quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
At any rate, I opened the box and there are two unopened bags of decaf coffee that I purchase from them on a regular basis.

Decaf?

It was bad Day 1

I guaran-damn-tee that if I served you a cup of this decaf coffee blindly, you wouldn't even know it was decaf.

Brew it and see if it tastes good to you.
It’s not like year old gas station sushi.

For reference, the US Navy gets its coffee (used to anyway) in 3 or 5 gallon tin cans. It lasts for a long time. We had whole compartments filled with this coffee (2 tins to a box). In comparison yours is pretty new.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
It will not be spoiled if that is what you mean by "good" but know that optimum flavor comes within 1-2 weeks of the roasting date or less.

I agree. But even with the 1 - 2 week mark, I think only the most avid coffee connoisseur will take exception to the taste.

I don’t think there no worse environment for coffee than in a hot engine room in the middle of the ocean. The only time we’d smell the coffee is with the first pot made after opening the can. But we’d still use up all the grounds through however many weeks it would last.

If you are not a real coffee snob, it will be fine.

As for serving me decaf and me not knowing the difference HA HA HA.

My heart would stop from lack of stimulation.

So would my pallet.

Hey, if you like stale coffee, go for it.

This is your opportunity for an experiment.

1) brew a pot with recently purchased coffee

2) brew another pot with the found coffee

3) Have a friend pour one cup from each while you're not looking, jot down which is the old one, but not tell you

4) See if you can tell if you taste any difference without knowing which is which

5) If you can tell any difference, decide which one you like best.

6) Ask the friend to tell you which one was older.

That'll tell you if the age matters to you.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
It will not be spoiled if that is what you mean by "good" but know that optimum flavor comes within 1-2 weeks of the roasting date or less.

I agree. But even with the 1 - 2 week mark, I think only the most avid coffee connoisseur will take exception to the taste.

As you can see, there is a range of opinions on this topic. I agree with the others that are saying to brew a pot and see if you like it. If you don't, go through the grounds on your yard or garden as fertilizer.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
What does stale ground coffee smell like?

Stale coffee?

If you're familiar with the smell of truly fresh coffee, then you know stale coffee when you smell it.

quote:

Originally posted by clang:
Whole bean keeps fresh flavor longer.

Not a year, it doesn't.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Both are "Paper Filter" grind for brewing in my Mr. Coffee.

Ground coffee goes stale at many, many times the rate of whole-bean coffee. Many times the surface area exposed to oxidants. That's one of the reasons coffee snobs buy whole-bean and grind it as-needed.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I agree. But even with the 1 - 2 week mark, I think only the most avid coffee connoisseur will take exception to the taste.

Actually, freshly-roasted coffee has to rest for one to two weeks to finish out-gassing from the roasting process. I usually allow mine to rest a week before vacuum-sealing and freezing it in half-pound portions. (The amount that fits in my grinder's hopper.) Even then the bags won't be quite as tight when they come out of the freezer as they were when I vacuum-packed them.

Alternatively, you can grind it right away and let it rest fifteen minutes or so before brewing. The ground coffee will out-gas at many times the rate of the whole beans.

quote:

Originally posted by sig2392:
If you are not a real coffee snob, it will be fine.

Possibly. Depends upon one's palate.

One Christmas I bought a pound of Kona. Few days later, for our annual get-together, one of my best friends brought me three half-pound jars of three other freshly-roasted estate coffees he'd roasted himself. Now I had two-and-a-half pounds of freshly-roasted whole-bean coffee I couldn't possibly finish before much of it would go stale.

So I decided that, instead of drinking the swill at work I'd start bringing my coffee.

Day One upon returning to work I'd ground the beans the night before so I could just hit the button on my drip machine and it'd be ready when I was done with my morning ablutions. Got to work, poured some, drank... "Hmmm... this is really good, but, not quite as good as it should be."

Day Two I did the same with one of the others he'd given me. Same thing happened.

Then I thought "I wonder if the coffee geeks had been right all along: That ground coffee actually becomes perceptibly stale over night?"

Day Three I ground the coffee that morning. Yup: All the taste that should have been there was there.

That's how fast ground coffee begins going stale.

But, yeah: If one's not a coffee snob they might well not notice the difference, or, if they do, it might not be enough difference to matter to them.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Then I thought "I wonder if the coffee geeks had been right all along: That ground coffee actually becomes perceptibly stale over night?"

Day Three I ground the coffee that morning. Yup: All the taste that should have been there was there.

Yep. Best practice is to grind just what you are going to brew right away, and keep the rest of the beans whole and in an sealed airtight container with zero excess air space. (Not just in a tupperware with the lid on yet a large air gap inside, or just in the opened bag with the top scrunched down). I use an Airscape cannister to store my whole beans.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
For reference, the US Navy gets its coffee (used to anyway) in 3 or 5 gallon tin cans. It lasts for a long time. We had whole compartments filled with this coffee (2 tins to a box). In comparison yours is pretty new.

Yeah, but how much coffee does a ship's crew drink every day? I mean, I'm sure it's more on a carrier than on a destroyer, but still.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
What does stale ground coffee smell like?

Stale coffee?

If you're familiar with the smell of truly fresh coffee, then you know stale coffee when you smell it.

No, it's a serious question. You see, I've never been a coffee drinker, and I doubt that I'd be able to tell the difference in either taste or aroma. I'm trying, now that I'm retired. I used to work with a group who were pretty much all coffee drinkers, and several full blown coffee snobs. Some drank the stuff from the machines the company provided, others had their own personal ones. Me, I'd usually just grab some hot water and a packet of instant hot cocoa mix. They would all look at me as if to say "Heathen!", or just shake their heads and laugh at me under their breath.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
What does stale ground coffee smell like?

Stale coffee?

If you're familiar with the smell of truly fresh coffee, then you know stale coffee when you smell it.

No, it's a serious question. You see, I've never been a coffee drinker, and I doubt that I'd be able to tell the difference in either taste or aroma.

Sorry. Wish I could be of more help, but, that's all I got: Stale coffee smells like stale coffee. I honestly don't know how to describe it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

**UPDATE**

Well I FINALLY got to the point where I opened the packages of the year-old coffee. I'm here to report the coffee smells and tastes just fine and if I hadn't known it had been in the cabinet since July 2022, I wouldn't have even noticed. I don't notice any decrease in the strength or taste of my usual recipe when brewed in a standard "Mr. Coffee" drip brew.

Kudos to Caribou Coffee's packaging!!