tealboy1 Senior Member Joined: 1 Jul 2008 Posts: 129 Location: Florida Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Starbuck Athena Barista Grinder: B Vario Vac Pot: Bodum Press Drip: Cuisinart but don't use
Posted Thu May 17, 2012, 12:24pm Subject: Fresh beans arrived today, can I use them before gassing?
I just rec'd a new bag of whole bean today. they were roasted Tuesday and are in a sealed bag. Should i fill my vario and let them sit for 3-4 days to "gas" or are they fine to use starting tomorrow morning? I am out of coffee, so rushing the process a bit but not sure what to expect if i don't gas for the typical (is it 4 days?).
Last, should I freeze the remaining immediately, or wait for them to gas for 4 days, then freeze? thank you
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,738 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Thu May 17, 2012, 2:07pm Subject: Re: Fresh beans arrived today, can I use them before gassing?
freezing question first. there are tons of articles to read, and I say that because the answer seems to be somewhat controversial. however, I freeze mine right away rather than let them continue to degas. I've never had an explosion in my freezer, so I really don't worry about that.
as far as using them after only two-three days of degassing, I think I would go ahead and do it, if in the same situation you are. Worst case scenario is...I can't really think of one.
Posted Thu May 17, 2012, 4:16pm Subject: Re: Fresh beans arrived today, can I use them before gassing?
A whole 12 oz bag of beans or 16? If 16 and I'm out of beans anyway and with 3 espresso's per day I'm out of beans again in 10-14 days so I don't freeze any. The bag does have a valve right? So they have been degassing.
If I freeze I tape over that valve. Then put that bag in a plastic bag and retape to freeze. I just taped over the valve one day last year, socked in freezer, and my extra pound of Kona beans ruined. I caught hell from my wife because she poo poohed me spending so much to begin with. Little extra work but I'm protected with extra insurance in future. Good luck.
Different beans peak at different ages for different uses. Most people now agree that freezing is fine, but also that (a) the freeze/thaw cycle ages the beans about a day and (b) it's quite possible that beans age a little faster once they've been frozen and thawed - or at the very least, less predictable in their aging compared to unfrozen coffee.
So the best advice I've seen is to wait until the beans are about two days from peak, then freeze them in small batches constituting a two- or three-day supply. When you thaw them, they will be right in peak range until they run out, and then you thaw another batch. Ball jars seem to be a favorite for this - inexpensive, tough, and compact - and a good size.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,738 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Fri May 18, 2012, 9:28am Subject: Re: Fresh beans arrived today, can I use them before gassing?
see what I mean...freezing is controversial!
Look up JasonBrandtLewis's post history and try to find one of his "freeze or not to freeze" replies. He provides a long list of links to discussions and articles written about freezing coffee beans including whether to, when to, how to, etc. Then you can decide for yourself based on all the data (which includes side by side expert taster cupping tests, btw).
TonyVan Senior Member Joined: 24 May 2010 Posts: 269 Location: Pacific Northwest Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: GS/3, La Pavoni Grinder: Macap M7K, Rocky Drip: Kone
Posted Fri May 18, 2012, 8:52pm Subject: Re: Fresh beans arrived today, can I use them before gassing?
Agreed - Jason puts together good stuff. Even if you disagree at the end, once you've gone through his collection you'll come out a lot smarter and with a lot more good information to work with.
Posted Tue May 22, 2012, 10:58am Subject: Re: Fresh beans arrived today, can I use them before gassing?
I was at a cupping and someone asked one of the Q graders about freezing coffee. His reply was that once it starts to thaw and water comes into contact with the bean, the brewing process has started, hence freezing beans was a bad idea. Seems to make sense to me.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 