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NERD'S GUIDE TO BUYING GREAT COFFEE — Transcript

by Lance Hedrick · 6,319 words · 882 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00what's up everyone Lance Hedrick here
0:01and today I'm going to go over a topic
0:04that many have requested over the past
0:06couple of years how to buy coffee
0:11[Music]
0:18now a big thing on this channel is
0:20pushing more and more people to
0:22Specialty coffee what is specialty
0:23coffee it's that coffee that grades
0:25above an 80 on a scale of zero to 100
0:28and accounts for about six to seven
0:30percent of all the coffee grown in the
0:32world typically with these higher scores
0:35are better at agricultural practices
0:37more sustainable practices
0:39Etc so these are really high quality
0:42much more sustainable coffees that
0:45typically the producers are getting paid
0:46a little bit more in order to have a
0:49more more of a living wage now to get my
0:51biases out here right at the beginning I
0:53do work for a big specialty Roastery
0:55called Onyx Coffee lab now if you'll
0:57notice I don't have any Onyx on this
0:59table I won't be talking about Onyx and
1:02I also do not have any links Below in
1:04the caption now in my video today I will
1:06be focusing on how to buy especially
1:08coffee of course A lot of these tips
1:10will translate to non-specialty but for
1:13the most part I will be relying on
1:15specialty James Hoffman has made a video
1:17that I'll link below a couple of years
1:19back on a similar thing a guide to
1:21buying coffees and he actually touches
1:23on how to buy Supermarket coffee and
1:25commodity coffee and things like that
1:26with best practices there of course some
1:29of what I say today will be applicable
1:31but not all of it everything I'm going
1:33to say in this video is our broad
1:34generalizations to help you demystify
1:37the process of finding the right being
1:39for you and it's going to be a series of
1:41you know trial and error trial and error
1:43but this hopefully will just give you a
1:45guideline when we look at buying coffee
1:46when we're unfamiliar with what coffee
1:48we want to buy the biggest things we
1:50need to be looking at we need to look at
1:52origin we need to look at variety we
1:55need to look at process we need to look
1:57at roast level roast date and ideally
2:00harvest date origin in the past few
2:03years origin has become less and less of
2:06an important thing to look at now the
2:08reason I say that before you get you
2:10know off in a tizzy is because of the
2:12Intensive processing that has
2:14accompanied the evolutions of coffee so
2:16nowadays we have all these different
2:17types of yeast fermentation processes
2:20and all these confusing words that just
2:23are essentially saying how they get the
2:24Cherry uh deep pulped so how are we
2:27getting that seed out what effect is it
2:29having what is the fermentation going on
2:31is it is it a low oxygen whoosh whoosh
2:34or is it day an anaerobic natural or is
2:36it a great co-ferment whatever it is all
2:39of these crazy type of processings they
2:42tend to change the beans characteristics
2:44so much that it might not be
2:46recognizable to origin that's not 100
2:48the case and it's definitely not all of
2:50the time but it does allow say some sort
2:54of crazy processed Columbia coffee to
2:56taste like some sort of Ethiopia coffee
2:58origin doesn't matter as much today as
3:00it did in the past it still matters but
3:03not as much yes a washed Brazilian
3:06versus a washed Ethiopia versus a washed
3:08Columbia most any experienced taster are
3:10going to be able to place those into
3:12their proper Origins if you're someone
3:13that is looking for a more fruity coffee
3:15and we're speaking strictly of origin
3:18right now looking for a more fruity
3:20coffee floral coffee something that's
3:22more acidic then I would recommend
3:23looking at ethiopias or Kenya coffees or
3:26something from Africa for the most part
3:28those tend to across the board have
3:31those characteristics now of course
3:33that's not to say things from El
3:35Salvador and Costa Rica and Panama don't
3:37have those characteristics they
3:39absolutely do especially Panama since
3:42the Advent of the gesha or really the
3:43discovery of the Geisha and the pushing
3:45of the Geisha has really become known
3:47for all these different characteristics
3:48but if you're looking at just normal
3:51priced coffees that are specialty
3:53coffees then I would say if there's an
3:55Ethiopia and there's a Costa Rica and
3:58there is a Panama on the menu and you're
4:00someone that wants floral and vibrant
4:02and bright then I would say like go for
