Have you ever sipped a cup of coffee and thought "this used to taste better"? We've all been there. You might there right now. Please, for your tongue's sake and for your enjoyment's sake, get some fresh beans and start liking your joe again! Here are five things to change to get better, fresher coffee:
1. Stop buying coffee from the grocery store, instead buy from a coffee roaster or cafe
The nature of the supermarket industry creates a major delay between roast and brew. By the time it is roasted and packaged, then shipped from one warehouse to another, then arriving at the supermarket, then sitting on the shelf, then purchased by you, then finally consumed, we are talking about multiple weeks to multiple months. Think of coffee like a baked good more than like a can of soup. Baked goods like bread, donuts, pastries will all quickly stale. Coffee has been roasted. The roasting process changes the bean at a chemical level. You could keep a package of uncooked noodles in your pantry for months, but once they have been boiled, you want to eat them soon after. It is the same with coffee, unroasted green coffee can be stored for a long time but after roasting them, you want to brew and drink within days, not weeks. When you buy coffee from the grocery store, they are almost certainly staling before you even open the bag.
Instead of the grocer, switch to a local coffee roastery or coffee shop. The roastery will be the freshest beans available to you. A cafe will have far fresher beans that the supermarket.
2. Stop buying a tub-o-coffee, instead buy small batches
The first cup of coffee from a large can of coffee can be decent. But by the last cup of coffee brewed from that can, the drink has lost its aroma and sweet taste. This is because of oxygen. While good for your lungs, oxygen is harmful to food. Think of it like rust on iron or tarnish on silver; oxygen is really caustic to food. Oxygen is what stales bread; it stales coffee as well. It breaks down chemicals in the coffee that contribute to aroma, such as methanethiol - a sulfur compound that contributes to the sweet smell of fresh coffee. When you buy a big batch, you are dooming yourself to a bad ending even if it is a happy start.
Instead buy a smaller batch that you can drink within 10-14 days after buying it. For some drinkers, this may mean a one-pound bag instead of your usual 5-pound tub. For lighter drinkers, it may be better to buy a half-pound bag.
3. Stop buying pre-ground, instead invest in your first coffee grinder
Since oxygen is enemy #1, it makes sense that oxygen can affect more of the coffee after its ground than before its ground. There is just more surface area for the oxygen to go after when the coffee is many little pieces rather than one larger bean. If you buy whole bean and grind just before brewing, you are saving those precious chemicals and solubles that would dissipate into the air if the beans were pre-ground.
We have a couple of recommendations for grinders on our Equipment Recommendations page. We do not sell equipment, but these are our recommendations of what and where to buy.
4. Stop buying a mystery, instead look for transparency in the labeling
Picking up a package of coffee, notice what the labeling says and does not say. Ideally, you are looking for a package that includes a roast date. Coffee is at its prime between 4-10 days after roasting. Before four days, it is still de-gassing carbon dioxide from the roasting process. After ten days, it slowly starts to stale. After 21 days, I would recommend not drinking it. When the packaging does not include a roast date, you can talk to the shop owner for some indication of how fresh the beans are.
At Joe by Schmo Coffee, our business model is roast-to-order. We only roast after you place your order. By the time it arrives at your house, it is at the peak of freshness.
5. Stop refrigerating or freezing coffee, instead buy only what you can use in the next two weeks
If you want to treat your coffee like leftovers, you are going to get leftover-quality coffee. If you want fresh coffee, again, just buy what you expect to use within 14 days of purchase.