessary gases produced during roasting are released. This prevents extraction from being hindered by gases and also allows you to enjoy changes in flavor components over time.
It is often said that "coffee is delicious from 2 days after roasting," which also implies a 2-day aging period.
Best Before Period and Shelf Life
The "best before" period and shelf life are largely determined by the roasting approach to the green beans and the roast level.
For example, lightly roasted beans produce less gas, and the cell structure (due to phenomena like glass transition) is less broken down compared to deeply roasted beans. As a result, the flavor components are less likely to dissipate, and the "best before" period is longer. As roasting progresses, the amount of gas produced and cell breakdown increases, so flavor components volatilize more quickly along with gas release. Consequently, deeply roasted coffee is thought to have a shorter period during which it tastes good compared to lightly roasted coffee.
Light and dark roasted coffees swell differently when ground. This difference intuitively supports the points mentioned above.
"Best before period" refers to the period during which the flavor can be enjoyed most fully, including the aging period. Even after this period, the deliciousness will largely persist, but the aroma and flavor will gradually diminish and be replaced by negative components, so please consume the coffee before its shelf life (from the roasting date, for whole beans: light to medium roast: 60 days / medium-dark roast and above: 45 days). If you cannot consume it within the shelf life, we recommend freezing it.
At THE WORD COFFEE, with our current roasting approach, we believe the "best before" period for room temperature storage (whole beans) is 1 week to 30 days after roasting for light to medium roasts, and 2 days to 2 weeks for medium-dark roasts and above. (This period is the "best before" period, not the shelf life.)
As mentioned earlier, the "best before" period and shelf life depend on the roasting approach. Please consider that the "best before" period and shelf life set by THE WORD COFFEE apply only to coffee roasted by THE WORD COFFEE. And even for coffee roasted by us, if the roasting approach changes, naturally the "best before" period and shelf life will also change.
In summary, because specialty coffee is of high quality, many roasters focus on roasting to highlight the unique flavors of the beans. As a result, specialty coffee is often offered in light to medium roasts, allowing for a relatively long period of enjoyment, including the aging period.
What one seeks and perceives in coffee varies from person to person. You might find more sweetness in the second week than in the first, or discover flavors in the third week that weren't present before. Being able to explore your preferred taste through aging is one of the unique pleasures of specialty coffee.
- The above discussion pertains to common varieties, but larger varieties (such as Pacamara) can be enjoyed for an even longer aging period.