4:04that Ethiopia I want to be very clear on
4:06this because I don't want to be
4:06offending anybody especially from
4:08producing countries but historically
4:10Brazilian coffees have been known as
4:12being chocolatey and peanutty coffees
4:14from Costa Rica have been known to be
4:17kind of fruit fruity and chocolatey
4:19coffees from Kenya have known to be you
4:22know tart citric and floral similar with
4:25Ethiopia and then coffees from like
4:26Indonesia or Papua New Guinea have have
4:29this kind of understanding of being
4:30earthy these are kind of broad
4:32generalizations of what you might expect
4:34from these different Origins Kenya's
4:37burundi's or ugandans all of these tend
4:40to be much more fruity now when we're
4:42looking at chocolate and you have Mexico
4:43and Nicaragua you have Colombia
4:45depending on you know where it's from
4:47and you have a Sumatra looking at origin
4:50and trying to decide what you tend to
4:52prefer based off of that can be a
4:55helpful starting position variety
4:57variety do have you know special
4:58characteristics about them but when you
5:00take into account terroir when you take
5:02into account processing when you take
5:04into account roast level
5:06it becomes a lot more difficult to
5:08really be able to distinguish between
5:09the different varieties unless it's a
5:11really special variety they're kind of
5:12like cheaper varieties you know more
5:15resilient coffees that are easier to
5:16grow they take less intensive labor not
5:19saying that they're easy but things like
5:21katore or Castillo or things like that
5:23heirloom and Ethiopia which is kind of
5:26just a hodgepodge of multiple different
5:28varieties that we're not really sure
5:29about these can be a little bit more
5:30difficult to really differentiate on the
5:33cupping table but when you have things
5:34like a gesha or a seizure or sl28 sl34
5:38when you have something like pacamata
5:40these tend to stand out a little bit
5:42more and they should be treated with
5:44kind of some caution when you're buying
5:46now one that I'm sure you have heard of
5:48and have scratched your head wondering
5:49why the price is so high is the gesha
5:51varietal I have one right here takesha
5:54this is from Bolivia I helped a
5:55competitor use this in the world Brewers
5:57Cup championship last year but this is
5:59part of the Geisha variety now what
6:02makes it so special is a difficult to
6:04grow and nurture and maintain plant and
6:07so it takes a bit more labor in order to
6:09maintain the flowering of it as well as
6:12the cherrying of it as well as the
6:14processing picking and everything of it
6:15it's just a much more expensive plant to
6:17cultivate and to process essentially it
6:20produces a really floral and citric cup
6:23now that is kind of what they're known
6:25for is incredibly floral coffees so
6:28giving you something that is a lot more
6:29nuanced and a lot more dainty on the
6:32palette that is almost tealight this is
6:34something that really kind of bursts on
6:35the scene around two decades ago what
6:37and it started to really fetch high
6:39prices and it started kind of in Central
6:41America South America around Panama you
6:44started to really get these really
6:46expensive guesses that were overtaking
6:48the scene because it was providing an
6:50experience that was unmatched
6:52essentially at the time now of course
6:54there are people who are able to
6:55replicate some of those experiences with
6:57other coffees but the Geisha still kind
6:59of Reigns Supreme in it and it kind of
7:01in its recognition of what it's able to
7:03do and so still to this day if you find
7:06a really nice it is absolutely worth
7:08getting but it is definitely turned into
7:11a marketing Ploy having a geisha on your
7:14roster is just like
7:16salivating for a lot of coffee companies
7:18they're like oh it's a guess I must get
7:20it but the fact of the matter is is not
7:22every guess is good A lot of them are
7:23really not good at all there's a big
7:25debate on which one it is historically
7:27but we won't get into that but I just
7:30wanted to you know clear that up if
7:31you're like always pronouncing it weird
7:32there's there's people get with gas show
7:34people Geisha anyway you have the cedra
7:37variety which is just Spanish for cider
7:39it's Ecuadorian and based it's kind of
7:41long and pointy and it has a very
7:42intense malic acidity about it which it
7:44can be really really nice then of course
7:46the other ones that I kind of mentioned
7:47were sl28 sl34 these were man-made
7:50varieties in Scott Labs which uh is now
7:53in Kenya but the these these also give
7:56off their own type of intense fruit
7:58flavors pakamura these tend to not age
