Coffee Bean Beginner Q&A: How to Tell if Coffee Beans Are Fresh? Coffee Bean Introduction Zhihu

Beginner's Coffee Beans

Everyone enjoys freshly roasted, freshly ground, and freshly brewed coffee because fresh coffee has a richer aroma and more complex flavors.

When coffee is first picked and processed, green coffee beans contain the most original and full-bodied rich flavors of coffee, but without roasting, these flavors and aromas cannot be released. It is the magical process of roasting that gives coffee its captivating chocolate, caramel, floral, and fruity aromas.

Once green coffee beans enter the high-temperature roaster, a series of wonderful chemical reactions occur between the minerals, carbohydrates, acids, proteins, oils, water, and caffeine, ultimately bringing us irresistible rich aromas and mellow flavors.

Unfortunately, like other organic products, coffee deteriorates quickly. Once roasted coffee beans are exposed to air, their aroma and flavor gradually diminish. This is why most roasters recommend purchasing freshly roasted coffee beans, because only fresh coffee can bring you the ultimate coffee experience.

But how exactly can we as ordinary consumers determine whether coffee is fresh?

Today, we'll bring you 3 major secrets to determine the freshness of beginner coffee beans.

1. Appearance with Luster

Coffee is rich in oils, acids, and other organic chemical substances, which people collectively call "soluble substances." It is these soluble substances that bring coffee incredibly rich flavors and aromas.

During the coffee roasting process, high temperatures evaporate the water inside the beans, thereby bringing out the aromatic substances wrapped within. These substances adhere to the surface of coffee beans in the form of oils. The longer they are exposed to air, the more these oils volatilize, and the luster of coffee beans becomes increasingly dull.

Although different coffee beans produce varying amounts of oil, the luster of coffee beans can still be one of our important criteria for judging their freshness. Freshly roasted coffee beans should not be dull, lusterless, or grayish in color.

Decaffeinated coffee, due to its special processing method, will present a matte color.

2. Packaging with One-way Degassing Valve

After roasting, once coffee beans cool, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide. This gas emission process continues for days or weeks. In the first few days after roasting, carbon dioxide is released extremely quickly, so people need to use packaging bags with one-way degassing valves to allow carbon dioxide to be discharged smoothly, otherwise the packaging bags would burst.

If you find that the packaging doesn't have a degassing valve, then it's possible that what's inside isn't freshly roasted coffee.

3. Testing Freshness with a Plastic Bag

If you purchase unpackaged bulk coffee, please place the coffee beans in a sealable plastic bag and squeeze out the air inside, leaving it overnight.

If the coffee is fresh, the plastic bag will be filled with carbon dioxide the next day and become inflated.

If it's not fresh enough, the plastic bag will still be flat. Unfortunately, what you purchased is not freshly roasted coffee.

Recommended Beginner Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted beginner coffee beans: Yirgacheffe coffee, Panama Butterfly coffee, Indonesian Mandheling coffee, etc., all have full guarantees in terms of brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high cost-performance - a half-pound (227 grams) package costs only about 80-90 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams per pour-over coffee, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each single-origin coffee costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to cafés selling coffee for dozens of yuan per cup, this is extremely cost-effective.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473