How Long Does Roasted Coffee Last?

Ever wondered why coffee bags come with a valve? Yes it does allow you to give the bag a cheeky squeeze to get a whiff of freshly roasted coffee beans into your nostrils, but most of what you're smelling there is a cocktail of organic compounds and CO2 that the roasted beans have expelled post-roast. In other words those beans are "De-Gassing". 

Freshly roasted coffee needs a chance to rest after roasting because even though things have cooled down significantly since the intense heat of the roaster, the beans are still developing, releasing gas and becoming more palatable and complex days after they exited the roaster. That valve is a one way exit that allows those various compounds to escape while keeping your beans fresh.

Opinions can be mixed over how long this de-gassing period needs to be, but generally it is between 7 to 10 days after the roast date. 

Enjoying the rich flavour of coffee is such a personal experience that some of you may prefer not to wait that long and want to get brewing after three or four days, happy with how that coffee hits. Others out there might want to play the long game and enjoy a ten days plus bag before diving in. That's totally okay and the following guide has been created to ensure everyone can get the most out of their beans and understand when to make your next purchase to ensure you always have a supply of ready-to-go coffee at home! 

Espresso Roast Blends: 

*Smalltown Coffee Espresso Blends are an 'Omni' roast meaning that they are of course dark and delicious enough for milk based and black espresso drinks but can be used by a wider range of our customers, using different equipment like stovetop Moka pots, French press, Moccamaster and cold brew etc. 

As a general rule of thumb, Espresso Blends will be roasted slightly longer than their Single Origin and Filter cousins and that extra roast time means more of the beans structure has opened up and released gas and moisture while still in the roaster. Our Espresso Roast beans can be enjoyed after 3 days as an absolute minimum but, ideally, they will benefit from 10 days rest before being converted into delicious espresso shots. Plan on your bag of Espresso Blend beans lasting up to five weeks before you notice it not tasting as bright as normal. 

Single Origins:

Single Origin coffees are sourced from either one country, one region and sometimes, one farm (hence the 'Single' prefix). They are a great opportunity for a roaster to showcase that particular varietal of bean, its flavour profile and characteristics. Single Origins are generally roasted slightly lighter as they're really best enjoyed black and won't need be fighting for favour dominance with milk (like an espresso based latte would be for example). These lighter roasts will need extra time to release the additional gasses that didn't get a chance to escape inside the roaster. We therefore recommend a rest period of 14 days but your Single Origin beans will last a solid 5-6 weeks before their quality of flavour diminishes. 

Filter Roast:

These are our lightest roasts and the idea is to preserve some of the beans sparkling acidic flavours that will shine in the cup when making a V60 pour over for example. Ending the roast before the sweeter notes of an Espresso Roast start to develop is key here but this also means that Filter Roasts benefit from a slightly longer resting period than both Espresso Blends and Single Origins. There is talk in Europe and Scandinavia right now (both huge consumers of Filter Roast coffee) that rest times can be as long as 30 days for maximum development! We're sure they're right but we have found that 14-20 days is plenty.

Decaf:

The wildcard. Decaf is an important part of our coffee menu and we aim to offer the best possible version of this caffeine free character that we can! We source our specialty grade decaf from Colombia and the various natural processes of decafination produce a delicious alternative to the full-strength stuff, however the beans are more structurally brittle and require a longer, slightly cooler roast. The result is a bean that develops a lot faster as some of its structure has already weakened while being decaffeinated and again during the roast. This means it is ready to drink sooner and will last for a slightly shorter period of time; Good to go from just 3-4 days and will be tasting delicious for up to 1 month. 

Good News! Luckily we organise our roasting schedule to ensure that there is a mixture of both ready to go now (rested) and slightly fresher (greener) beans  in stock. This means you have the final word on both when to buy and when to enjoy your next bag of Smalltown Coffee beans 😊