Why Freshness Is So Important to Coffee Quality

Nothing is better than a fresh cup of coffee. But how fresh IS your “fresh” coffee?  Does it matter?

Yes, say many of the experts in the coffee profession.  Freshness, in fact, is the number one consideration for a superior brewed cup-a-joe than where the beans are from or even brewing method.  And do you want to take advantage of the health benefits of coffee?  Then read on…

The Truth About Coffee Freshness

Once roasted, the coffee beans immediately begin degenerating from fresh to stale.  Whole beans are best to purchase, since whole beans (stored properly) will stay relatively “fresh” and continue to yield an optimal brewed result for up to 3-4 weeks.  After that, the coffee is officially stale.

Never buy ground coffee.  Coffee beans, once ground, start oxidizing and lose aroma, taste, AND health benefits within 24 hours.  Stored properly, you can continue to coax out a good result for up to one week. 

Also, never EVER grind your coffee in a shared public grinder, like those found in your supermarket.  This will mix your new beans with other, older, oxidized beans from who-knows-when and it will taint your coffee’s quality.

So, if staleness is the enemy of coffee quality, then what constitutes “fresh?”

The measure of freshness for coffee relies on four factors: 

1. Time from roaster to retail shelves;
2. How long it sits on the shelves once it’s there;
3. How you store it once you get it home; and
4. How long you store it for.

Obsessively Searching for a Great Cup of Coffee

How Wise Coffee Was Born


   Ryuichi Okabayashi
   Roaster & Founder

   Wise Coffee, Inc.

Wise Coffee’s founder, Ryuichi Okabayashi, has been obsessed with coffee since his childhood in Japan, where they’ve perfected the art of roasting and brewing amazing coffee for over 50 years.  There, coffee is a sensual and satisfying experience, honed by years of Japanese obsession for process and perfection in striving for a perfect cup of coffee that is rich and memorable, honoring all that coffee can be.

But when Ryuichi came to the US in the mid-80’s, he was flabbergasted that he was unable to find a descent cup of coffee.  He expected that America would have great coffee, as drinking coffee was a well-known national obsession in the US.  However, at that time the coffee offerings in Southern California were limited to the old American diner style coffee experience that was a left-over from decades past. “The worst coffee I’ve had to date in the US – anywhere – was at a deli in midtown LA,” he comments. “It was hot and brown, but I wouldn’t call it coffee.  It was very frustrating.”

With the premium coffee trend of the 1990’s brought on by Starbuck’s, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and other retail coffee outlets, coffee got more expensive, but not much better.  Ryuichi was still not satisfied.  He was still chasing the great coffee experiences he’d remembered from his life in Japan.  Ryuichi often tells people, “Until you’ve had great coffee, you really don’t know what you’ve been missing.  But once you have an amazing cup of coffee, freshly roasted and respectfully brewed, you’ll never be able to go back to retail coffee again.”

Roast Levels Decoded

There are several levels of roasting that each brings out a certain taste and aroma of the coffee bean.  These are determined by how long the bean is in the roaster and at what level they are cooled off to stop the roasting process.  Setting the characteristic levels such as “light” and “dark” are subjective offerings that are reflective of the experience and preferences of the roaster. 

The process of roasting has associated with it certain definitive standards which are tied to the physical properties of roasting.  While roasting, the green beans break out of its shell, much like popcorn.  This is called the “crack” of the bean.  There are two different “cracks” that happen during the roasting process, called the “first crack” and the “second crack.”  Depending on the desired level of roasting, the beans may or may not be heated all the way through to the second crack.

Here is a chart of the Wise Coffee Roast Levels and how we determine the labeling of our beans:

What's So "Wise" About Wise Coffee?

We know that micro-roasted, organic (and fair trade wherever possible) coffee is the best possible way to enjoy coffee.  But why do we call it “Wise” coffee?

• Organic.  “Wise” coffee is coffee that is 100% organic (and fair trade wherever possible) - the wise choice to make when buying coffee.  Wise Coffee is free of the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, and other potentially harmful chemicals used in the production of conventionally grown coffee.  Wise Coffee allows you to take advantage of the healthful benefits of coffee while protecting the environment (and the people who grow the green beans) from the effects of harmful chemicals. 

• Healthy.  Wise Coffee is the smart choice for better health.  Recent research suggests that drinking moderate amounts of coffee (two to four cups per day) provides a wide range of health benefits.  In addition to coffee containing 4 times the amount of cancer-fighting anti-oxidants as green tea, moderate coffee drinking may lower the risk of colon cancer, gallstones, cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson’s disease, and asthma (and in some studies – coffee even lowers the rate of suicide).

