Good Coffee: Let it Breathe

I added this as PS to the recent "Delicious Old Coffee" blog entry:

Yesterday, Jan van der Weel told me that the Italian owner of a cafe in De Pijp here in Amsterdam purposely keeps his beans in open containers. Jan is a regular customer of the place that I have only visited when Jan and I wrote our articleinKTCMagazine about espresso recipes. When Jan saw these open containers filled with beans, he asked the owner about it, since it is generally assumed that these beans must be conserved in dark airtight containers to slow down ageing as oxygen causes swift deterioration.

The Italian barista explained how he expressly wants oxygen around his roasts. He demonstrated how he actually stirs the stored beans daily to make sure that all beans come in contact with fresh air!

I realised that I am often impatient to find out how my roasts develop over time. If so, why do I keep the beans in closed boxes? For now, I keep the lid off the big hopper to allow the full roasted batch to breathe and to show me how it is developing post-roast.

Open hopper allowing for light and fresh air