As coffee merchants, we sell really fresh coffee because that's the only way for you to brew coffee at home which tastes as good as it smells. At most grocery stores, coffee beans are presented in plastic gravity tubes or in big bins. There's a tendency for retailers to proclaim their seriousness about coffee by the number of bins or kinds of coffee they have on display. But here's the problem with that strategy... roasting coffee beans brings the dormant green beans to life and once roasted, the coffee has a shelf life similar to fresh produce like bananas.

For peak flavor, you don't want to buy coffee beans that are over 1 week from the day they were roasted, because you need a week to use the coffee at home. After two weeks from roast date much of the aroma and complexity of flavor is gone. If you are interested in great tasting coffee which means fresh coffee here are 3 things to consider.

1. Roast Date vs. Fill Date... At 3CUPS, we post the roast date of each coffee we have in stock, and write that date on every bag we sell. We don't sell coffee that's more than one week from the day the beans were roasted because that wouldn't be fair to you. Many stores post the date when the bins were stocked or filled, but this gives you absolutely no idea about the critical issue of when the coffee was roasted. So what does the fill date really tell you? Nothing. It says that the bin was filled yesterday, but nothing about the actual roast date.

2. Shiny Beans are Old... As coffee beans age, their hard shell starts to break down. This allows essentials oils to seep out and leave a shiny glaze. To some it may look attractive... but don't be fooled. Shiny beans are old beans, well past the two week window. Think of them as black bananas. When old beans are ground they release little to no carbon dioxide which contributes to flavor. And you'll know the coffee is old because there will be no bloom when hot water is added. Greasy plastic bins at a grocery store are an easy indicator of coffee beans to avoid.

3. Small Selections Are Fresher... If a coffee retailer has 25, 50 or 100 different coffees for sale, consider how much coffee they have to sell in order to turn the inventory and keep it fresh. At 3CUPS we have 7 carefully chosen coffees. Our small selection offers you a wide variety of the archetypal flavors of coffee. We showcase farms from the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas, AND we keep our coffee fresh by turning our inventory at least twice a week!

We are commited and obsessed with really fresh coffee. If you have more questions, stop by the store, call, send us your questions or attend one of our coffee workshops on Saturday afternoons. We are coffee merchants and we know the story about all the coffees we sell, we have an opinion and we love to share it. Come experience coffee as good as it smells.