A Beginner's Guide to Resting Coffee

This episode of The Beginner's Guide to Coffee is a subject that can be both confusing and anxiety-inducing. The idea here is not to lay down hard rules, but to help explain what's happening so you can understand how best to deal with the coffee you're brewing to get the best results!
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[@StephenWingsTV]

My coffee is honestly the only thing that’s had any rest this year.

[@khirek5335]

I agree with the charming lady above me, hang in there you got this💯

[@garrulus3399]

Wishing you a more calm 2022!

[@EspenFrafalne]

Im just happy i adapt to my surroundings, so i eventually stop reacting to whatever makes me stressed, sad, angry, or scared - kinda like getting spoiled, only opposite. Some people think we will come to heaven and everything is going to be awesome and full of love and happiness all the time, but it seems more likely that we will evolve towards "inner peace". Bad experiences makes us less spoiled, while good experiences makes us more spoiled - and thats why "sado massochists" are your friends XD

[@frankweaver301]

I'm confused. I make espresso with a dark roast bought locally in proper bags, etc, including CO2 valve. After watching his previous video on various storage containers the trial after 4 or 6? weeks resting showed very little difference in coffee quality. On that basis I buy some 2kg of beans in 4 bags at a time which generally last a month. I only charge the grinder on a need basis and fold the bag such as to exclude as much air as possible. All this works for me and I certainly can't tell the difference from probably 3 or 4 days from roasting through to a month later. No doubt I will be told that my advanced years has greatly reduced my taste buds. Such is life.

[@kjdude8765]

@@frankweaver301 I don't do espresso but for my standard pour over, dark roasts seem to last in flavor much longer than a light roast which seems to lose its unique flavors within a week.

[@damien__j]

1 year ago: Hmm maybe I should try ground coffee instead of instant Today: But how long do I REST the beans for in low humidity at 9°C?!

[@Ash-ww8xg]

I feel you bro

[@eliasvernieri]

you had a great year then ;)

[@rubensoeteman]

Amazing

[@PraetorianCuber]

the evolution the progression

[@rdpsysium7340]

It's the classic Hoffman Effect. :)

[@milton369uy]

I'm 28 years old, I was looking for a video about caffeine and ended up buying a French press, a grinder and fresh coffee because of you, I've never thought coffee could taste this good and how have I missed it for so long, keep making these kind of videos! Happy new year from Uruguay!

[@allenchen3706]

Ooh! The master Uruguay!

[@TomReinerDE]

Welcome to the club. 😉

[@yevhenbryukhov]

Almost the same case was for me half a year ago (now doing aeropress, cezve/ibrik). Welcome to the club 😉

[@maymayrays]

Same 🤦🏻‍♀️ I’m like $400 in on a pour over machine and burr grinder, and have a $80/mo beans subscription because of this man. My tastebuds have never been happier nor my wallet emptier 🎉😑🤣

[@eddiefalcon8316]

Keep at it. Coffee is a great hobby.

[@franklinnash]

Until I started watching James' videos I never realised how complicated making a good cup of coffee could be.

[@garyallsebrook3493]

It’s highly precise as well!

[@eliasvernieri]

you can have a good cup of coffee without this lvl of "complicatedness". just not the best posible cup of coffee.

[@personontheinternet2164]

Perfection is a collection of little things done right. Coffee just so happens to have a lot of little things to keep note of.

[@raymondrak961]

It's not complicated - it requires knowledge which James Hoffman provides via his videos.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Looks like that, but it's really not. It's simply a few set of rules, that's all. You want your coffee to be rested a bit and then brew it, the brewing process is usually overly complex due to what people on the Internet think what is best. The nice thing about James is that he often debunks this and makes it simpler. :) You can use a scale to weigh the same each time and things like that, which sounds complicated, but also really isn't, it just gives you the possibility to brew the same cup each time. But when you don't have all that (like me, travelling at the moment), you just use whatever you have and enjoy. I travel with an Aeropress and small hand-grinder, not the best grinder, but a great balance between good enough and portable, the fact I'm grinding my beans on the go is already so much better than not. That's how you should approach it I think.

[@IPANoah]

I like how casually James explains that yes in fact setting your coffee on fire will definitely produce a lot of carbon LOL.

[@Champion-jb6uj]

Plant food 🎉

[@rw9207]

If you are getting stressed about your coffee bean resting time, congratz, you life is almost perfect and you're living the dream!

[@turtleanton6539]

Indeed😮

[@greentape7817]

THANK YOU!! We had a customer recently who was very hung up on freshness, to the point where he requested coming straight to the roastery to buy a bag of beans that were *still warm*. (Offgassing aside, they should be 100% cool before they get anywhere near the bag!) The more people know about offgassing, the fewer well-intentioned but misguided requests like these will appear on the desks of specialty coffee roasters everywhere.

