As always with coffee, there are so many variables via the application of both science and art. Due to all of this coffee voodoo, it often feels like information overload when all you want is your morning cuppa. However, if you’re dying to test out your newest and freshest bag at its most palatable, how long should you leave it to rest before consumption?
The art of resting coffee
Resting coffee definitely falls under the ‘art’ segment of coffee-making since it can only be analysed subjectively. So if you were hoping for an arbitrary statement of “3 days” or something similar, I’m sorry to disappoint.
Yes, unfortunately the answer is the dreaded: it depends.
Filter vs. espresso
If you’re brewing your coffee using filter methods (V60, cafetiere etc), then a shorter rest is usually possible, whereas espresso tends to do better given more time – a minimum of 2-3 days to a week. There is a lot of discussion online and elsewhere why that is, but I think it’s best left at ‘we don’t know’. The main thing to remember is this: you should, almost always, rest the coffee longer for espresso. At least for a few days. Unless you don’t want to. Such as in cases of the following:
Florals and acidity
If the coffee has delicate or volatile notes, it’s likely these will dissipate quickly once the coffee has been roasted. These notes can sometimes disappear completely within just 2 or 3 days after roasting. For coffees that possess these characteristics — mostly Ethiopians or Geshas that have been roasted lightly, it’s best to try and start consuming them straight after the roast. Sometimes you can wait a day or so, but it’s at least worth trying the coffee straight away.
It’s also worth noting that the acidity will be massively pumped during this initial period when creating espresso, and can come across sour or like you’ve just taken a bite of out of a lemon. Again, this is not to everyone’s taste, but some will no doubt enjoy coffee this way.
Sweetness
For coffees with a slightly darker roast — let’s call it medium (or city/city+) — where some of the more caramel tones have been developed, it can be better to allow the coffee to rest a little longer. Rest really helps to develop the coffee sugars and they smoothen over a few days. Usually around 3-4 days after a roast, these will begin to become noticeable and then follow a curve of decline during the next week after that.
Even darker roasts
Roasts that are medium/dark or darker still will exhibit mainly roasty notes including ash, smoke and spice. The remaining coffee origin notes will expire quickly as the coffee development lifecycle has been accelerated dramatically by the extended roast. If this is your cup of joe and you want to try and taste something other that the roasty notes, then it’s probably better to consume this in its first week. The roasty notes however, will remain quite stable indefinitely.
Asian coffees
Coffee from Asia, due to their low acidity and earthy nature tend to develop better with a longer rest. A minimum of a week or two, and sometimes even longer will improve the coffee.
How long is too long?
As a rule of thumb, leaving a coffee for 2-3 days is usually a safe bet. The coffee will then tend to peak around the end of week 1, possibly during or at the end of week 2, but then will almost definitely begin to deteriorate after this point. (Asian coffees are the exception to this and can sometimes be left for years. I wouldn’t recommend trying this.)
Generally speaking, you want to be resting your coffee for a maximum of 1 to 2 weeks after roasting.
The daily grind
Keeping an eye on the age of the coffee should help you set up your grind too. You’ll want to try with a slightly finer grind with a younger coffee, going coarser as it ages. Increased flavours and extraction when young. Then coarsening to back away from bitter compounds as it begins to age and show more teeth.
As for the Long & Short method…
We love to experiment and are constantly chasing down the best coffee. Quite simply, we test every batch of coffee straight off the roast, all the way through to such a point that we can’t tolerate it anymore. I think our record is around the 2.5 month mark. Yum, not.
If you want to be as crazy/studious as we are, simply drink your coffee everyday from when you first receive it. (You can do this even for espresso, but don’t be surprised if it’s too sour/blonde/fizzy.)
Once you have all this information to hand, then you’ll know exactly how long to leave it when you order your next bag. 🙂