8:01super well so if you're getting a pack
8:03of Maro you want to get one that's kind
8:04of Fresh Harvest which we're going to
8:06get into here in a second but pack of
8:08Mars can either be fantastic and they
8:10tend to be really great when they're
8:11really fresh or they can be absolutely
8:13awful and just taste like peanuts the
8:15other one I like to point out is
8:16peaberry now peaberry is not actually a
8:19variety it is essentially a mutation
8:21that occurs in coffee cherries so
8:24typically in a coffee Cherry you have
8:26two seeds two beans that are facing each
8:28other okay and a pea Berry they're kind
8:31of morphed into one and it's really
8:32really small it's supposed to be higher
8:34density of sugar typically you really
8:36want these pea berries kind of in your
8:38coffee because it can Spike some of the
8:39sweetness or the perceived sweetness
8:41they can happen in any coffee but
8:43typically in Kenya they happen quite
8:44often and they'll sort out the Pea
8:46berries and sell lots of pea berries you
8:48have a lot of farmers that will put
8:50their coffees together they're Lots
8:52together and so it's a mixture of
8:53different different varieties ruiru
8:56bhatian sl28 and sl34 these are the four
9:00main ones you're going to see out of
9:01Kenya then in Ethiopia you have like
9:03Ethiopian land race but you also have
9:05heirloom and because there are so many
9:07unknown varieties in Ethiopia
9:10they just kind of say heirloom you have
9:11different you know variations or
9:13mutations of different varieties so with
9:15bourbon you have like a pink bourbon you
9:17have a red butter bone with cats white
9:19you have yellow cats whye but they all
9:22kind of give similar tastes in that cup
9:25so as you're tasting through make note
9:26of the variety and maybe you'll see a
9:28trend of what you tend to prefer maybe
9:30you are obsessed with gesha and you just
9:32sorry you're going to be broke for the
9:34rest of your life or maybe you really
9:35really enjoy the different castillos and
9:37catores from Central America or maybe
9:39you love papamara regardless of harvest
9:42day and that's great these are things
9:43that you can keep note of take note of
9:45so that when you're buying coffee you
9:46take a look what's the variety hey I dig
9:49that variety let's see if I like it from
9:50this roaster from this origin Etc I like
9:52to see Roasters that are transparent in
9:54showing what they're paying so that I
9:56know that where my money is going is you
9:59know going towards maybe a more ethical
10:01purchasing of the coffee than otherwise
10:03could be I know that there are a lot of
10:05people who disagree with that in my time
10:07in coffee I found this to be a very
10:08helpful practice and it's something that
10:10I look for in Roasters is transparency
10:12the processing method there's too many
10:14different points and variables in order
10:16for us to be overly specific if you see
10:18something with washed we can expect
10:20something that's more clean or tame now
10:22what does clean even mean that just
10:25means like the absence of like dirtiness
10:27or earthiness or discombobulated flavors
10:30essentially so something that is much
10:32more streamlined and more held together
10:35with a lot more structure you see a bag
10:37of coffee it says washed processor it
10:39says just washed Ethiopia yoga Chef
10:41something like that then you know it's
10:43going to be a little bit more controlled
10:45in its presentation it's going to have
10:46more structure and be more fortified so
10:48when you taste it it's not going to be
10:50like a blast in your face it's going to
10:52be very refined it'll probably lean more
10:54towards florals and you're going to have
10:56just a much more the word I keep coming
10:57back to a structured experience then of
11:00course you have what I call just
11:01alternative processing that's pretty
11:02much everything else different levels of
11:04intensity when it comes to these
11:06alternative processing of course the
11:08most tame would be something like a
11:09money process honey processes when they
11:12just pulp the coffee so just you put the
11:14Cherry through a deep pulper it's
11:16typically like two rolls and they kind
11:18of go through and the pressure pops out
11:20that seed and the mucilage that's stuck
11:22around it so I actually have a tattoo
11:23here to kind of demonstrate it you have
11:25the skin on the outside and then there's
11:26a layer here of mucilage that mucilage
11:29intact the amount intact kind of
11:30dictates that that level now you don't
11:32see as much of these black yellow red
11:34Honeys anymore because processing has