[@eventualreason4666]

did he offer to bring his own container?

[@clarejc]

Have also had a customer like that 😑

[@json8172]

Its hard to know unless you try it and know its bad that fresh. he should just try roasting at home.

[@TripleDDDD]

Why even wait for after the roast? I drink them beans green. (just kidding)

[@charlesflynn4850]

I hope your customer did not arrive at your shop with a Thermapen.

[@1515Steve1515]

My roaster fills my storage jars directly and leaves a little sticky note on them telling me how long to wait for each batch. Takes all the anxiety right out of it. He made it very clear that getting the jars filled from the machine is a privilege that comes with responsibility, responsibility not to ignore the sticky notes lol.

[@lobstrain]

I thought you meant a machine roaster and was very confused.

[@ileenerebekah3740]

I just started working as a coffee roaster after 8 years of barista jobs. My boss gave me your atlas of coffee to read and I finished everything except the locations pages in a week. I use it to explain things to my customers almost daily. I love the book and I'm excited I found your KZbin channel. I've learned so much more from your book than from any coffee shop I've ever worked at. Thank you.

[@GrahamSmith1523]

I’m commenting because I believe it will bring James joy.

[@Jackssky]

Well I was never stressed about my coffee before, but now I am. Thanks James.

[@Dr.Tackleberry]

James. You’re the man. What you’re doing for the coffee community is beautiful

[@TSK5443]

If the coffee is very fresh but you still want to brew it, a neat trick is to pregrind before you actually brew it and let it sit for a while to let it degas.

[@jarekb6524]

Hi James, home roaster here. I think the unpleasant notes in fresh coffee depend a lot on the roast style too. When I roast my coffe just right, I can pop in my Aeropress immediately after it cooled down and enjoy an absolutely phenomenal cup that is never equalled after any amount of rest. While with a different roast profile I get the sour-smoky notes you describe. So the whole matter is probably more complex than lighter roast = longer rest.

[@mib6002]

Would you say that ‘roasting them just right’ means they’re not too light or dark? And have you experienced any differences in types of varietals?

[@Davasto89]

"Dark roasts bloom more" answers a question I literally had for years!

[@piperrobb2346]

It’s a good week when we get two videos back to back!

[@craigbrown9987]

And now I understand, after all these years, why my coffee bags have little valves in them. Every extra video I watch takes me further down the coffee rabbit hole, but I'm loving it. Bought an expresso distributor last week, thinking about a getting an precision basket for the portafilter, so many things to think about...

[@paulhodge855]

I had one coffee from Burundi that the supplier recommended a full two week resting period after roasting. I split the batch into several bags to test. The coffee tasted ok and was not great for two weeks. At the end of the two week period the flavor came out and it was all chocolate covered cherries. Maybe my favorite coffee ever.

[@kiranthapa1589]

Who was your supplier?

[@paulhodge855]

@@kiranthapa1589 Sweet Marias

[@grenierdave]

Oh, nice. I got my “Popper” coffee roaster from them. First time roasting coffee. A good, little machine for testing the waters. They have some damn good coffee, too! Which blend was it?

[@paulhodge855]

@@grenierdave One of the nicest most generous small coffee suppliers I have encountered. Always great quality products and service.

[@vl507]

My experience lines up with what James said: initially I was much more concerned about roast dates but over time I’ve come to realize that taking a more relaxed approach improved my enjoyment of coffee

[@siigari]

Perfect! Just got into coffee roasting and this information helps greatly. Made a light roast and let it rest for three days. Juicy, pleasantly acidic and good body! Now I have a baseline to let it rest a bit longer. Thanks James! Edit: James please make a/some videos of roasting coffee at home!

[@marcussvedebo4914]

I’m really impressed and happy with the amount of content uploaded recently. Great work as ever James, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s hugely grateful 🙏

[@ineedmymodfixed]

I was not familiar with this until I ordered coffee from the local roaster. They roasted and packed it the same day, and I pulled a shot the 2nd day. I could 100% tell over the next couple of days the flavor improved a lot.

[@MorrisDugan]

From all its effort to keep you awake, coffee gets tired, sometimes VERY tired... I'm glad someone finally let this cat out of the bag. I had always been afraid to bring it up before. The problem, though, is that between the need to rest, the tendency soon after to get stale, and the advice not to preserve it by freezing, there's only about a 3-minute window where coffee is at its optimum condition to be made into a drink. After that, just use it in your garden to do something that regretfully I forget precisely what. Mulching, composting, scaring off beetles, something...

[@wendelleg2002]

Coffee grounds in garden: provide nitrogen.

