24/09/2026
When coffee is freshly roasted, the beans hold a lot of carbon dioxide (CO₂) created during the roasting process. This gas needs time to naturally escape from the beans - a process called degassing.
Brewing coffee too soon after roasting can result in an unstable extraction, often producing flavours that are sharp, gassy or unbalanced. Giving the coffee time to rest allows the flavours to settle and the beans to become more consistent and easier to brew.
That’s why at Crema, we rest most of our coffee for at least one week after roasting before putting it on the shelf. This helps minimise the chance of you receiving coffee that is too fresh to brew at its best.
When is coffee at its best?
As a general guide, we recommend using coffee within 8 weeks of the roast date. However, there’s no exact expiry point for freshly roasted coffee. Different coffees degas at different rates, and factors such as the roast style, bean density and packaging can affect how long the coffee remains at its best.
So, rather than thinking of coffee as simply “fresh” or “stale”, think of it as having a sweet spot - a period after roasting when the coffee has rested enough to brew beautifully, while still retaining plenty of its fresh flavour and aroma.
Roast date = when the coffee was roasted.
Resting time = letting the coffee settle.
Best brewing window = generally around 1–8 weeks after roasting, depending on the coffee.
