Why Locally Roasted Coffee Always Tastes Superior

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Step into a neighborhood coffee shop and you'll probably notice the bags of coffee on display are a little different to what you find in the supermarket. Whether it's the cafe's own brand or another small roastery, you may wonder whether this specialty coffee is just another way to drive up prices.

While this might be the case, buying locally roasted beans will reward you with a better tasting coffee, and it all comes down to freshness. Coffee has a long shelf life in terms of spoilage, but for peak aroma and taste you have one to two weeks after roasting before a decline begins, even if you buy whole beans. If you're buying coffee at the supermarket, this freshness window will likely have already passed by the time it arrives on shelves.

It's important to be aware that locally roasted doesn't have to mean locally sourced. Green unroasted coffee beans can last up to a year without losing flavor. So as long as you're buying coffee within a week of its roast date, you can still enjoy your favorite single origin from top coffee growing regions locations such as Colombia or Ethiopia.

The roasting process is what makes brewing coffee possible, but it's also what starts the countdown on the flavor front. Roasting causes sugars in the beans to caramelize as part of the Maillard reaction, which produces the flavors and aromas we associate with coffee. The issue is that some of these new chemical compounds are incredibly volatile and deteriorate rapidly with oxidation.

This deterioration speeds up with exposure to moisture and UV rays, so coffee should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and away from sunlight. Anther way to ensure fresh coffee is to buy smaller amounts more frequently and buy whole beans to grind immediately before brewing. If you want truly locally roasted beans, you could try your hand at home roasting green coffee.

If you don't have access to locally roasted coffee, you're actually better off buying coffee online than from a grocery store. The key is to choose a reputable brand who will guarantee delivery within a couple of days of roasting.