[@joaobuagas615]

Is it weird that I can smell coffee here in my room just watching him 🤤♥️☕️

[@Matt-vd3xv]

As always, a great content. I’d love to see one day James’s take on roasting at home and his view on all of the related complexities around profiling.

[@kasperlaerkesen]

I was made aware of your channel this year by a friend, and it's been an amazing discovery that has fundamentally changed my relation with coffee. Having loved and enjoyed coffee for a few decades but never really nerded out over it, binging your videos, I've been amazed to find what is achievable at home with just a few simple techniques, some care, and a set of scales. I'm still learning and still trying out new things, but never has my coffee been as interesting and as great tasting. Here's to many more years of learning and here's to you. Happy new years James and thank you for all your amazing work.

[@amusliminusa]

I love how these videos pop up just as I'm having my coffee or about to make it. The best!

[@bfflorida2311]

All I can say is THANK YOU JAMES!!!. It's about 1 year mark since I saw your first video and you helped me understand what coffee really is. For years I was trying to figure why certain coffee tasted better than others, well after watching all of your videos you explained most of the mistakes I did, mysteries around coffee that I had no clue and most importantly how to develop joy in making and drinking coffee. You are a true blessing to us. Thank you again

[@kd0r]

Photos of what you consider light, medium and dark roasts would be helpful when we compare the coffee in front of us to your comments. Thanks for a good discussion of resting coffees. I've found that 24 - 48 hours of rest of our light to medium roasts brings the filter coffee to the point where I can't really tell much difference after that. David

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Hm, I wonder if filming that might make it too hard to give an accurate color, with the limitations of a camera. But I suppose hes trusting that if you are bothering with these kinds of nitpicky factors, you bought coffee that communicates the darkness of the roast

[@kd0r]

@@skeetsmcgrew3282 we roast our own from green beans. I agree that doing a good job of color matching can be a problem. Some pure white in the frame , then white balancing might help.

[@dylanmorgan7158]

Colour isn't the best indicator of the roast degree... Hypothetically - you could have a 12 min roast with 20% DTR, or a 7min roast on the same machine with 25% DTR that is potentially darker in colour, but not exactly darker in flavour. Colour is the a good indicator, but it depends on so many factors, (probably why James has left this out on many of his videos). Cheers

[@dakotatrotter3940]

Thank you for speaking to the issue of equalizing pressure on those vacuum canisters; it's always so frustrating to see highly suggested reviews on sites like Amazon claiming that the product has a poor seal.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Ah yes, stupidity of the consumer. The hardest part of online shopping

[@bradk8978]

Thank you James, my experience with my home roasted coffee, is exactly as you have described. I have found it very informative to start tasting the next day and observe how the coffee develops in flavour. Predominately I have espresso based coffees, sometimes a siphon or Aeropress. Have been roasting since 2016 and have only recently started blending, ain't that a rabbit hole. Thank you for the insight. Always love your videos, keep up the good work.

[@q11v]

When I was having a lot of trouble with channeling with a fresh, light Espresso, the roaster suggested to let the ground coffee sit for a few minutes to degas and that helped too (now I just buy a little bit ahead in time ;-)).

[@CafeLomez]

James is a coffee wizard! So much insight and pushing the limits of what’s possible with the dynamic of beans and water. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping us become better home brewers ☕️

[@sonnisndergaard3896]

James have you considered making a video where you taste coffee (filter and espresso) from different glasses like wine and beer glasses? It would be interesting to see how the shape of the glass would enhance different flavor aspects 😊

[@J.T.K]

Look up his review of the Kruve EQ glasses. It touches on that.

[@CR7Update]

stop spamming dude

[@allannahjackson2870]

We need an audiobook - what a lovely voice to nod off to ❤

[@user-xs3db6ox3q]

Very comprehensive. Love that you always start with understanding how it works and then move on to what might be the best practices!

[@willstace7786]

I broke my left kneecap and top of my left tibia, along with a radial head fracture to both elbows 2 weeks ago. The line, "...right up until the point of combustion. Which I don't recommend, but it does produce an enormous amount of CO2.", gave me the best laugh I have had since the accident, and indeed for a while! Thank you James for your constant help to my brewing methods, and your comedic genius!

[@octopus8420]

Hope you're doing better now and the healing is going strong

[@CoffeeReviews]

Even as someone with plenty of experience resting coffees of all roast profiles, I found a lot of very useful and interesting information in this video. I appreciate the way you explained the details in a very easy to understand manner. Thanks as always James 👍

[@JohnDoe095]

Love all your reviews. Don't always have the time to check them all, but I check as often as I can. Keep it up

[@CoffeeReviews]

@@JohnDoe095 I appreciate the comment and any time you can Igor. Thank you very much, means a lot 😄

[@dingus5851]

Between starting to roast my own coffee and baking sourdough, I’m in for it 🫠 this is extremely informative, thank you!

