[geeks] Coffee survey

[Dan Sikorski]

On 4/28/2010 12:58 PM, gsm at mendelson.com wrote:
> This is an informal coffee survey. I know that many of the people on this
> list are serious coffee drinkers. I wanted another opinion.

I'm late to the conversation, but as a self proclaimed fan of brewed 
beverages and coffee snob, I cannot let this topic go by without 
throwing in my two cents.

I can tell by unscientific observation that coffee releases gasses in 
the period of 1-3 days after roasting.  I get most of my coffee shipped 
to me from Intelligentsia on the day that it roasted and it is on my 
porch when i get home from work the next day.  I immediately take it 
inside and store it in airtight stoneware containers.  For the first few 
days, there is a noticeable pop as the seal of those containers are 
broken, indicating that the air pressure inside the container has 
changed.  After the first few days that no longer happens.  The best 
espresso shots that I have pulled at home have been with beans that were 
roasted 3-5 days before, but i'm nowhere near consistent enough to claim 
that the freshness of the beans was the primary factor in that, and i 
only make espresso on weekends.  Beans that are more than a month old do 
not make as good of espresso, there is less flavor and less crema when 
brewing, and i have to adjust the grind slightly to compensate for older 
beans.  Mind you, the difference in the first two weeks after roasting 
is minimal, but it is noticeable.

I usually order two pounds of coffee at a time, one pound of Black Cat 
for espresso and one pound of a single origin coffee for my weekday 
morning drip brewed coffee.  I only order whole bean, on the occasions 
that i have had preground coffee it simply is not as flavorful.  
Espresso is pretty sensitive to grind fineness and consistency, as the 
beans get older, i have to use a finer grind to compensate.  Drip 
brewing is not as sensitive, but the amount of "bloom" (the amount of 
foaming and expansion of the ground coffee when exposed to the hot 
water) varies depending on the freshness.

To answer your question:  Yes, I believe the claim that coffee is best a 
few days after roasting, and i have noticed that to be true.  That said, 
i would prefer coffee that was roasted yesterday to coffee that was 
roasted a month ago.  For me, ordering coffee is a matter of balancing 
freshness with shipping charges, ordering two pounds at a time offers 
savings on shipping and the coffee is still acceptable to me when it is 
a month after roasting.

I have never tried freezing my coffee, I have heard that it is 
beneficial for storing beans more than a couple weeks, but I try not to 
do that.

My brewing equipment is:
Rancilio Rocky Grinder
Rancilio Silvia v2 Espresso Machine with PID controller modification and 
v3 steam wand upgrade.
Technivorm Moccamaster KBT-741 drip brewer
Bodum French Press
generic stovetop moka pot

     -Dan Sikorski