Can Coffee Be Too Fresh?

As coffee roasters, we pride ourselves on the freshness of our coffee, and it's sad to us when coffee has gone stale. As a matter of fact, freshness is one of our three pillars: 

Quality. Freshness. Flavor.

However when we're asked the question: "Can Coffee Be Too Fresh?" The surprising answer is yes. In this blog article we talk about what happens to coffee beans as they are roasted, and talk about the differences in resting/off-gassing for different roast levels, as well as how off-gassing for certain periods of time allows the coffee to reach it's peak flavor.

Coffee needs a little time after roasting to rest and off-gas before it reaches it's peak flavor. The amount of time needed will depend on the brew method and roast level of each particular coffee.

Espresso: The Case for Rest and Off-Gassing

When green coffee is roasted, gases mostly in the form of carbon dioxide (CO₂), become trapped inside the bean. After roasting, these gases are very active and leave the bean during the first few days. For espresso brewing, which is done at high pressure, too much trapped CO₂ can be bad for espresso extraction.

When an espresso shot is pulled, water is forced through finely ground coffee at high pressure. If there’s a high amount of gas still being released, it disrupts the flow of water, causing channeling (uneven extraction paths) and making it hard to pull a great shot. The result? You may see a huge, bubbly crema but taste sharp acidity, bitterness, or a hollow flavor lacking sweetness and body. In addition to channeling, you will sometimes see large amounts of coffee grinds backflow from the portafilter into the espresso group head, causing clogging. This is due to the fact that the coffee is ground so fine and the gas in addition to the high pressure of the water is causing a backup, and something needs to give so coffee sometimes will come out of the portafilter causing a mess and possibly clogging the group head.

For these reasons, most roasters recommend resting espresso beans for 7 to 14 days after roasting. This allows CO₂ to off-gass enough for the coffee to settle into its peak flavor. During this period, volatile aromatics will stabilize, sweetness develops, and the espresso becomes more predictable to dial in. For ligther roast coffees and coffees that are more dense you will find that a longer rest period, possibly 17 to 20 days works best.

In short: espresso that’s too fresh can look beautiful in the cup with creama, but could taste sour, flat, or generally unbalanced. 

Filter Coffee: Freshness and Peak Flavor

Filter brewing (pour-over, drip coffee, immersion, etc.) is less sensitive to high pressure brewing, so it handles freshly roasted coffee a bit more gracefully. However, that doesn’t mean “the fresher, the better” always applies.

With filter coffee, built-up CO₂ can still cause problems mainly by creating an uneven bloom and turbulence that pushes water away from parts of the coffee bed. The result is often under extraction: thin body, muted sweetness, a flat taste, or harsh acidity.

Filter coffee tends to hit its stride sooner than espresso. Many coffees show their best balance between 3 to 10 days after roasting depending on roast level and density of the coffee. Lighter roasts and dense, high elevation coffees usually need a few more days to really open up to achieve their full level of complexity. Darker roasted coffees can usually taste great in 2 to 4 days.

As the coffee rests, we tend to find greater sweetness, clarity, and complexity from our light and medium roasts. For home brewing, we encourage experimenting day by day to taste how your favorite coffee evolves over time to find that coffee's sweet spot.

Takeaway: Freshness and Patience

The idea that “fresh is always better” isn't quite true when it comes to coffee. Beans that are too fresh can taste unbalanced in a number of ways. Allowing your coffee a few days rest allows it to find a balance of sweetness, clarity, depth, and complexity.

So next time you pick up a bag of our freshly roasted coffee, resist the urge to brew it immediately. Let it rest. Your espresso will be smoother, your filter brews clearer, and your cup even more delicious! ☕