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Freshness

How fresh are your beans?

Enter the roast date printed on the bag. You'll see whether the coffee is very fresh, at its peak or fading (and, for espresso, whether it's still resting), with the dates of its best window.

Brewing
Stored
Example bag · Day 10 Likely at its best Usually best Oct 17 – Oct 31 · best used by about Nov 9 Enter the roast date from your bag.
Usually bestStill goodFadingCO₂ in the beanshow it tastesroastday 7day 14day 21day 30day 4560+
The curves are illustrative: CO₂ leaves the beans quickly at first, and the cup usually tastes better once the beans have rested and degassed, then flatter as they go stale. Days in the freezer are left out.

Most coffees taste their best around now. Brew it.

The window is the same for an opened bag: none of the sources here gives it a separate one. Air does speed staling, so squeeze the air out and reseal; keep it cool, dark and dry, and out of the fridge.

These are typical windows, not a forecast for your bag: roast level, the bag (one-way valve, nitrogen flush) and storage can move them by days to weeks. Your taste is the final check.

How long do coffee beans last?

Whole beans taste best roughly one to three weeks after roasting, and are worth finishing within about a month. James Hoffmann's rule of thumb is to buy within two weeks of the roast date and use within a month. After that they don't go bad, but the aroma fades and cups turn flat.

Days since roastStageWhat to do
0–3Very freshFine to brew. In an open filter brewer most of the gas escapes as it brews (Rao), though Hoffmann finds coffee tastes better after two or three days.
4–6Opening upReady to brew; most coffees keep getting sweeter for a few more days.
7–21Likely at its bestMost coffees taste their best around now. Brew it.
22–30Probably still goodTypically past its best but still good. Finish it soon, or freeze what you won't use.
31–59Likely fadingAroma usually fades by now. Taste it: if it's dull, brew a little finer or hotter, and buy fresher next time.
60+Likely staleProbably flat by now. Taste it: if it's dull or papery, it's still fine for cold brew or baking.

Filter coffee timings. For espresso, give the beans a few more days of rest: in a shot the gas in very fresh beans pushes back against the water. The boundaries after a month are our guide, not a rule.

Why fresh beans need a rest

Roasting fills the beans with carbon dioxide, which leaves quickly in the first few days and then more slowly. Resting matters most for espresso: in Scott Rao's account, the gas pushes back against the water flowing through the puck, so very fresh beans need a coarser grind and extract less. In an open filter brewer most of the gas escapes into the air above the slurry, and Rao finds it doesn't significantly change extraction or flavor; James Hoffmann still thinks coffee tastes better two or three days after roasting than straight away. After that, aroma compounds slowly escape and oils oxidize, which is why beans peak and then fade. Fresh beans don't look oily; very oily beans are often old or very dark.

How to store coffee

Related guides

Sources