is it bad...

...to grind coffee still warm from the roaster?

Comments

[Don]

Roasted coffee needs to rest for a day or 2 depending on the origin.

Don

[Daniel Larsen]

Don, you might be thinking about espresso, which indeed needs to spend the first couple days degassing. I've heard of some positive results with fresh-from-the-roaster coffee in a press pot, though.

Daniel, I'd be really curious to hear if you've tried grinding warm beans. Intuitively I think it would degrade the coffee's flavor, just as if the grinder warmed the beans.

[Daniel Humphries]

Yeah, I was being a little tongue-in-cheek with this post.

As for resting coffee, popular opinion is indeed that resting coffee for two days is ideal. I've had very positive results cupping coffee just an hour or so after roasting though. Just have to pour very carefully because all the gas makes for a mighty crust. The idea behind resting is that too much CO2 basically washes out the other flavors of the coffee.

Don: I've never heard the "depending on origin" caveat with resting coffee. Do you have any insight into why one particular origin would behave differently than another with regard to off-gassing?

Daniel L: I posted this little entry because I was out of coffee in my place and decided to roast some up. Afterward I was so eager for a cup (it smelled wonderful) that I just tossed some still-warm beans into the grinder with a slightly maniacal glee. I know it's not ideal, but as I did it, I was thinking... but hmmmm... why not, exactly?

Anyway, the cup came out all right. I am drinking another cup of the same batch right now, a day later, and it tastes about the same, but that's anecdotal and not scientific.

[Don]

It seems that a more "lively"(stawberry, citrus,cherry flavors) bean seems to take a bit rest time before I find it right to drink. I guess it all depends what any one person looks for in a cup. I always give the beans at least 36hrs. before I use them.

[coffee bean]

I don't get why could it be bad? I don't see any disatvantages :(