[@paintingwithjeremy1005]

These guidelines match up well with my personal experience. I'm very greatful for this video. It's the first time anyone has explained resting to me with any depth or understanding as to what is happening.

[@sarcasm-83]

Oh I've never even known this. I guess this explains why sometimes when I've ordered freshly roasted coffee beans online and they arrive to me maybe 4-6 days from the roasting process, the second or third day coffee made from them has seemed even better than the very first brews. (I prefer light roasts) I've so far chalked it as me just getting used to the beans or .. placebo or something, but maybe this is what has caused it. The more you know.

[@amusliminusa]

Thanks, I was hunting for coffee that's just roasted and I'm glad that I don't need to be such a stickler on that. I like light to medium roasts. So, let it rest for 3 to10 days for filter coffee. I use an Aeropress, thanks to you James. But, I definitely enjoy trying out pour overs , French press, and espresso drinks at locally owned coffee shops that often roast their own beans or get them from a local roaster.

[@mesosadohno6813]

Nice

[@nicosmond3799]

Thank you for this interesting episode; I learned a lot. I roast my own coffee at home ... usually a medium-ish roast (City to Full City+) depending on the bean. I typically let the roasted beans rest for 48 hours before using them. Recently, I brewed some beans in my Aeropress that I had roasted less than 36 hours earlier, and I was disappointed that the coffee was a bit sour. The next day, the same beans in the same Aeropress tasted great.

[@TheBioethicist]

I've been buying a bag of coffee from my local roaster on Saturday and generally get around to brewing it for the first time on Wednesday (and finishing the bag on the following Tuesday), so I'm glad I accidentally backed into a pretty good practice.

[@Astraeul]

In my college years I worked as a barista in a small coffee truck. We didn’t store all the supplies in the truck but 1-2 5lbs bags of coffee for our espresso would be in there at a time. The temp changes throughout the seasons and especially the temp changes during a fall day, going from 30F to 65-70F (sorry I’m American I don’t know Celsius lol) was brutal. I had to constantly dial in the espresso as the grinder warmed up throughout the day. the humidity would change and wack out the espresso as well. It was a challenge, but I did start to notice that during the winter, the beans would seem to stay fresher much longer. During the summer when it was 90-100F inside the truck the espresso I could produce was greatly diminished. Unfortunately the owner didn’t care much for quality product, just the money :(

[@adrianlandreth9918]

PV=nRT

[@HellooJames11]

All the talk about co2 release makes me wonder about the actual “emissions” aspect of roasting coffee. Maybe a video on the impact of coffee roasting would be interesting wether it’s a negligible emission or significant!

[@DaveGme]

You want to start a riot?! Ha! You’re going to stand between people and their coffee? Get a history book.

[@HellooJames11]

@@DaveGme lol fair enough - but as a solution I was thinking more along the lines of carbon capture rather than limiting coffee production

[@stevegee218]

You would also need to offset the growing of the coffee as the plant eats CO2.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Almost certainly negligible in comparison to burning anything. You could easily do the math, just take 10L (the number stated in this video) x the worldwide coffee production in kilos. Then just research what the average power plant emits in a year. Id imagine we are taking several orders of magnitude difference

[@DaveGme]

@@HellooJames11 and do what with it? Honest question.

[@Presso99]

i really love this channel, i watched this again, and i found very helpful and educational. Thank you James for sharing this valuable experience.

[@danielleanderson6371]

I am obsessed with your taste in sweaters. You always look so warm and cozy.

[@beetole]

finally, a logical human being that agrees with the fact that dark roasts contain less residual oils than light roast. dark roasts only appear more oily because the extended roasting time makes the oils rise to the surface of the bean, leaving very little oil left on the inside of the bean. most coffee expert youtubers, including barista champions, roasters, high end coffee equipment retailers insist on the myth that dark roasts contain more oils.......

[@Ash-ww8xg]

I just bought a grinder 2 weeks ago, and resting is something I've always heard about but never made a big deal about since I used to buy pre-ground. I can definitely confirm that resting absolutely makes a huge difference! This video was incredibly helpful and super relevant!

[@alijohncristian]

"preground"??? get out! lol

[@Ash-ww8xg]

@@alijohncristian it's illegal in these parts, I'm aware

[@genericplantlife]

I am in the beginning of starting to like coffee so I have not committed to a grinder yet lol send me to pre-ground jail.

