8-100 Ringwood Drive, Stouffville, ON, L4A 1A9
Tues-Sat 9am-4pm
This is one of the most frequently asked questions we get.
First, let’s talk about freshness for coffee. As a specialty coffee roaster, our standard of freshness starts the clock ticking on the day the coffee is roasted and packed into our special bags. Our goal is to get the coffee into your hands within 2 weeks of roasting, whether you purchase it at the roastery, at a cafe, or at a specialty grocer.
We know from experience that a household will go through a 400g retail bag of coffee in 2 weeks (on average). With this time frame in mind, whole bean coffee that is ground fresh for each serving is perfectly fine in the bag it comes in.
In fact, this bag has oxygen and moisture barriers built in, so it’s the best container for it. The whole beans will be great stored in there easily for 4+ weeks. After that time, a slow and slight fall off in aromatics, and a loss of vibrancy in flavour may be noticed, depending on your sensitivity.
For those who need to store coffee longer, we suggest splitting the bag into smaller portions, putting into mason jars or freezer bags, and storing in the deep freezer. Removing the smaller portions from the freezer as needed, let the coffee come up to room temperature before opening the container or bag. We do not recommend re-freezing or refrigerating coffee – ever.
The freshness window get drastically shorter once coffee is ground. If you have a grinder, grind the coffee immediately before brewing, if possible. The room filling aromatics of freshly ground, freshly roasted coffee will prime you system for action. After all, isn’t the smell of fresh ground coffee universally adorable?
If you do not have a grinder, we are prepared for you and will grind the coffee to your specific brewing type right at the point of sale. If you are not sure what the best grind for your brewer is, we can make the advice and recommendation for you. This is the main reason we don’t sell any pre-ground coffee. Plus, the fact that pre-ground coffee will already be stale in the bag by the time you buy it. By stale, I mean oxidized, bitter, and lacking in aromas!
It’s a fact the coffee which is distributed to mass market retailers cannot be freshly roasted. Typically it’s anywhere from 3 months to 1 year old as you find it on the shelf. If you find it on sale, you may find it’s approaching the sell by date. Coffee which is distributed to grocery stores typically has a best before date of at least a year from the date of manufacture. If you see a best before which has 3 months to go, you can pretty much infer that this coffee was roasted at least 9 months ago. Even sealed in a bag, this coffee will have a flat aroma, and be heavily oxidized, meaning bitter.
Our retail partners receive coffee weekly. We roast the coffee to order, and typically deliver within 24 hours of packing. Your assurance of freshness!