11:36been kind of overtaken by more advanced
11:38methods but those are something to be
11:40aware of they tend to straddle the line
11:42of naturally processed coffees and
11:43washed they tend to be more clean
11:46because they aren't fermenting and dry
11:48rotting in the Sun as much as Naturals
11:49that's something that would be kind of
11:51from the cleanest and most structured it
11:53would be a you know a step down from
11:55washed then you have just natural which
11:57is the oldest standing way of processing
11:59coffee and this is just you pick those
12:00cherries and you toss them out on
12:02concrete or on a dry raised bed and you
12:04let it just firm it naturally but with
12:06occasional raking in order for evenness
12:08of that fermentation but and for the
12:10most part it's just letting nature do
12:12what it does best and and it just
12:14ferments and rots off of that seed
12:16because of the way that this is being
12:18processed you tend to have a lot more
12:20funky fruity flavors imparted on the
12:22seed itself so that through the roasting
12:24process you have a more loud and vibrant
12:26notes now this is going to entail like
12:29more perceived acidity it likely has a
12:31bigger body but it's probably going to
12:33be a bit easier to extract so I would
12:35not you know push it as hard to say like
12:37a washed coffee and you're overall gonna
12:40get more vibrant notes more in your face
12:42it's going to be that kind when you
12:44grind it it's like wow someone drinking
12:45wine near me or is someone you know
12:47cutting open a fruit very fruity natural
12:50coffees are known for being like very
12:52fruity very intense very very aromatic
12:54then of course we go into the more
12:57nuanced processings and that would be
12:59things like Carbonic maceration which
13:01wine drinkers are going to understand
13:02that process because it's very common in
13:04wine you have anaerobic which is just
13:07depleting oxygen from the environment
13:08you have lactic processing which is also
13:11depleting oxygen but putting it at a
13:13temperature so that bacteria which
13:14produces lactic acid is kind of the
13:16focus of the fermentation and this kind
13:18of highlights yogurty and tropical
13:20fruits you have all these different kind
13:22of processes that are going to push
13:23different flavors of course they're not
13:25always going to act the same way lactic
13:27processed coffees won't always taste
13:29tropical fruity so you can't look at a
13:31bag say lactic Lance said tropical fruit
13:32that sounds delicious buy it boom no
13:35these are just generalizations and what
13:37should be like what is kind of the goal
13:39of these different types of processings
13:41when you're looking at these bags take
13:43into account the process if you're
13:45someone that wants to be experimental
13:46and you want something wild then if you
13:49see something other than natural honey
13:50or washed that might be for you this bag
13:53of coffee it says we have anaerobic
13:55washed yes this will still be kind of a
13:58clean structured coffee they've
13:59introduced an anaerobic environment into
14:01the processing itself which allows for a
14:04more intensive fermentation than
14:05otherwise would be allowed in standard
14:07wash processing they take those cherries
14:10they pulp them they put them in a tiled
14:11tub that sits outside so you have
14:13varying amounts of fermentation from top
14:16to bottom depending on the exposure to
14:18oxygen but in this it's an alternative
14:20process so it's going to have a bit more
14:22oomph about it if that makes any sense
14:24this one right here by Bluebird this is
14:27the tea oxidator process now this is one
14:30that is only observed at Finca Soledad
14:33in Ecuador by Pepe I've got a video of
14:36Pepe right here where he talks about
14:37that process in depth but this is also a
14:40style of washed process so it's going to
14:42be a very clean cup but for the most
14:44part it's going to be more vibrant than
14:46if it were to just passed through a
14:48washed process so there's actually an
14:49interesting paper that came out a few
14:51years ago saying that about 60 percent
14:54of all flavor from coffee comes directly
14:57from the processing method if I can find
14:59that I'll link that Below in the caption
15:01for you to check out it's a big read
15:03very long but worth it if you're a nerd
15:06like that these processing methods have
15:08a massive effect even more arguably to
15:10this author more so than terroir which
15:13makes sense whenever you think about the
15:15fact that I've you know I've hosted
15:16cuppings before where I put a lactic
15:18processed coffee on the table from
15:20Colombia and people assumed blindly that