[@scotlandgee]

I buy my coffee from a local roaster (within 5km from my house) and sometimes they try and sell me beans that are 1-2 weeks old. I would describe their roast closer to medium than dark and they say it’s perfect at that timeframe. My scepticism has been confirmed thank you James Hoffman 🙏

[@susantaylor5068]

Happy New Year James - that was brilliant help thank you ☕️

[@TexelGuy]

I was literally just thinking this topic of resting my new batch of coffee, I've never really paid attention to that aspect before, and started brewing coffee that was roasted on the same day. Incredibly convenient for a video on this exact topic to come out today! (Almost scarily so, can you read my mind James?)

[@mijnnaamisaaron]

Why is there always someone in the comments that has the urge to let everyone know that he was thinking of the video's subject

[@TexelGuy]

​@@mijnnaamisaaron Why is there always someone in the replies that has the urge to suddenly attack a harmless comment

[@bryanupchurch3001]

I came here to make this comment! 😆 Based on the time this was posted, I was standing in the shower thinking about how nobody's talking about degasing times and I really need to figure that out.

[@mijnnaamisaaron]

@@TexelGuy hey now - don't make this about me. You were the one with the verbal diarrhea with 0 content. I'm just facing you the facts.

[@steprockmedia]

@@mijnnaamisaaron You're not adding anything productive. ...and I was JUST thinking about this very topic too. It's a way to tell people like James how timely and useful their content is.

[@arcaneshadowmaster]

Recently I've been grinding ahead of time with really fresh coffees I just can't wait to brew - for really light roasted high altitude coffees I'll maybe grind 45m/1h before brewing the day after roast and then decrease 10m every day, so 4-6 days after roast I'm grinding and brewing immediately. Had varying results, but it's definitely been better than not waiting at all. Anyone else tried this?

[@40wattsun82]

I was just about to ask if a technique like this could work for super fresh light roasts! Definitely curious if others have tried this as well, and how effective it's been

[@JumpingWatermelons]

This is interesting. The whole coffee process has so many variables to control. Very interesting

[@dylanmorgan7158]

Roaster here in NZ - yup, this can be done. It gives an effect of 'rested' coffee. We will do it if we are in a mad rush & hurry to get something cupped. It is not the same as ageing it however... better to wait if you can. Cheers

[@Daniel-dj7fh]

Is the waiting process only relevant if you roast your own beans, I buy roasted beans off the store do I also need to rest the coffee after grinding them before usage?

[@dylanmorgan7158]

@@Daniel-dj7fh if you're buying from say a roastery that roasted em that day - yes. Same applies. If you're buying from a supermarket though, chances are those beans are already atleast a couple days old

[@davidjaniszewski6653]

I built an industrial style gas roaster last year and have the Eagle one prima espresso machine. It's normal for me to roast light to medium. I can taste the smoky/roasty flavor for at least the first 1-3 days making it difficult to judge how well my roasting went. My coffee really shines for espresso after 4-7 days and sometimes peaks at about 10 days. As always the Hoffmann makes the most informative and entertaining videos guiding me through the never ending journey of better coffee!

[@damondrion78]

Fantastic information again James, thank you and happy new year 🎊

[@Thetache]

Thanks for this, the message seems to be that there is no absolute scale for resting the coffee so I like to start brewing 2 days off roast and see how it develops over the next few weeks to find and enjoy the developing flavours, a bit similar to real ale when it is freshly tapped on day one and develops different flavours as it oxidises over a few days.

[@kevinmackler]

used to work at a cafe that roasted beans and some days we were so low our roaster took them directly from our roaster to our grinder hopper. they were all medium roast and the espresso tasted foul

[@CraigBrideau]

I just got a bag of fresh roasted coffee from a local company for the holiday break. My aeropress ended up half filled with foam and I was struggling to get a full cup of coffee out of it. Now I know I need to let the coffee rest a bit so I have less foam thanks to James!

[@jasonpeckman472]

Thank you for the explanation. I am a home roaster in Denver, CO and I have adopted a resting time of up to a week for my beans. I came to this conclusion through experimentation and it seems to work for medium to dark roast for me.

[@kleinebre]

When roasting on my Gene, I do actually quench using - exactly - a spray bottle. I also profile-roast on a heavily modified popcorn popper (and I actually prefer the coffee it produces), switch off the heat and just let the fan in the popper run on high to do the cooling in 2 minutes flat. On the topic of resting my advice would be not to worry too much about it. It may not be at peak delicousness if you start drinking it straight after roasting, but even then it will still be vastly superior to any supermarket coffee out there. If you must have the best possible tasting cup of coffee, simply follow the flavour development over time, keep notes and adjust as needed.

[@alanshewitt]

I started home roasting during lockdown and am constantly improving my roasts. One of the first things I learned was precisely this. When I tell friends that “freshly roasted” is a marketing myth and that you actually *don’t* want that, it’s always met with surprise.

[@nearcyclemisses]

Love all your video’s James. I’m beginning to sound like I know something about coffee and it’s all because of you. Keep the coming.