• Fresh.  Wise Coffee is the choice for a micro-roasted fresh cup of coffee every time, never stale or stockpiled.  Obviously, drinking coffee that has been freshly roasted and properly brewed is more beneficial (and tasty) than suffering coffee that is terminally stale or badly brewed.  In fact, coffee starts losing its freshness and health benefits as soon as you roast it and can be reasonably acceptable to drink for only a few weeks if stored properly.  Moreover, as soon as you grind the coffee, the taste and benefits fall away almost immediately (which is why we sell only beans so that ground coffee is not going stale on our customers’ countertops).  Just as a comparison, retail outlets (such as Starbuck’s) roast in massive batches of coffee that are stored, whole bean and ground, for months prior to sale.  In-store retails options, such as Folgers, allow a “freshness standard” that includes 2-3 months for coffee to be process and be delivered to the store shelves, up to 1 year of shelf life in the store, and a recommended 6 months to 1 year of recommended shelf life, after you get it home.  Wouldn’t you rather be “Wise?”

 

Wise Coffee's Commitment to Organic

Wise Coffee is 100% Organic and Fair Trade wherever possible. We sell USDA Certified Organic coffees and Fair Trade USA is our certification organization where fair trade beans are available.

In fact, our entire company, Wise Coffee, Inc.,  is based on the principles of environmental responsibility and following through with what we offer to our customers – and how we run our business.

This includes:

• Coffee Bags. Our coffee bean bags are made from 40% recycled and 25% PCW (Post-Consumer Waste) brown paper. The lining of the bags is PLA (Polylactic Acid), a thermoplastic derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch.
• Labeling.We use stamps to mark our bags rather than toxic labels. That means that when you're done drinking our amazing coffee, you can just throw the bag into the compost or recycle bin!
• Shipping.We ship using 100% recyclable products, right down to our product packing supplies and inserts.
• Paper Products.Wherever possible, we use recycled paper products in our office and in our order invoices and inserts.
• Marketing.Our marketing also reflects Wise Coffee, Inc.’s commitment to the environment.We do not do any print advertising nor do we offer promotional items that are not 100% environmentally safe.We use email marketing, online magazines, web-based discount codes, and other online and social media marketing to promote Wise Coffee products.
• Additional Products.  All of our products that we offer in addition to our coffee (such as filters, mugs, and ceramic brewing cones) are environmentally safe and responsible as well.

  

Great Coffee Tips: Storage, Brewing, Re-Order Timing

Here are some tips to get the best quality coffee experience from our premium, micro-roasted organic coffees from Wise Coffee:

STORAGE:

• Keep sealed in a dry, cool place.
• Do NOT store beans or ground coffee in the refrigerator or freezer EVER.
• Do not grind all of the coffee beans at once. Only grind what you will be able to use within a week.
• Use glass or ceramic containers to store (and drink) your coffee. Dr. Joseph Mercola, a world-renowned expert on how to improve your health with foods adds, “Also be careful about the container you use. You will want to avoid plastic cups as the BPA from the plastic will migrate into your blood. You also want to avoid the use of Styrofoam cups as that will leach polystyrene molecules. Your best bets include glass and ceramic [containers].”

BREWING:

• Use natural, unbleached paper filters. According to Dr. Mercola, "If you use a 'drip' coffee maker, be sure to use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people use, are chlorine bleached and some of this chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process and they are also full of dangerous disinfection by products like dioxin."
• Metal filters have a tendency to sully the taste of the coffee. Furthermore, the metal filters do not trap the unhealthy oils (called cafestrols), causing an increase in LDL cholesterol in your blood.
• Use fresh, filtered water. Chlorine and other minerals and chemical additives in tap water are harmful to your health and also destroy coffee's aroma and taste.
• Use the hottest boiling water possible, then let it cool off a bit. Ideal is 190° - 200°F (boiling temperature is 212°F). NEVER blend newly boiled water and unboiled water as it will muddy the taste of the coffee.
• Brewed coffee will continue to change in aroma and taste as the coffee cools off.

RE-ORDER TIMING:

• Be sure to give at least 3-4 days lead time for re-ordering your Wise Coffee. We roast each batch to order. Beans take up to 48 hours to “cure.” Curing refers to the process of the newly roasted coffee beans off-gassing CO2.  Off-gassing is a natural process of all roasted products.  This 2-day curing period creates the best possible quality of aroma and taste for your coffee.
• Coffee’s taste keeps changing right after the roasting.  Maximum taste quality will remain up to 1 month after roasting.
• Remember, Wise Coffee individually micro-roasts its coffee beans.  Therefore, each batch is unique and will be slightly varied from order to order.