15:22it was an Ethiopia natural which that
15:24shouldn't really be surprising with all
15:25the advancements in agriculture Agronomy
15:28Etc in the past few years processing has
15:30taken kind of a front seat so whenever
15:32you're looking at coffees make sure
15:33you're paying attention to that process
15:36method if you're not adventurous if you
15:38don't want that bang in your face I
15:40would stick with washed if you're not
15:41wanting to potentially have an earthy or
15:44muddy or dirty coffee I know a lot of
15:46people don't like that word but the word
15:48is just kind of referring to really
15:50Blended flavors things that taste kind
15:52of like funky that don't really have
15:54again much structure to it and and
15:57tastes kind of like honestly like the
16:00soil that it came from well sometimes
16:02these alternative processing especially
16:03Naturals that have been just sitting in
16:05the sun can taste like that if you're
16:07experimental a lot of times it's worth
16:09it because you can get some absolute
16:11bangers when they're done well roast
16:14level now this is a very difficult topic
16:18to talk about because around the world
16:20levels of roast are talked about so
16:23polarizingly differently if you go to
16:25Starbucks for instance and you order
16:27their light roast they're blonde roast
16:28what they're offering you is light for
16:30them it's very light that's like
16:32uncharacteristically light for them but
16:34if you go to say a more specially style
16:36shop or like a third wave shop and you
16:38order a lightly roasted coffee it's
16:40going to be 10 times lighter like the
16:43darkest roasted coffee at a lot of these
16:44shops will be lighter than Starbucks
16:46blonde roast so you have a big
16:48difference around the world in the
16:50vernacular in the usage the adaptation
16:52of this vernacular when you're looking
16:53at different brands if you're at a
16:55supermarket if you're at a coffee shop
16:56if you're buying online that everyone is
16:58kind of treating it differently which is
17:00kind of stinky but you know we don't
17:03really have a way right now to kind of
17:05universalize what it is now there are
17:07some people who argue that talking about
17:09density is the best way to universalize
17:11the way we discuss roast level some
17:13people utilize What's called the agtron
17:15which is a machine that you grind up
17:18coffee and you put it on this color
17:19reader and it gives you a number that
17:22correlates to a system where you kind of
17:24kind of understand oh this is you know
17:26very light this is kind of dark Etc so
17:29with those you have Nordic coffees tend
17:32to be over 100 around 110 120 and so
17:35that's like really really light but you
17:37still have specialty Roasters that roast
17:39in the 60s and 80s typically with
17:41commodity are down to like 30 and 40.
17:43agtron can be a helpful way but they're
17:45very expensive gadgets to buy and most
17:47Roasters just don't have them so they
17:49rely on their own perception of is this
17:52light or dark but of course that's
17:53relegated to their own experience just
17:56as looking at origin and processing is
17:58not the end-all be-all this also is not
18:00going to help help a ton if you're at a
18:02place and there are three options once
18:04as light one says medium one says dark
18:05and you need a bag of coffee then it can
18:07be a good indicator so if you're someone
18:09that enjoys brighter coffees if you're
18:11someone that hopes to have some
18:12florality in your coffee or some sort of
18:14fruitiness then light is kind of the way
18:16to go if you're someone that enjoys
18:18deeper sweetness maybe like brown sugar
18:20maybe you don't want as much acidity but
18:23you like to be able to find some if
18:24you're really looking then medium might
18:26be good for you if you're someone that
18:28really likes that tobacco Smoky dark
18:30chocolate you know kind of caramelly
18:33coffee then dark roast might be for you
18:35and all of them are okay it just depends
18:37on your own personal preferences there
18:40are some Roasters that will use a
18:41spectrum from traditional to Modern or
18:43something along those lines they're
18:44trying to depart from this light to dark
18:46dichotomy which is very confusing and
18:49isn't super helpful and they're going
18:51into this coffee is more on the
18:52traditional side which means it's more
18:54so going to replicate a traditional cup
18:56of coffee so that dark chocolate the
18:58bitterness Etc this cup is more modern
19:01which means it'll be more vibrant more
19:03fruity more floral more intense there
19:05are different ways of discussing these
