At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

Is the World Barista Championship too exclusive & expensive for competitors?

There are a number of competitions in specialty coffee designed to test the skills and knowledge of industry professionals. However, many consider the World Barista Championship (WBC) to be one of the most esteemed and highly regarded events, acting as a platform to showcase excellence in the barista profession. There are many reasons to celebrate […]


Study Shines New Light on the Complex Arabica Coffee Genome

Researchers in Italy say they’ve shed new light on arabica coffee’s large and complex genome, which may ultimately help breeders seeking desirable traits such as high quality and disease resistance….


Test Drive: The Linea Micra Espresso Machine from La Marzocco

Ready to find out how La Marzocco’s Linea Micra measures up? Read on for our full Test Drive review!  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti  The Linea Micra espresso machine by La Marzocco is the newest addition to their impressive line of home espresso machines. I was lucky to get my […]


Three Questions with Gabriela Parfait of The Good Sourcing

After eight years working for the French green coffee importing company Belco, Gabriela Parfait has launched a coffee-focused company called The Good Sourcing.  The new venture is intentionally small, although…

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

Weekly Coffee News: EUDR and Africa + More Celebrity Coffee

Welcome to DCN’s Weekly Coffee News. Keep up with all the latest coffee industry stories and career opportunities by subscribing to DCN’s newsletter. Tell our editors about your news here. Report: Small-Scale Farmers in…


Breaking New Ground: A Sicilian Coffee Plantation, Part 2

The Morettino family has successfully cultivated a coffee plantation right in Sicily. Next on the agenda: making the island an international coffee hub. BY JOSEPH PHELANSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Feature photo by Tomas Anton Escobar via Unsplash Editor’s note: Check out part one of this story here. Andrea Morettino’s family has proven that coffee […]


Brewing at Home and On the Road with Darrin Daniel

We check in with the Cup of Excellence executive director to learn his current coffee-brewing habits. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Emre…


Miami-Made Panther Coffee is Popping Up in Manhattan

Beloved Miami specialty coffee company Panther Coffee is making its first major New York City showing with the opening of a popup shop in Soho. With a soft opening scheduled…

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

10 (More) Minutes With Helena Oliviero

Today we continue our conversation with Helena Oliviero about her coffee career and life on a Colombian finca. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Helena Oliviero Barista Magazine: Let’s talk about living on a Colombian coffee farm, Finca Palma Roja. How do you spend your days? What’s usually happening on a busy coffee […]


Cerrado Mineiro Green Coffee Auction Launching Online Jan. 29

From the heart of the Brazilian coffee lands, the Cerrado Miniero green coffee auction is for the first time happening globally online this year. Taking place Jan. 29-Feb. 3, the…


PRF El Salvador announces speakers and panellists

Following a call for applications in October 2022, Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) has announced its first speakers and panellists for PRF El Salvador. The two-day forum will be held on 16 and 17 March 2023 at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre in San Salvador. The event is set to return to El Salvador after it […]


Know Your Sweeteners: Agave: Part Two—Environmental Concerns

Agave has become an increasingly popular sweetener in the coffee industry. But is it as environmentally friendly as people claim it to be? BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo sourced via Pixabay In recent years, you may have noticed an increase in demand for “alternative sweeteners” like agave. While today, the nectar serves […]

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

Yes, I realize that as an enthusiast's group, this subreddit caters to the elites of coffeedom, where all coffee mugs are held with pinky out, water is a manufactured commodity, and etiquette demands that one portions coffee grounds with the appropriately colored spoon and no other… but sometimes a guy just wants a solid cup o' joe without spending 45 minutes to create it or fretting over whether the beans are 14 minutes past expiration date.

Additionally, not everyone has the same discriminating palate. Some people can't appreciate or won't be bothered to deal with the same levels of subtlety or minutiae that others seemingly thrive upon.

I'd been reading here regarding the importance of beans not being too old, to the extent that with respect to locally roasted coffee, the acceptable windows of use being framed not in months or weeks, but rather days or even hours… which makes my hair hurt.

So if one is in the "middle tier " of all this madness, i.e., you want better than pre-ground Folgers or instant coffee, but don't want to engage in the ancient mystic rituals of pour-over or spend the prerequisite mortgage equivalents on South American Rain Forest Civet Poop Roast hand-delivered to your door within a 47-minute window before which it obviously expires and must be discarded, could you get a passable cup of coffee on the cheap with expired beans (oh, the HORROR!!!)

While visiting family this past week in central Pennsylvania, I visited a store called "Hornings Market," a Mennonite-run grocery market and discounter that gets all sorts of clearance and closeout goods. These typically include grocery items at or past their expiration dates. The selection from week to week can be extremely random.

When I was there, they happened to have any number of expired coffees, both ground and whole bean, but at incredibly large discounts. While pre-ground coffee that is expired is considerably more iffy than whole bean that has been vacuum sealed, could it be viable? The stuff was cheap enough that I bought a selection to bring back with me just for giggles:

  • Eight O'Clock Chocolate Coconut Macroon (flavored, ground). Expired July 2022. Cost: $0.99/12 oz ($0.09/oz)
  • Eight O'Clock Texas Pecan Praline (flavored, ground). Expired August 2022. Cost: $1.99/12 oz ($0.17/oz)
  • Eight O'Clock Michigan Cherry Pie (flavored, ground). Expired January 2022. Cost: $0.99/12 oz ($0.09/oz)
  • Starbucks Pike Place (whole bean). Expired July 2022. Cost: $1.99/16 oz ($0.13/oz)
  • Starbucks Decaf Espresso (whole bean). Expired May 2022. Cost: $3.99/16 oz ($0.25/oz)
  • Starbucks Italian Roast (whole bean). Expired June 2022. Cost: $5.99/5 pounds ($0.08/oz)

I had no expectations regarding the pre-ground coffee, and this was borne out. I've only tried two of the three, and they were both subpar, if not outright nasty. Admittedly, I'm not a HUGE fan of flavored coffees to begin with, so I may not be the best judge, but I think that the artifical flavorings don't hold up well over time and may "turn".

The Starbucks whole bean offerings held more optimism for me, although I was still expecting "meh". I've only tried the Pike Place and the Decaf Espresso thus far, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Both held up well and produced a decent cup at my normal ratios. Not weakened, not "off" tasting in any way. In retrospect, I should have purchased a few more at those prices; at least around here those same size bags are anywhere from $13-18 per pound.

tl;dr. If your palate isn't the most refined or if you're just looking for coffee on the cheap, expired whole bean that has been kept vacuum sealed isn't *necessarily* a bad thing.

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At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

At the risk of offending the aristocracy here… expired beans are not necessarily bad

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