[@HORansome]

Thanks for this. I moved from Auckland (New Zealand) to Zhuhai (China) and aside from trying to find matches for the coffees I drank back home, dealing with the much warmer climate here has been an issue here

[@StormyDoesVR]

I'm not a coffee person, I'm a hot chocolate person, but the intricacy and detail in your videos have opened my eyes to a world of coffee I didn't understand. I may still not be a huge fan of the bitter coffees, but I've started drinking coffee in general a little more often since finding your channel. Thanks

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Concerning the temperature sensitivity: would it make sense to store it at room temperature until it's sufficiently rested, and then move it to cold storage to extend the lifespan of the beans until they go stale?

[@DouglasSantos-si5df]

This is the way

[@murphface]

Both comments above are correct: if you'll finish a bag within the 'staling period' (3-4 weeks off roast), then just drink and enjoy; but if you'd like to extend the life of your coffee or switch things up more between cups (as I often do), then freeze away in freezer bags or mason jars and only thaw what you want to drink the next day/week. Also, some coffee KZbinrs (Kyle Rowsell, Sprometheus, etc.) have pointed out that if you have a *really* special coffee (like a gesha or similar), then you could vacuum bag and deep freeze (20-40 below) to keep it for 2+ years and break it out on special occasions

[@jannis300886]

@@murphface what is the process of defrosting? Just take it out an let it sit for an hour or two? Would you recommend to freeze coffee in the bag you buy them? Or but that bag in a freezer bag as well? Thanks for information!

[@Jalfred92]

Hi Juan, I have to say no. Rather than storing the beans until they go stale you could brew then into a hot beverage and drink it.

[@gravlygravy]

@@jannis300886 after researching this here's what I do. Divide 1kg bag into 250gm portions and put in zip loc bags, squeezing out as much air as possible. Put those bags into a second zip loc bag for each portion (8 bags in total), and stuff the whole lot back into the original coffee bag which you've cut open. When defrosting, pull out individual portions and let them come up to temperature inside their double zip loc bag before pouring them into your usual coffee storage. I usually do this overnight.

[@zyzda22]

Awesome, very sensible way of talking about resting! Would be curious what others have found in terms of how quickly coffee goes stale, on the other side of the discussion? I buy medium-light roasts and rest it 4 or 5 days, not really on purpose though, I don't worry about it. It takes about two weeks to use a bag up for me, so it's never stale by then. I've had some stale coffee before of course- I probably wouldn't buy a medium or light bag that was roasted more than a month ago?

[@steprockmedia]

James, you're the best. Plus, I just home roasted some coffee a few days ago so this is perfect timing on the vid. I hate having to wait to drink my newly roasted coffee, BUT I have found that waiting a few days the aroma gets better. Maybe 5 days or so. It lines up with what you're saying.

[@acooknamedMatt]

Learning a lot from you

[@squatty9994]

James, great video as always. I have a Fellow Atmos vacuum container and I've wondered, could you de-gas coffee beans from the vacuum itself? Say you diligently reapplied the vacuum after the container filled with CO2, would that change the coffee taste at all? Maybe change how we would do our bloom?

[@edwardtan1354]

You will have to do this in a span of days since the "equalization" of pressure will make the seal pop on the atmos, you can compensate on the blooming aspect though, likewise you will only know when your coffee is done its degassing is when it no longer makes your seal pop on the atmos coincidentally its also the sufficient amount of days your coffee needs to rest.... so... technically "no"

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Interestingly, this is also a problem/question in the marijuana industry

[@Programentalist]

@@skeetsmcgrew3282 Marijuana needs degassing too?

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

@@Programentalist Lol, no but storage is a huge issue. If you draw a vacuum on it you risk the delicate volitile chemicals all evaporating away rapidly, but leaving it at ambient conditions might encourage molding or oxidize certain delicate compounds. Like the coffee industry, most people solve the problem by not giving a crap, but those who are artisans really struggle to find a good solution

[@Programentalist]

@@skeetsmcgrew3282 Ah, that makes more sense.

[@eyesofnova]

Thank you for the information on the vacuum seal. I thought my vacuum seal coffee canister wasn't getting a good seal, but I also suspected that it was due to co2 being released from the beans. Thank you James for confirming this.