19:07without having to rely on roast level
19:09because in all honesty roast level
19:11doesn't always exactly dictate what that
19:13cup experience will be I have been in
19:15the competition scene for years helping
19:17competitors coaching competitors and
19:18competing myself and I've had some of
19:21the brightest most acidic coffees you
19:23can buy and more times than not these
19:25coffees are roasted pretty Darkly
19:27sometimes these competition beans will
19:29begin to surface some oils on them after
19:31a couple of weeks meaning they've been
19:32roasted pretty dark but that roast level
19:35isn't correlating to the flavor and it's
19:37because a lot of times these more
19:39intensely processed coffees just roast a
19:41little differently and you're still
19:43getting all that vibrancy all of that
19:45brightness in this darker roasted coffee
19:48than you do in lighter roasted other
19:51coffees so if you had say a lightly
19:53roasted Brazil versus a medium roasted
19:55natural Costa Rica Los lajas for
19:57instance that Costa Rica is going to
19:59have a lot more into intensity and
20:01punchiness about it than that washed
20:03Brazil regardless of which one's lighter
20:05or darker you have to kind of have a
20:06base understanding of each of these
20:08layers in order to make an informed
20:10decision on what you're buying to roast
20:12date for the longest time people said
20:14fresh is best and when that kind of
20:15phrase came out it was right and it's
20:17because most coffees were darker and
20:19with darker coffees they tend to Peak
20:21really early and they go downhill
20:22quickly now a lot of these will form
20:25oils that can go rancid and you'll have
20:26a rancid coffee and that's disgusting
20:28but it's not really a helpful Guiding
20:31Light today so with lighter roasted
20:34coffees a lot of them tend to Peak much
20:36longer than a few days off of roast in
20:38fact a lot of them don't taste good at
20:39all a few days off of roast and it's
20:41because they have a lot more of that
20:42carbon dioxide built up inside the bean
20:44itself and you want it to kind of off
20:46gas and it changes some of its form as
20:49it's off gassing so for instance a great
20:51example is a pollen's gold now this is a
20:53roaster based out of Tokyo Japan and
20:55they actually recommend on the back of
20:57their bag its peak is 45 to 70 days
21:01after roasting so they're actually
21:03recommending you not even open that bag
21:05until 45 days post roast so they put the
21:08roast Aid on there so you have it but
21:10they're saying but don't touch it for a
21:12month and a half you need to have a
21:13little bit of vision whenever you're
21:14ordering coffees to know okay I need to
21:16let this sit for a while because if you
21:18open before that it's it's not at its
21:19peak yet there's more deliciousness that
21:22can be had if you sit and wait a similar
21:24thing is happening in Nordic countries
21:25where Roasters are putting on their bag
21:27not necessarily the roast date but the
21:29best after date so instead of saying
21:32this was roasted on April 4th they'll
21:34say this coffee is best after May 4th
21:36now my rule of thumb is the darker the
21:38coffee the sooner off roast you want to
21:40drink it so with darker coffees I tend
21:42to go around you know four to nine days
21:44off roast and that's kind of a sweet
21:46spot for those darker coffees and when I
21:48say dark I'm not talking about like
21:50Lavazza dark I'm not talking about that
21:52dark with that I don't really have as
21:54much experience with in order to really
21:55say what the peak window is I'm talking
21:57about when I have a specialty roaster
21:59that does a true dark roast and it's
22:01like quite dark you know four to nine
22:03four to 12 Days around there is a nice
22:06area to drink those coffees when you go
22:08into a more of a medium style roast
22:09something that's like a 60 to 80 to 90
22:12in the Actron then I like to wait at
22:15least like nine days up to around three
22:17weeks I find that to be a really nice
22:19window for those more medium style
22:21coffees with really lightly roasted
22:22coffees I don't even open that bag to at
22:24least about two weeks off roast if not
22:26three or four depending on how light it
22:29gets if it's super light it could take
22:30four or more weeks this is really just
22:32kind of a broad suggestion your espresso
22:35is going to have more body the sooner
22:36off roast it is but it may not be the
22:38best tasting what you'll get are these
22:40roasty kind of notes well I say roasty I
22:42don't mean like Smoky but I mean you'll
22:43actually taste kind of like a carbony
22:45type of taste because it's not yet been
