How is Drip Bag Coffee Made? How Long Can It Last? What is the Resting Period for Coffee Beans?

The Longest-Making Product at FrontStreet Coffee: Drip Coffee Bags

When it comes to the product that takes the longest to prepare at FrontStreet Coffee's store, it would have to be the drip coffee bags. Customers who have purchased drip coffee bags at our store have likely experienced this firsthand - after placing an order, there's always a short wait while FrontStreet Coffee grinds and prepares them fresh.

So here's the question: why does FrontStreet Coffee make such an "inefficient" decision? If we were like most shops and prepared the drip coffee bags in advance, we wouldn't need to go through such elaborate preparations (more on this at the end of the article), and we could also save customers' waiting time. So why not do that? While that sounds reasonable, the flavor period of drip coffee simply doesn't allow us to do so!

How Long is the Flavor Period of Drip Coffee?

Here, FrontStreet Coffee wants to share an important point: roasted coffee beans have a shelf life of up to one year! This means that within this year, when stored properly, coffee beans can be brewed and consumed (safely and without harm). However, it's important to know that "shelf life" and "flavor period" are not the same thing!

The "flavor period" refers to the time after coffee beans are roasted when they possess their fullest, richest flavors. Brewing and drinking them during this period allows you to experience the most comprehensive aromatic characteristics of the coffee - it can be considered the "peak period" for flavor expression. Its disadvantage, however, is that this time is too short! Compared to the shelf life, the flavor period is only about two months. Once beyond this point, it becomes difficult to experience the special flavors that the coffee carries. So, friends, please don't confuse shelf life with flavor period!

The above refers only to unground roasted coffee beans, not drip coffee. The flavor period of drip coffee is a quarter shorter than that of coffee beans, meaning just over a month! That's why FrontStreet Coffee insists on grinding and preparing them fresh, to provide customers with a better drinking experience.

Why Does Drip Coffee Have a Shorter Flavor Period?

Speaking of this, we must mention the flavor composition of coffee! The coffee flavors we experience mainly come from aromatic substances hidden within coffee beans, most of which have volatile characteristics. Therefore, from the moment coffee beans are roasted, these substances continuously evaporate and escape. However, because coffee beans remain whole and unground, the volatilization process is relatively slow!

Drip coffee, however, requires pre-grinding coffee beans into powder and then packaging them - and that's where the problem lies.

From the moment grinding begins, a large amount of volatile aroma is released as the coffee beans are crushed - this is why we smell such abundant aromas when grinding beans! Secondly, once coffee beans are ground into powder, the surface area exposed to air increases dramatically, causing the remaining aromatic substances within to accelerate their loss.

In other words, after grinding, due to the significant increase in surface area, aromatic substances dissipate much faster! Even with "preservation" methods like freezing or nitrogen flushing, these only slow down the loss of aromatic substances slightly, without making a significant difference. This is precisely why drip coffee needs to be ground and prepared fresh - the reason lies in the shortened flavor period caused by pre-grinding!

This is also why FrontStreet Coffee needs to go through such elaborate preparations every time we make drip coffee bags. A small drip coffee bag requires several people working together to prepare it, all to speed up the process and reduce the powder's exposure to air, extending the flavor period as much as possible! Therefore, friends, once you receive your drip coffee bags, it's best to consume them within a month.

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FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473