[@huijeongkim7211]

Great video! My experience aligns with what you just pointed out in the video. Whenever I brew my home roasted coffee, I notice its taste gets smoother over the days. When I try the coffee the day after roasting, it has quite tangy and sour taste (for me, it's a bit uncomfortable) which gets mitigated in the next day and so on. I definetly need degassing for some time, but I'm just too impatient to wait..lol

[@abelburnem4402]

So this actually makes me think of an interesting experiment. Can you use something like a fellow atmos that has vacuum indicator to give you some idea of when the coffee is finished degassing? A few variables I can see being notable: the container volume, amount of coffee, and headspace volume about the coffee. These would make a difference as it would take a different amount of CO2 released to make that valve pop up but it could be interesting…

[@dazeller82]

If I understand correctly coffee doesn’t actually finish degassing but rather reaches a point between too much gas and getting stale which is where you want to brew it. I reckon once the coffee is completely degassed it’s long past stale.

[@jonathanbignall1198]

I have found that the coffee beans I buy, even though I'm filter brewing, do seem to benefit from about 5 days rest if they were very recently roasted. I've sometimes felt that the coffee improved over time and reached a peak about 2-3 weeks after opening a 1 kg bag. This seems counterintuitive and it's difficult to quantify, maybe it's a placebo effect, but others drinking the coffee have made similar unsolicited observations. Whoopdedoo, what does it all mean Basil? 😂

[@Bones97000]

Working in a small town coffee shop I can attest that espresso pulls notably better when the beans have had at least seven days of rest, and are usually at their peak after 10-14 days from the roast date. :)

[@angelopepeskordos]

I am completely geeking over this! It’s awesome!

[@NameNaameNameeNaamee]

This topic came to my attention through one of the roasters I frequently buy at and which has risen to my favourite supplier of beans. They've become that for a number of reasons, mainly the fact that they are super concious about sustainability - from the people that grow the coffee plants to the people that sell them and everything inbetween, besides making some of the best roasts I tasted so far. But what they also do is not only writing the roast date on the bag, but also a recommendation for resting time. And just as you said, those do vary quite drastically depending on the roast. I found those incredibly helpful. Thanks for this video, giving us the theoretical part behind all of this. Highly appreciated!

[@Victor-kh5rh]

James is missing the two biggest components of degassing: grinding and agitation. Ground coffee will degas much faster than whole bean, you mentioned that 20 minutes after roasting is not enough waiting, try roasting, cooling it down, grinding it, and then resting for a few minutes. Huge difference. Degassing is akin to decanting a wine. I roast my own coffee, I pull espresso on day of roast, sure there is some grinder surfing as the beans degas but I wouldn’t consider it unpleasant, just different. If anything you can grind, wait a few minutes and the results are indistinguishable from week old coffee. For other brew methods you can just use agitation in the bloom phase to degas.

[@personontheinternet2164]

Love the bit about grinding it and waiting a few minutes. That's exactly what I do with extra fresh coffee before it's had a full rest, I forgot where I learned it from tho.

[@townazier]

This right here. I never have a need to let coffee rest when brewing filter coffee, its just too easily degased in the process itself to even bother. Taste difference being very minor even in first three to four days.

[@Fredrik_Alfredsson]

I was just about to ask if you could rest the ground coffee a little while, thanks for the tip.

[@Yirgamalabar]

Resting coffee was a problem until I started freezing single-dose vials and just grind the frozen beans when needed, without thawing. This way, my coffee is always at its optimum resting age to meet my taste (usually 9 days after roasting). It doesn't gradually change and doesn't go stale, not even a month later. It's worth the tiny extra effort.

[@RealAmouranth]

Your videos started coming to me on Facebook I'm here and a subscriber now. I started drinking coffee around 17. Now at 25 I don't drink soda anymore it's coffee or water. I love learning and I like the way you present your information. Low key thank you for making these videos and being a teacher of sorts.

[@iammattodonnell]

I'm glad to see this video! People think I'm out of my mind when I tell them that when I buy a bag of specialty coffee beans, I'll open it to try one brew and then let it sit for a week. I'd only been doing the same for espresso, but I think I'll try to go closer to 10 days from here on out. Definitely better shots pulled and less spritz when I let it rest. Thank you so much!

[@darkpatches]

I think this is one of those coffee tips that's part true, part myth. I roast my own coffee. It may be true that the coffee gets better if you let it age several days, but it's not like it'll taste horrible if you drink it the day after roasting (as James says). It tastes pretty good actually and just gets better day after day. Until it starts to get worse, day after day. ;-)

[@optikalblitz]

For those putting their fresh coffee into Fellow Atmos containers, I strongly recommend against picking up your containers by the lid! As James explained, the displacement of that vacuum by the off-gassing of the coffee means that the tight connection that the lid makes to the container is effectively gone. Picking it up by the lid will lead to fresh coffee beans everywhere. #PSA

[@iangrissett9203]

Had happened to me many times

[@ropro9817]

That was good to know re: vacuum containers and off gassing. I had bought one of those expensive Fellows containers and thought that it just had a bad seal. You saved me from throwing it out. 🙇‍♂

[@mr0ptimistic]

Have I found resting to be stressful or frustrating? No...not until I saw this video because I had no idea it was a factor. And that's why I keep coming back. These videos are great!

