Everyone in specialty coffee talks about freshness. Very few define it precisely. The word is used to sell coffee roasted three weeks ago, coffee that has been sitting in a warehouse, coffee that was fresh when it left the roastery but arrived stale because nobody thought about transit time. We want to be more specific.
What Happens After Roasting
Roasting drives moisture out of the bean and creates CO₂ as a byproduct of the Maillard reactions and caramelisation that develop flavour. For the first 24 to 48 hours after roasting, the bean is still outgassing significant quantities of CO₂. This is why fresh-roasted coffee blooms aggressively when you pour hot water over it — the gas escaping from the bean creates the characteristic domed expansion.
During this outgassing phase, the coffee is not at its best for brewing. The CO₂ interferes with extraction — it creates channels in the coffee bed and prevents even water contact with the grounds. Espresso pulled too fresh will be under-extracted, gassy, and lack the sweetness that develops once the bean has settled.
The Optimal Window
Based on our own cupping data, collected across several hundred roast sessions over four years, the optimal window for filter coffee is between day 7 and day 28 post-roast. For espresso, day 10 to day 35. Outside these windows the coffee is either still outgassing (too soon) or oxidising (too late).
This is why we roast to order and dispatch within 48 hours. If you receive your coffee on day 3 post-roast, you have the full optimal window ahead of you. If you receive it on day 21, you have a week of peak brewing remaining — still excellent, but we would rather you had more.
What Most Roasters Get Wrong
The most common mistake is conflating roast date with purchase date. A roastery that roasts in large batches will often have coffee sitting in a warehouse for two or three weeks before it is purchased. By the time it reaches the customer and they brew the last of the bag, the coffee may be six or seven weeks post-roast — well outside the optimal window.
We roast after you order. Not before. The inefficiency this creates in our operation is real and we accept it. The alternative is to compromise on the one thing we care most about.