22:47released very well when I'm tasting
22:48coffees that are really Fresh Off roast
22:50a lot of times I can tell that they're
22:51really fresh because it has this like
22:53tight taste about it where it feels like
22:55the flavors have not yet released if
22:57you're ever seeing something on a shelf
22:59that's over a month old
23:02be very cautious buying it because only
23:04there are only a few Roasters in the
23:05world when I say a few I mean probably a
23:07few dozen Roasters in the world where
23:09their coffees will still taste really
23:11nice after a month of just normal
23:13storage of course you can vac seal
23:15freeze you can tape the valve on the
23:17back and do different things in order to
23:18prolong the life of your coffees but for
23:21the most part if you're at a place and
23:23it's four six eight weeks off roast
23:24unless you know the roaster and you know
23:26that it age as well I'd probably steer
23:28clear of that if you're at a grocery
23:30store and you see an expired date I
23:33would probably steer clear from those
23:34coffees because they're not putting
23:36their roast date you want to see
23:37something that has a roast date on it
23:38don't hear me saying don't buy a local
23:40roaster definitely do that but I don't
23:41want you to sit there and just marinate
23:43over this idea that you have to have it
23:45right when it drops out of that roaster
23:46because it tastes the best let it rest a
23:48little bit give it give it a try maybe
23:50make notes daily as it ages and see if
23:52there's a specific day that you enjoy it
23:54best and keep that in mind as you keep
23:56going through your different coffees the
23:58different ones that you're buying
23:59harvesting most countries most coffee
24:01producing countries only have have one
24:02Harvest a year that means that they are
24:04only picking the cherries once a year
24:06and under normal storage circumstances
24:09most coffees if it's in a good humidity
24:12and a good temperature and is stored
24:14properly will not last longer than four
24:16to eight months sometimes coffees can
24:18last longer just because some coffees
24:20are funky like that and they can go a
24:22little bit longer but oftentimes four to
24:24eight months is kind of that sweet spot
24:26I only know off the top of my head of
24:28one which is George Howell but there are
24:30some Roasters I know that will freeze
24:32green coffee and this will elongate the
24:34life indefinitely as long as you keep it
24:36frozen it's essentially going to
24:37elongate the life it may not be as
24:39vibrant and as intense as when it was
24:41fresh without being frozen but that's
24:44still up to debate among the people
24:45doing these studies for me I had a 2014
24:48Kenya from him that was fantastic I went
24:51and I got it in 2021 I believe I think
24:53if you can get a coffee that's Fresh
24:55Harvest then you're good to go I know
24:57that there are some companies that talk
24:59about getting the coffee within a two
25:01weeks of harvest
25:02that shouldn't really be a selling point
25:04because that honestly is just that's
25:06taking a ton of the air fuel in order to
25:09get this coffee to The Roastery in order
25:11to serve it and honestly a lot of times
25:13green does need to rest similar to
25:15roasted coffees needing to rest so I
25:18would not necessarily look for something
25:19that's fresh is best like I need two
25:21weeks after harvest it's roasted on my
25:23door done no not that we just don't want
25:26it to get too old and age out now some
25:28Roasters are good about this and they'll
25:30taste coffee over the months and if they
25:32taste that it has aged out they'll tweak
25:34the roast profile to make it a little
25:36bit more developed to kind of roast out
25:37some of that age some other Roasters
25:39they'll just take it all together and
25:40other Roasters still will just keep
25:42giving you the same profile so you may
25:44notice a dip in quality as time goes on
25:46so this is something that is good to
25:48know in case you do have that
25:50information I usually won't buy coffees
25:52unless I know it's been frozen that's
25:54over a year past Harvest and very rarely
25:56do I buy past like nine months past
25:58Harvest because oftentimes I just get a
26:01really aged you know Hollow load kind of
26:04musty type of coffee that's not very
26:06good two bonuses navigating taste notes
26:10on the bag so you look at a bag and it
26:12says something like intense whiny
26:14blackberries and black currants on their
26:16roasting table with their water with
26:18their grinder and with their tasting
26:20crew they taste it intense flavors you
26:22have whiny which is just saying it's
