Recently, the crazy discounts of Double Eleven have brought many friends together to place orders online, and Front Street Coffee's Taobao and Tmall customer service has therefore received more coffee questions than usual. "How long can coffee beans last after being ground into powder?" and "Within how many days after grinding should the powder be finished for the best results?" are among the most frequently asked questions recently from these friends regarding grinding services.Actually, no matter which question it is, everyone is not asking about the shelf life of coffee powder. Because as is well known, the shelf life of coffee beans/powder can reach up to 365 days, so what everyone is asking must be how long the flavor window of coffee beans can last after they are ground into powder.Many friends may not yet fully understand what the flavor window means, so Front Street here gives a brief introduction: the flavor window of coffee beans/powder refers to their optimal tasting period. As long as we brew them during this period, we can obtain a cup of coffee with the richest flavor and the most complete experience.The reason coffee has such a tasting window is that the flavors we taste from it are volatile. To be precise, the aroma molecules that shape the flavor are volatile, and after coffee beans are roasted, they will continuously volatilize. When the aroma in the coffee beans/powder has completely volatilized, the coffee brewed from these beans will not have such a rich aroma, and what we taste from it will be more of those water-soluble flavors, such as acidity and bitterness...Therefore, in order to obtain the most complete flavor experience, many friends strictly control the tasting time of a bag of coffee, striving to use it up before the aroma is completely lost. So how long is the flavor window of coffee beans after they are ground into powder?To know the answer to this question, we first need to know the flavor window of coffee beans! The flavor window of coffee beans generally starts from the 3rd to 7th day after roasting is completed, and the specific time needs to be determined according to the roast level of the coffee beans. The darker the roast level, the later the flavor window will start, because the darker the roast level, the more carbon dioxide it contains.Excessive carbon dioxide will hinder the dissolution of flavor substances by hot water during drip extraction, which can easily make the brewed coffee less tasty. So we generally wait a few days, until the carbon dioxide content in the beans is no longer high enough to affect extraction, before we start brewing these beans. Only in this way can the "value" of the beans be more easily squeezed out. It is also from this time that the beans enter their flavor window.The flavor window of coffee beans usually lasts around 45 days, and the specific time will be affected by the environment and method of storage. The fewer negative factors encountered during storage(such as fresh air, light, heat, etc.), the longer the flavor window of the coffee beans. For coffee powder, the principle is the same.The flavor window of coffee powder is generally about two-thirds that of coffee beans. If the flavor window of coffee beans is 45 days, then the flavor window of coffee powder is about 30 days. Front Street later redid such an experiment, that is, grinding the Front Street Boquete Geisha from the bean list into powder after roasting was completed, sealing and dividing it into several portions, and then brewing and tasting them at different times over the following month.In the end, it was found that during the first three weeks after being ground into powder, it still had a good flavor performance. Although the flavor intensity decreased every day, the citrus, floral, berry, and oolong tea flavors of the Geisha were all well expressed. By the 31st day, we could only taste the "coffee taste" of the coffee itself, and the aroma was very weak. In contrast, coffee beans that had not been ground into powder only began to show weakened aroma on the 45th day.Although such an experiment is not rigorous enough, we can know that the approximate flavor window of coffee beans after being ground into powder is about 30 days. The reason the flavor of coffee beans is lost much faster after being ground into powder is mainly that after grinding into powder, their surface area expands by many times, the pathways for aroma release are increased, and therefore the rate of flavor loss is accelerated.Therefore, after choosing grinding services, if you do not consume it that quickly and cannot finish the coffee powder in a short time, then it is best to do as Front Street does and find a few sealable containers for divided storage. Because every time we open it, the coffee powder comes into contact with new air, and this new air will take away part of the aroma. Opening and closing repeatedly will further shorten the flavor window of the coffee powder.Actually, it is easy to understand. I wonder if any of you have ever left the powder aside after grinding. In just a few dozen minutes, the aroma of a portion of freshly roasted and ground coffee powder is already completely gone. And this is the consequence of too much air contact without sealing.That is why Front Street recommends that if you do not drink it quickly, it is best to use some sealed bags or jars for divided storage. This can effectively prevent the loss of aroma and greatly extend the flavor window of coffee powder. The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
