Coffee Beans - Are They Really FRESHLY Roasted?

wrx5 on 06/03/2023 - 15:14

Hi Everyone,

I am kind of new in the coffee world. Bought one of those non-commercial coffee machines and have started making my own espressos. It is a challenge for non-expert person to buy the beans online and understand if they are really freshly roasted or not. At least for me.

I bought from Campos who sends their beans with a dated packs. However I felt like they are taking one from shelve which was roasted while ago and putting a date sticker on them as if roasted on the date of purchase or delivery. I am not 100% sure so I cannot say anything negative for the brand.

Later, I have started trying Coffee Heros. We liked the taste of these one more but again packages are dated manually with a sticker so possibility of getting an old roasted beans it there.

How would you guys understand the freshness of the beans? Any tips? Also any suggested brand out there with good reputation on this?

Food & Grocery Coffee Coffee Beans

Comments

  • Hybroid on 06/03/2023 - 15:25
    +6

    I would imagine Campos goes through a large volume of coffee beans with the number of cafes/restaurants and retail products they service that they don't have stagnant stock just sitting there for long periods.

    Is there a particular reason to suggest they are not being truthful on dates?

  • freefall101 on 06/03/2023 - 15:32
    +5

    What makes you say that they just slapped a date sticker on it? It is not hard to pick old beans from fresh roasted, they're not a fly by the night company and would have been called out long ago. It's a pretty big claim you're making with zero evidence.

    Anyway, the best way is to try a lot of coffee and see what meets your tastes. Find a cafe you like, buy their beans, watch some youtube tutorials and spend a whole lot of time working on getting your grind right. Once you get the process down, then start getting coffee from other stores.

  • Gunnar on 06/03/2023 - 15:44
    +2

    You'll know by taste if beans are off. It is a struggle to get a good creama on the head and the beans will come out watery. This is assuming you are pouring good shots to begin with and have ground the beans appropriately.

    I've never bought off beans so unless you're going to a particularly dodgy seller you'll be okay. Most makers you'll get the beans within two weeks of roasting; the best ones you'll get it within days of it being roasted. Of the ozbargain regulars Inglewood is my favourite.

    See this video on what fresh vs stale beans look like out of the machine:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkYRYZ1LDYI

    If everything comes out looking stale then your grind is off.

  • admira on 06/03/2023 - 16:53

    Agree with the above, the only struggle is if you buy from supermarket shelves, as then they don't print a roast date on them at all. I usually buy from lime blue, airjo, etc etc and they are always freshly roasted. Mind you you don't want too fresh, a week from roast date is ideal I think.

    Though not based here in Australia this James Hoffman video is a good start I think:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9YnLFrM7Fs

    plus all his other videos :)

  • Snowy83 on 06/03/2023 - 17:35

    If you want supermarket beans with a roast date printed on them look for Daley Street which you can find in Coles and aldi beans have a roast date as wel

  • Banj0 on 06/03/2023 - 17:52
    +1

    On the 17th January 2021, I walked into a local Woolworths and picked up a bag of Campos from the shelf. The marking on the bag said:

    RD:02/02/21
    BB:02/02/22

    This was printed on the bag itself. I have a photograph of this. I don't know what the hell these markings mean, but I would have read it as 'Roast Date 2/2/21', and 'Best Before 2/2/2022'. How they accomplished this and got it on the shelves of Woolworths two weeks prior to roasting I cannot tell you. Must have roasted it in Mr Fusion.

    • DJR9000 on 06/03/2023 - 18:13

      probably a typo

      • Banj0 on 06/03/2023 - 18:42

        Machine imprinted though, so I’m guessing they typo’d that on a LOT of bags. I checked a few on the shelf…they were all like that.

      • djones145 on 06/03/2023 - 18:46
        +1

        prolly was roast 02/02/02

    • Gunnar on 07/03/2023 - 07:38
      +2

      Some of the work I do is compliance related and the favourite types of queries I like to raise with organisations is ‘how did you achieve that xx weeks/months before it was created’

      In some cases it is caused by a typo, but sadly it’s mostly people trying to be dodgy

  • DJR9000 on 06/03/2023 - 18:15

    I've been ordering from Airjo for the last while and they send it the same date as it's roasted and its printed on a big label rather than just done with one of those date code guns - often i get it a single day after roast. Can't speak for Campos, i was buying it up the street from the local cafe but they put up the price for a kilo from $38 to $48 over an 18 month period, its probably even more now, but it generally had better roast dates from the cafe than from Woolies where it will sit in freight, warehouse and then the shelf for a while before getting sold.

    • Banj0 on 06/03/2023 - 18:46

      Yes. I had to buy some Woolworths beans recently. Many brands don’t have roast dates, but do have a best before date, and I’ve heard that this will usually be 12 months after roast. I bought a packet of something I figured to be two weeks old, and that seemed to be about right given the flavour and the way it pours.

      I think a lot of the beans are already a month after roast date by the time they hit the shelves.

      • nubzy on 06/03/2023 - 21:52
        +1

        I've found Daley St at Coles is usually within 2 weeks of roast date. It's not too bad, a bit better than Aldi IMO.

  • AustriaBargain on 06/03/2023 - 18:22
    +4

    I think Aldi beans are just as good as Airjo. I do try to get the freshest beans at Aldi, sometimes a bag is several weeks fresher than other bags of the same type.

  • SydStrand on 06/03/2023 - 18:43

    It's a bloody outrage, it is. Almost as bad as finding your 'brand new' Samsung phone was made 5 months ago.

    • Banj0 on 06/03/2023 - 18:47

      As long as you put the phone in a freezer, it will be fine 5 months down the track. Might want to grind it just a little finer though.

  • dasher86 on 06/03/2023 - 18:49

    A lot of supermarket beans go through nitrogen flushing, so dates aren't as bad as you think…
    I still get fresh roasted when I can, but if I forget to order or suddenly run out, I still buy supermarket beans, still looks for the best dates.

  • markathome on 06/03/2023 - 20:37

    This is just a great post and replies all round. 5 stars. 🍿

  • KaTst3R on 06/03/2023 - 22:49

    I dont think Campos will send you stale products. A lot of baristas can tell straight away from the crema and flavour if it is stale. Reputation is important in the coffee industry as it is so competitive.

  • Tigerstu on 07/03/2023 - 05:46
    +1

    Could I suggest you try and find a local small business near you, or in your home town/city that roasts beans, and buy directly from them? I know the prices are not as good as you can find online, but you'll be guaranteed freshly roasted and you'll get a better quality bean too… they might have a subscription model you can sign onto for a discount (I purchase from a Hobart roaster and pick up 500gms every 2 weeks https://villino.com.au/shop/coffee/subscriptions/).

    Enjoy the rabbit hole of good coffee making. I'm on the filter coffee and exploring the rabbit hole of how grinders impact the result.

  • Drpepper666 on 07/03/2023 - 14:36

    Further to that how do you really know they are coffee beans? They could any type of bean, just roasted and painted brown.

    • Banj0 on 07/03/2023 - 14:38

      Or even tiny chunks of stale Samsung phone.

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