storage
1) What is "Fresh" Coffee?
Generally speaking, "Fresh" Coffee is any roasted whole bean coffee product, preferably arabica, that has not been allowed to sit in temperatures above 32 degrees
fahrenheit for longer than 275 hours (approximately 11 days). The more purist of roasters go as far to say that 90% of the delicious aroma diffuses
out of the oily cell structures by 72 hours post-roast. My tasting skills may not be as refined, but I find little difference during the first week or so;
but by 12 days, it's lost much of its fresh flavor.
2) 32 Degrees? Should fresh coffee be kept frozen?
Yes. If frozen when fresh, whole bean coffee can remain fresh for up to 9 weeks (+/-). Once unfrozen, the clock starts ticking.
However, if it is re-frozen after having been thawed, the clock again stops ticking...or at least is so completely retarded as to be effectively
suspended up to, again, for a combined total available time of about 9 weeks. The freezing process slows the degradation process by multiples of
approximately 6. Is it best not to freeze coffee? Yes. But if you have a quantity of whole bean coffee that will not be consumed within 10 days to
2 weeks, the effects of freezing is negligable when compared to the effect when beans are left to degrade at room temperature.
3) How does freezing help keep whole bean coffee fresh?
The primary reason is that the vapor pressure of the aromas (carried via resultant CO2) are reduced by approximately 8 fold, and the freezing of
contained water immobilizes chemical reactions approximately 10 fold. Also, the oils turn to fat solids hindering aromatic diffusion. When frozen
within a sealed container, the aromatics are suspended within, in equilibrium with its components in the frozen oil.
4) So, should Granite ledge Coffee whole beans be removed from the bag and put in a sealed container?
Yes, absolutely. I recommend a canning jar or some other glass product. Plastic or tupperware-like containers are suitable too, but I believe glass
to be the most effective vessel.
NOTE: Freezing a stale bean just makes it cold. Similarly to bread, if you freeze a piece of stale bread it remains a piece of stale bread once thawed.
5) Some bagged coffee has an expiration date on it. Good thing?
I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the expiration date was many weeks, or even months, down the road and that a roast date was not included.
If this was the case, then an expiration date is both unuseful and misleading. Remember, the available shelf-life is at maximum, approximately 11 days
of real room temperature "freshness" and approximately 9 weeks if frozen. An expiration date is only useful when used in conjunction with a roast date.
Granite Ledge Coffee roasts weekly and delivers every week. Fresh!
6) What is "fresh" really? What makes coffee so noticably superior when it is fresh?
The thermal decomposition of the bean's sugars during the roasting process, that is subsequently dissolved in the coffee oil and consists of
approximately 20% of the bean's weight, eventually and slowly diffuses out of the cell structure and into the air in tandem with the escaping of 1.5%
weight of the bean that is gaseous carbon dioxide. Once gone, less favorable flavors remain.
CONCLUSION: Only buy fresh beans; no more than you'll use in a month or so. Freeze them in a sealed container and grind them just prior to use.
Similarly to bread, it is better not to freeze coffee if you'll use the beans in short order. However, for short periods of time, freezing coffee will in fact retard its degradation allowing you to buy more at lower cost.