Freshly roasted coffee has excess carbon dioxide, which gets released over time. You generally want to rest it for a few days before you start brewing with it.

In brewing, as soon as you wet the grounds, they start releasing carbon dioxide rapidly. This is important to know for some brew methods, like pourover, where you want to lightly wet the grounds and let them sit for half a minute before brewing.

I'm not really sure about how effective it would be for coffee that's too fresh. You might end up with a brew that's uneven in other ways. Best thing is to plan ahead with coffee purchases, so you've always got a bag in that peak window. But failing that, can't hurt to experiment.

[–] Dave 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What's the peak window? Like 3-7 days after roasting?

Is there a cheat sheet for this stuff? I struggle with getting coffee prepared how I like it. I make the occasional fantastic coffee but am never sure what I did differently.

[–] Hades 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It varies by the coffee. Safest window is probably between 1 week after roasting, then 2 weeks after that. Lighter roasts last longer, but I imagine Raglan is medium-to-dark.

Oh, and pre-ground coffee won't last as long. If you don't have one, a grinder can really help get the best cup of coffee.

[–] Dave 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks! Yeah I grind my own these days. I didn't realise coffee was supposed to be rested so long!

Sites are so keen to get you to sign up to a subscription to get the freshest coffee every week, I had assumed that made the best coffee.

[–] Hades 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, a week can feel like an eternity when you've got coffee you really want to try. I usually buy my coffee from cafes so it's ready to go.