“Is this coffee safe?”

Should I drink it or chuck it?

That’s the question we got from new customer, Marcia. She was given a bag of Sparkplug coffee and wrote to us to ask:

The bag was a little puffy to start and is now very puffy; I've attached some photos. Is this normal and safe? I'm just wondering if I can drink it or if I should chuck it?"

No worries, Marcia

this is normal and safe - and kinda awesome!

Not only is a puffy bag normal and safe, it’s actually a REALLY GOOD sign that the bag is puffy because this means that the coffee was super fresh when the bag was packed.

After coffee is roasted, it “off gasses”, releasing carbon dioxide.

Some bags have valves to release the gas. In this case, the bag did not have a valve so there was no way for the CO2 to get out.

When this happens, you can either open the bag or just stick a pin in the bag to relieve the pressure.

You can taste the difference - fresh tastes best!

“How old is this coffee? Is it still OK?”

Here’s another situation where you may be wondering if your coffee is OK….

Someone gives you a bag of coffee or you find a bag in the back of a cupboard. Is it still any good?

No problem, Here are 3 ways to figure out if it’s fresh or not even before you brew up a cup!

Smell Test

Fresh Coffee… YUM!

YUM! Has a gorgeous, rich aroma that makes you think of your happiest place.

Not Fresh Coffee… Meh.

MEH! Well, you can kinda tell it’s coffee, if you put your nose right into the bag, and if you inhale deeply…

If it’s really stale, the smell will be sharp and not nice.

It’s got the Look

Fresh

If it’s a dark roast, each bean has the oils that were drawn out during roasting still glistening on it. Coffee beans should look and feel like Californian sunbathers.

Lighter roasts will not be oily but will have a nice brown coffee colour.

Stale

Age and exposure to air has evaporated the delicious and aromatic oils. The colour has faded. The surface is dull.

Unfortunately, many of the most treasured flavours have evaporated too.

Science-ish

Fresh

It is still releasing CO2

A mini science experiment to test if the beans are really, really fresh: put some beans in a ziplock bag, squish all the air out, and leave it overnight.

If the coffee is still very fresh, the beans are still releasing carbon dioxide and the bag will puff up.

Happy dance! Enjoy!

Stale

Has given off all the CO2 it had.

In the morning, the bag will be just as you left it the night before – just dry beans with barely any coffee smell in a ziplock bag… sigh...

It’s time to buy some fresh beans!

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