Roasting is what turns a green coffee seed into the brown, fragrant bean you brew. It is also the moment the clock starts. From then on, the aromas that make coffee taste like coffee slowly escape.
What happens after roasting
Roasting creates hundreds of aromatic compounds and fills the bean with carbon dioxide. Over the following days and weeks the gas escapes, oxygen gets in, and the aromatic oils begin to oxidise. The coffee does not become unsafe, but it becomes flat: less aroma, less sweetness and a dull, papery taste.
Beans versus powder
Grinding speeds everything up. Ground coffee has far more surface exposed to air than whole beans, so it loses its aroma much faster. Whole beans ground just before brewing will always taste fresher than powder ground weeks ago.
How to tell if coffee is fresh
- Look for a roast date, or buy from a roaster who roasts to order.
- Fresh beans smell strongly of coffee the moment you open the pack.
- When you pour hot water on fresh ground coffee, it swells and bubbles as gas escapes. Stale coffee sits flat.
How to buy fresh
Buy from a roaster, buy smaller packs more often, and store the coffee well. Our guide on how to store coffee beans and powder covers the details.
This is why Sundar Coffee roasts only after your order is placed and ships within a day of roasting. Nothing waits on a shelf. See our freshly roasted coffee beans and filter coffee powder.