[@ninal5027]

Having five shots of espresso a day, İ barely let my coffee rest. Not that I become restless myself. Not yet.

[@ericmarcelino4381]

May god rest your soul

[@CafeLomez]

Imagine a James Hoffmann video collaboration with Wes Anderson 😎 I already see some similarities in visual symmetry, blocking, and staging. It would be epic!

[@matthewbotha4035]

Thanks James, this was very informative. Especially on the vacuum seal coffee canister and how long for resting period of coffee.

[@jacobtapianieto9655]

I started roasting coffee at home (using a pot) about two weeks ago and I have noticed the huge differences in flavour and aroma depending on how long did I let the coffee beans rest, especially when brewing espresso. In the last shot I used a week-old beans and it was pretty pleasant for an amateur roaster.

[@RobBrogan]

I think the challenge is that in many cases, you’re going to take several days to get through a bag, so if you wait a week to start brewing the coffee, and then it takes (me) a week to use up the whole bag, I’ll be having 14-day old beans at the end of it. Maybe I missed it, but what’s the tail end of resting where it is more likely to become stale?

[@kongjie74]

I was fascinated by the idea that a much darker roast should be rested for less time. I'm originally from the tea industry with a focus on Oolong and the common belief there is that dark roasted teas should be rested for at least six months in order to let the "fire" wear off. I wonder what the principle difference between coffee and tea are in this regard?

[@MrAumbra]

I love this content. I have learned so much from you. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into educating us. Also, I received my order of Square Mile Red Brick (and a few other roasts)… incredibly delicious.

[@kirkspilsbury5059]

Always great, to the point advise. I thought I had made a mistake on some great coffee I had bought recently. Listening to a number of your videos, using a French press and Moka pot, it transformed the coffee and am greatly relieved. Awesome coffee. Thanks James. 👍👍👍☕

[@jonathanweiss1301]

If I "aged" some fresh roasted coffee beans in liquid nitrogen and pull one shot each week for a year and tracked the progress via instagram stories, would you be interested in suggesting a varietal? The bean at some point should get so cold that off-gassing should be impossible and there is nothing toxic about nitrogen in its pressurized and liquid form. Could the coffee profile change in other ways if off-gassing was halted completely and the atmospheric environment was liquid instead of gaseous. I imagine a process where I would pull daily shots and weekly 3 cup tests with both frozen and defrosted beans. A frozen coffee bean should be easier to grind but might change the dialing process from week to week. It might also grab moisture from the air when you shake them around making misting unnecessary. Boom! Big time saver! You know for those of use who have a built in liquid nitrogen storage tank in our homes. I live in a small RV and have been watching your videos for a while and learning loads. I've studied beer tasting and see a lot of similar complexities shared between these experiences. For example how the malting process can control the Maillard reaction producing a wide palette of flavors, colors and aromas. I've been saving up for the last few months and finally found a used flair espresso maker that should fit my counter space. I just did the math and its around 5-6.5 kilos of coffee beans. Maybe I just start with 2-3 examples of light/medium/dark roasts and see if anything happens after 30 days and if it does pursue it further. I'll figure all that out but thanks for the great videos.

[@marcusfrodin]

First!

[@marcusfrodin]

@Sir John Bull dang it!

[@PovlKvols]

As always a great and thorough video with very good points, and very much on par with my experience as an amateur roaster and espresso drinker. I don't use completely fresh beans but let them rest for a couple of days with much better results. Vacuum sealing beans will still make the beans degas, but will otherwise prevent beans going stale.

[@nicodoering]

The first time I heard about resting coffee was last year in Taiwan. The local coffee roaster told me I should wait 3-4 days, it was a lighter roast but I can't remember quite exactly. At first I was a little confused. I felt exactly just as you said in your video, I was under the impression fresh is good and the sooner after roasting the better it will be. Really cool to watch this video and learn more about this aspect in coffee! Great video as always James, thanks :)

[@samyciawood]

Fascinating as always - love your content - thank you.

[@temptingfate759]

World Barista Champion 2007 James Hoffman...I have been following your channel for years but I never realized there was a barista competition let alone you were a champion. I stumbled on the video in my KZbin feed. Congratulations it was quite impressive to watch you work. Any chance you might be able to discuss the various coffee mixtures you presented and how you created them?

[@mkpleco]

Great topic and thanks for sharing. My experience is a week old, I'm always thinking about next week or my next weekend off from work. My coffee gets better everyday it hangs around.

[@Dumppump]

I bet the temperature in that room is perfect. Like a lukewarm hug. The air is fresh, but comfy. Like a clean library.