The Origin Story of Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Autumn Cherry Coffee Beans - Is Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Autumn Cherry Coffee Delicious?

Every year during the Double 11 shopping festival, major coffee bean e-commerce platforms offer incredibly attractive discounts. Many of us couldn't resist and bought a large amount of coffee beans and drip coffee bags to serve as our daily "spiritual sustenance."

However, many people find themselves overwhelmed by the dazzling array of coffee bean options, unsure how to choose. While the discounts are tempting, we genuinely don't recommend stocking up on coffee beans. After all, coffee beans are a food that's best enjoyed fresh, and their optimal flavor period and preservation window are quite limited!

How to Choose Coffee Beans That Suit You?

Coffee flavors vary depending on the cultivation variety, climate and soil of the growing region, green bean processing method, and roast level. However, for newcomers to the coffee world, selecting beans based on this information alone can be quite challenging! When you're unfamiliar with coffee beans, you can make choices based on roast level and growing region.

If you enjoy bright acidity and fresh flavor profiles, choose coffee beans from African regions with light to medium roast levels, such as Ethiopia and Kenya. If you prefer less acidity with better coffee aroma, select beans from Central American regions with medium roast, like Colombia and Costa Rica. For those who want no acidity at all and a richer body, Asian region dark roast coffee beans are ideal, such as those from Indonesia and Yunnan.

How Long After Roasting Can Coffee Beans Be Brewed?

For coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee, freshly roasted beans often have a smoky flavor immediately after leaving the roaster. This is because coffee beans produce dense smoke during the roasting process. Despite having exhaust systems, some smoke gets "trapped" inside the beans along with the carbon dioxide produced during roasting. Freshly roasted coffee beans contain 2% carbon dioxide, which begins to release continuously 3 hours after roasting. While this carbon dioxide protects flavor compounds, it also affects coffee extraction.

Therefore, we recommend letting coffee beans rest in their original sealed packaging for 3-4 days after roasting (the degassing period) before brewing. This allows some carbon dioxide to escape through the one-way valve and carries away the smoky flavor. Additionally, carbon dioxide release creates pressure inside the packaging that's higher than atmospheric pressure, and this pressure helps aromatic compounds fuse with oils, bringing all aromatic substances inside the coffee beans to an easily extractable state. Of course, as the roast level increases, the resting time should be extended accordingly. Medium roast coffee beans can be rested for 5 days, while dark roast beans can be rested for 7 days.

How Long Can Coffee Beans Be Stored?

Although roasted coffee beans can be stored for up to a year in a cool, dry environment, the flavor compounds within them don't last that long! As carbon dioxide decreases in coffee beans, coffee flavors gradually escape without the protective barrier of CO2. When properly stored in a cool, dry place in sealed packaging, the escape rate of flavor compounds can be effectively slowed. FrontStreet Coffee suggests that coffee beans should be consumed within 30 days after the degassing period and once opened, as the flavor will only continue to diminish afterward.

Some people also ask how long unopened coffee beans can be stored before losing flavor. Through testing, FrontStreet Coffee has found that unopened coffee beans stored in a cool, dry environment retain some flavor for about 50 days, though the flavor profile becomes rather flat. When brewed about 5 days after opening, the coffee generally lacks significant flavor. Therefore, we still recommend brewing and enjoying coffee beans as soon as possible after purchase.

How Long Can Ground Coffee Be Stored?

After coffee is ground into fine particles, the increased surface area causes carbon dioxide to release more quickly, and coffee flavors escape faster. FrontStreet Coffee recommends consuming freshly roasted ground coffee within 20 days, preferably stored in completely sealed cans or bags rather than the original one-way valve packaging. If no other storage method is available, use tape to seal the one-way valve on the original packaging, which can slow down the rate at which carbon dioxide carries away coffee flavors.

How Long Can Drip Coffee Bags Be Stored?

Drip coffee bags, as pre-ground and individually packaged coffee, allow you to open one bag at a time. The flavor escape rate is slower than with a large bag of coffee grounds, but this doesn't mean they can be stored indefinitely just because of the individual sealed packaging. For FrontStreet Coffee's drip coffee bags, once fresh beans are ground and individually sealed, some carbon dioxide and flavor will inevitably escape during this process. This period essentially serves as the degassing time for the coffee, so drip coffee bags can be brewed immediately upon purchase without additional resting time. However, due to pre-grinding, FrontStreet Coffee recommends consuming drip coffee bags within 30 days of the roasting date.

Can Coffee Grounds Be Brewed a Second Time?

Coffee grounds can only be brewed once, regardless of the brewing method (including cold brew or drip bags). After one brewing cycle, most of the coffee flavor has already been extracted. A second brewing attempt would yield a weak, flavorless result with woody notes and bitterness (the taste of coffee grounds).

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473