Understanding Bean Resting in 1 Minute! How Long Do Coffee Beans Need to Reach Their Optimal Flavor Peak?

Coffee Bean Degassing: A Essential Practice for Coffee Enthusiasts

Degassing coffee beans can be considered a "required course" for all coffee enthusiasts! However, FrontStreet Coffee has found that many beginners hold certain misconceptions about this concept. Not only that, but because different roasters recommend different degassing times—some suggest 4-7 days, others 7-14 days, and some even go as far as one month—many friends are confused about how long coffee beans should actually be degassed. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share with everyone the true purpose of degassing and how to determine when a coffee bean is properly degassed!

The Purpose of Degassing

First, we need to clearly understand that the main purpose of degassing is not to create more premium flavors in coffee! Many friends are often misled by statements like "this coffee bean is quite fresh, it will taste better after some degassing," believing that degassing can promote the formation of quality flavors. The formation of coffee flavors is primarily concentrated during the roasting stage! Because only during the roasting process can the chemical reactions driven by high temperatures allow the substances within the coffee beans to develop flavors extensively. Once roasting is complete and the coffee beans have fully cooled, the formation of flavors slows down accordingly.

From this point onward, coffee beans will continuously release gases from within, entering the degassing period, optimal flavor period... Although chemical reactions like oxidation occur during this process, they primarily degrade and diminish flavors rather than create new premium ones. The reason why properly degassed coffee beans can brew better-tasting coffee is because there's significantly less carbon dioxide inside the beans that hinders extraction, allowing us to dissolve flavor compounds more completely, resulting in more delicious coffee.

During the roasting process, the chemical reactions driven by high temperatures not only create aroma and taste in coffee beans but also promote the production of carbon dioxide. When this carbon dioxide is present, it affects the extraction of coffee beans. We can understand this as carbon dioxide dissolving out before the flavor compounds, with carbon dioxide being extracted first, followed by the flavor compounds. In most cases, we consistently use a fixed set of parameters to brew coffee beans. Assuming these brewing parameters are stable and the amount of dissolved substances is fixed, then the amount of carbon dioxide present will affect the quantity of flavor compounds we extract. When there's more carbon dioxide in the coffee beans, relatively fewer flavor compounds will be extracted.

Therefore, if we want our coffee to have richer and more prominent flavors, we need to reduce the carbon dioxide that affects extraction, thereby allowing more flavor compounds to dissolve. Degassing is a method to reduce carbon dioxide aside from brewing. Carbon dioxide in coffee beans continuously releases outward after roasting is complete. We simply need to let the coffee beans rest for a period of time to achieve the effect of reducing carbon dioxide, which is also the fundamental purpose of degassing. When carbon dioxide has been released to a level that doesn't affect the dissolution of flavor compounds, the coffee enters its optimal flavor period.

How Long Should Beans Be Degassed?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned, different merchants will have different degassing recommendations, with degassing periods ranging from 4 to 30 days. This is the result of different roasting methods. Different heat conduction methods, different roasting levels, and different roasting styles will cause variations in the carbon dioxide content and degassing speed of coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee will first discuss the impact caused by heat conduction methods. Currently, the mainstream coffee roasters are mainly of the following three types: direct fire, semi-direct fire, and hot air. The heat conduction method primarily affects the degassing speed of coffee beans: with similar roasting levels, direct-fire roasted coffee beans require the longest degassing time, followed by semi-direct fire, with hot air being the shortest. Then there's the roasting level of the coffee beans! The roasting level affects the amount of carbon dioxide accumulated during the roasting process. When the roast is darker, more carbon dioxide is generated, and vice versa.

Finally, there's the roasting style of the coffee beans! Just as we use different parameters and techniques when brewing coffee to bring out different characteristics, we can also use different parameter curves when roasting coffee to create different flavors! This also affects the degassing time of coffee. This is why each roaster's recommended degassing time is different—because different combinations of these three factors will create differences in the carbon dioxide content and degassing speed of coffee beans. Merchants typically provide a relatively conservative range, after all, no one can say for certain. So how can we know when a coffee bean is properly degassed?

It's quite simple: taste it! Only through tasting and sensory exploration can we understand the state of a bean. To know what constitutes a bean's peak period, we first need to know what it tastes like when it's not yet properly degassed! Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends that when you get your coffee beans, first check the roasting date, then starting from the fourth day after roasting (the first three days after roasting completion are the main carbon dioxide release period), brew a pot every 1-2 days to taste its flavor and compare it with the previous time.

With unchanged parameters, the coffee flavor should theoretically improve every day. But when you suddenly notice that the coffee flavor no longer shows improvement, it means the coffee beans have officially entered their optimal flavor period. We can then record this turning point, and when buying this or similar coffee beans in the future, we can follow this pattern to taste them directly within their optimal flavor range. Alternatively, before the optimal flavor period arrives, we can modify parameters based on the differences in previous flavors to enjoy the coffee at its peak earlier. For example, increasing water temperature slightly, extending the brewing time, and so on. Although this might also extract undesirable compounds~

Important Notice :

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