26:24going to have like a fermented type of
26:25taste to it blackberries and black
26:27currants that's kind of self-explanatory
26:29it has like the citric Malik Fusion of
26:31these black type of fruits this coffee
26:33the kagare from Tim Wendell though it
26:35has the four varieties from Kenya the
26:37sl2834 ruiru 11 and batyon and it also
26:40shows what Harvest it is this was the
26:41fly crop in December so this has kind of
26:43everything on it that we are talking
26:45about of course he doesn't note the
26:46roast level but it's because he always
26:48does really lightly roasted coffees I
26:50think sometimes people go a little over
26:51the top this one has a bruled grapefruit
26:54with a lime zest that comes through with
26:56an orange blossom that reminds you of
26:59dew on the leaves in a summer garden and
27:02and with those I would be a little bit
27:04more skeptical but for the most part
27:05with those types of bags I would look at
27:08the Thematic notes and just assume okay
27:10well they're consistently getting citric
27:12they said lime they said uh grapefruit
27:15they're they're getting tart acidity
27:16tart citric acidity so likely in this
27:18coffee I will perceive potentially if
27:21tart citric acidity so when you're
27:22looking at these bags you want to look
27:24more at the Thematic notes and elements
27:26behind the usage of the descriptors and
27:29try to get in the mind of The Roaster
27:30and see what they were kind of going for
27:31I prefer when people use more broad
27:33terms like Intense or like round that
27:37would refer to a tactile experience
27:40you're likely not going to get exactly
27:41what's on the bag in fact very very very
27:43rarely will you get exactly what's on
27:45the bad but I think oftentimes you'll
27:48get similar thematic notes as The
27:50Roaster they have their own water they
27:52have what they're hoping the coffee
27:53tastes like they have the tasting notes
27:55that the Importer told them might be in
27:56the coffee or if they were at the farm
27:58and they had an experience with a nice
28:00fruit and then they went and cupped it
28:01could be plaguing their brain so there's
28:03going to be a lot of bias on these bags
28:05but I try to look past that and try to
28:07surmise some sort of thematic elements
28:09that will help me understand what that
28:11coffee will taste like filter or
28:12espresso roast so for instance on this
28:14Manhattan bag we have filter roast what
28:16does that mean oh this means it's only
28:18for filter no that doesn't Roasters will
28:20roast the same coffee in two different
28:22ways which I know that like Tim
28:23windlebow does and the coffee Collective
28:25does and so what they're doing is a
28:26lighter roasted coffee for filter and a
28:28darker for espresso because it's easier
28:30to extract a darker roasted coffees on
28:32espresso not saying that the extract
28:34will be higher necessarily but you'll
28:36hit your extraction that's perfect for
28:38that coffee a much easier with a darker
28:40roasted coffee do you need to get an
28:42espresso roast for espresso if there are
28:44two different options absolutely not I
28:46never get espresso roast ever I always
28:48get filter roast that just means it's
28:49going to be on the lighter side of what
28:52they could also be offering which would
28:54be an espresso roast sometimes people
28:55offer filter options and espresso
28:58options and they're all different
28:59coffees so what all they're just saying
29:00is these taste best as a espresso these
29:03taste best is filter you can mix and
29:05match don't worry about that mix and
29:06match all day if you've tried a roaster
29:08and had all their filter roasts but you
29:09see an espresso roast that looks really
29:11tempting you look at the origin you look
29:13at the process you look at the Variety
29:14you look at the taste notes all these
29:15different things we'll go ahead and get
29:16it and try it just know that it'll be a
29:18little darker than the typical roasting
29:20from that roaster so you may get a
29:21little bitterness or something that
29:23maybe you'll need to curb by changing
29:25your extraction setup okay I try my best
29:28with how ridiculous the coffee world is
29:31if you have any questions about this
29:33please feel free to hit me up below and
29:34I'll do my best to get back to you check
29:36out the patreon below hit the like And
29:38subscribe if you enjoyed this content I
29:40put a lot of work into these I really
29:42appreciate your viewership and your
29:44camaraderie in this crazy world of
29:46coffee
29:47thank you I hope you brew something
29:49tasty today
29:50and cheers

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