Bean Rest time

peterjschmidt

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Oct 10, 2013
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A general rule is the lighter the roast, the longer the rest, and vice versa... a darker roast will require less rest.

A more important general rule is that in coffee there are no general rules. :)

Each coffee will have its ideal rest time, after which it will have its peak flavors. But if you wait until that exact period of time to start using it, you'll be drinking more of it after its peak time too. It's a great experiment to start a coffee at day 1, and each day afterward, to see how the bell-curve of flavors plots out.

Naturals/dry-processed coffees can take more time to hit their stride than wet-processed coffees, but again, we don't need no stinkin' rules to tell us when to drink our coffees. :)
 

CoffeeJunky

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A general rule is the lighter the roast, the longer the rest, and vice versa... a darker roast will require less rest.

A more important general rule is that in coffee there are no general rules. :)

Each coffee will have its ideal rest time, after which it will have its peak flavors. But if you wait until that exact period of time to start using it, you'll be drinking more of it after its peak time too. It's a great experiment to start a coffee at day 1, and each day afterward, to see how the bell-curve of flavors plots out.

Naturals/dry-processed coffees can take more time to hit their stride than wet-processed coffees, but again, we don't need no stinkin' rules to tell us when to drink our coffees. :)

Good One Peter.... ;) i love way you have put that in perspective.
I agree with Peter. People will suggest what you should do but its all your personal preference. If you want to rest 2 days, you could, if you want to rest it for 1 day, you could do that also.
I like to rest my beans about 2 days but I do not preach my way to anyone. I just like resting two days because, few years ago I have roasted 20 pounds of coffee and after a day of rest, I packaged for few of my friends. Next day, I found them all over my floor and thought someone messed with my coffee until I found out few of the bag was exploded. Since then, I rest for 2 days before I package them.
 

topher

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I package within 20 minutes of roasting. Then again I splurge for the extra 11 cents for the valve :p Peter...spot on! I have been in the coffee game since 89. When I started the industry standard was 18 seconds for a shot of espresso....now it's 25 to 30. I had a dear friend that was an amazing roaster that liked a single origin espresso (Panamanian) with a 33 second pull. Who am I to say that was wrong...he enjoyed it. I was in one of the first barista contests in Boston. I called ahead of time to see if I could bring the drinks I developed for the casino I was roasting for. They told me I was not allowed to use alcohol. The coffee shop I developed these drinks for had a record day of $15,000 shortly after I brought them on. I wish people would understand that this industry be it old...is still pretty new.
 

JumpinJakJava

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Well, each coffee has its ideal rest time..

I agree with this. Generally I like to let it rest 48 - 72 hrs.
I have found in the past that some Extra Fancy Kona peaked in the cup at 72 hrs. after roast.
I cupped it after 24hrs. , and 48hrs., found that 3rd day after roast was awesome.
Noticed after that it did not seem as awesome, but still great.
Also noticed that Monsooned Malabar seemed to taste better after 2 weeks then anytime before that.
I know taste is subjective, but the nuttiness and body was memorable.
 

Moro

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Is there a minimum time you should let the coffee rest before use? Is it bad to use the coffee say 4-5 hours after roasting?
 

BFRoasters

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Is there a minimum time you should let the coffee rest before use? Is it bad to use the coffee say 4-5 hours after roasting?


I am new to the coffee biz but I taste my coffee as soon as it cools. Of course the flavors develop and it is better at 2-3 days. But it is drinkable and enjoyable right away. Different brewing methods will be different though. I use a french press.
 

peterjschmidt

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The general rule is lighter roasts need more rest, and darker roasts need less. But the first rule is that there are no rules. Coffee is all about experimenting and developing a routine that fits each person's tastes and personality.
 
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