Fresh Quotes
A few quotes about coffee freshness from some people I respect:
"The bottom line? Freshly roasted coffee sold within a week of roasting is best."
-Espresso: Ultimate Coffee 2nd Edition - Kenneth Davids, page 83
"But roasted coffee begins to lose flavor after a week, ground coffee an hour after grinding, and brewed coffee in minutes, even seconds."
-Espresso: Ultimate Coffee 2nd Edition - Kenneth Davids, page 101
"The main point, regardless of what roast or origin you choose, is to get freshly roasted coffee at frequent intervals, buying only what you plan to use in the coming week or so. Otherwise, your coffee will get stale, no matter how great it was to start with."
-Uncommon Grounds - Mark Pendergrast, page 429
Schomer is the most straightforward of them. Chapter 10 of his book "Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques" is dedicated solely to freshness.
"Under ideal storage conditions, roasted whole bean coffee remains fresh for no more than ten days after roasting. Use it or lose it in ten days. That's the rule."
"Espresso made from beans over ten days old has less crema and creates a lighter density that is not heavy enough to hang from the spouts like it should. The espresso will suck in a bit off the bottom of the spout from surface tension."
-Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques, David C. Schomer, page 69
(Thanks to Matt Henthorn for looking these up.)
"The bottom line? Freshly roasted coffee sold within a week of roasting is best."
-Espresso: Ultimate Coffee 2nd Edition - Kenneth Davids, page 83
"But roasted coffee begins to lose flavor after a week, ground coffee an hour after grinding, and brewed coffee in minutes, even seconds."
-Espresso: Ultimate Coffee 2nd Edition - Kenneth Davids, page 101
"The main point, regardless of what roast or origin you choose, is to get freshly roasted coffee at frequent intervals, buying only what you plan to use in the coming week or so. Otherwise, your coffee will get stale, no matter how great it was to start with."
-Uncommon Grounds - Mark Pendergrast, page 429
Schomer is the most straightforward of them. Chapter 10 of his book "Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques" is dedicated solely to freshness.
"Under ideal storage conditions, roasted whole bean coffee remains fresh for no more than ten days after roasting. Use it or lose it in ten days. That's the rule."
"Espresso made from beans over ten days old has less crema and creates a lighter density that is not heavy enough to hang from the spouts like it should. The espresso will suck in a bit off the bottom of the spout from surface tension."
-Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques, David C. Schomer, page 69
(Thanks to Matt Henthorn for looking these up.)
posted by Brian at 10:04 AM
2 Comments:
"Too fresh" is real when it comes to espresso.
Deny this fact at your peril.
Peril?
Are you just goading me, Nick?
Or is there actual risk, danger, or difficulty that could arise from using fresh (non-stale) coffee to make espresso?
I keep writing things and then back-spacing now. I don't know what to say. I've presented a lot of compelling evidence to you. I didn't make this decision arbitrarily- I've tried our espresso every day from a few seconds out of the roaster to two weeks out. In my opinion, it's just not very good after 7 days. It looks like an intelligent conversation about this is not going to happen. We're going to have to agree to disagree. I understand that I like super fresh coffee. A lot of people (almost everyone who drinks coffee, in fact) like coffee that I consider stale, rancid, and undrinkable.
Nick, if you and your buds that run the SCAA have decided for whatever reasons that older coffee is better for espresso, then I guess that's the road the SCAA will go down. Set your standards there. But I'm not going to follow that road. I simply choose not to because I can't drink coffee that old and I wouldn't offer it to my customers either.
If we decide to compete next year (and I think we will), we'll come with 10-12 day old single-origin espresso and try to abide within the very small box that is the 3rd wave barista guild.
If you change your mind and decide you want to debate, let me know.
Sorry we couldn't make it to SCAA in Atlanta. Times are tough for little fellers like us.
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