For a long time, the specialty coffee world, including us, championed the idea that the very freshest coffee made the very best cup. Brew it right after roast. Chase maximum bloom. Don’t let the coffee “age.”
But years of roasting, tasting, and refining, and a major shift from a drum roaster to our Loring, have reshaped that belief completely. The science (and the cups) now point to something unmistakable:
Light roasted coffee is waaaaaay better when it’s rested.
And not just for a few days but ideally for 2–3 full weeks, while sealed inside its original bag.
What happens during that window isn’t magic. It’s chemistry, physics, and controlled aroma development. And giving the coffee this time transforms it from “fresh” to fully realized.
1. Degassing: Why CO₂ Needs Time to Leave the Bean
Freshly roasted beans trap large amounts of CO₂ inside their cellular structure. This is especially true for high density, light roasts (all of our single origins and most of our blends) which maintain tighter cell structure, undergo less surface caramelization, and hold more internal pressure.
During brewing, excess CO₂ repels water, causing erratic turbulence, suppressed sweetness, sharp or chaotic acidity, astringency, lack of clarity and uneven extraction.
Allowing coffee to rest lets CO₂ escape at a controlled pace. For most light roasted coffee, by around 14–21 days, gas levels drop into an ideal range where extraction becomes even, predictable, and expressive.
This is when the coffee stops fighting the brew water and finally starts cooperating. And, this is when your coffee really starts to shine.
2. Structural Relaxation: The Bean Physically Stabilizes
Right after roast, the bean is in a state of physical tension. As it rests, the internal matrix gradually equalizes pressure, becomes more uniformly porous and allows water to penetrate more evenly.
This structural stabilization is key. Rested coffee doesn’t just extract better, it extracts more cleanly, giving rise to the clarity and sweetness we associate with our light-roast profile.
3. Aromatics Need Time to Settle Into Their Final Form
Volatile aromatics, such-as, fruit esters, floral compounds, and sugar-derived aromatics behave erratically immediately after roast. As the bean degasses and stabilizes, these compounds become more detectable, less masked by CO₂ and more aligned with the acidity and sweetness in the cup
This is the moment when the coffee’s narrative emerges: terroir, processing, variety, and roast profile all become legible.
4. Why the Loring Extends the Rest Window
Our move from a drum roaster to the Loring changed everything. The Loring produces more even internal development, a cleaner, convection-based heat transfer, reduced smoke contact and contamination due to consistent, high airflow and results in a higher overall bean integrity. That is if your roast profiles are properly written and executed.
These traits lead to coffees that are exceptionally expressive but also more “closed” right after roast. They simply need more time to open, time which rewards the drinker with increased clarity, richer acidity, clearer florals, and deeper sweetness.
5. How Long Does the Peak Last?
Once coffee hits its stride at 2–3 weeks, the cup quality stays remarkably stable, as long as it remains in its sealed bag. Coffee that is exposed to oxygen during this time will oxidize much faster than coffee kept in its original bag or that is stored in an airtight container.
But all coffee has a lifespan.
By about 12 weeks off roast, even sealed coffee begins to show, reduced aromatic intensity, flattening acidity, loss of fruit detail, and increased papery or muted notes.
This decline accelerates dramatically once the bag is opened. Exposure to air increases oxidative reactions and volatile loss, meaning opened bags lose character far faster. Coffee stored outside an airtight container degrades quickest and the flavor drop-off begins within days, not weeks.
This is why our resting recommendation applies specifically to coffee still sealed in its original bag or in some other type of airtight or vacuum sealed container, where degassing can occur slowly and aromatics stay protected.
6. What We Taste in Practice
Across all of our cuppings we see similarities in all of our single-origin coffees.
Days 1–5:
volatile, sharp, unintegrated, gassy, thin texture, unstable bloom
Days 5-10:
coffee softens and becomes more pleasing, sharpness is toned down, acidity integrates more with sweetness, body becomes more plush
Days 10–14:
improving structure and sweetness, less frenetic acidity, clearer aromatics
Days 14–21:
the sweet spot: stable extraction, articulate acidity, layered sweetness, expressive florals, full narrative clarity
2–3 Months:
still delicious, but beginning to soften at the edges
Past 3 Months:
aromatic loss slowly becomes evident, sweetness flattens, acidity dulls
This trajectory is a natural part of coffee’s chemistry, and embracing it gives you the best possible cup.
In Short
You don't want the freshest coffee possible. You want properly rested coffee.
Light roasted coffee isn’t at its best when it’s brand-new. It’s at its best when it’s rested 2–3 weeks in a sealed bag, protected from oxygen while CO₂ releases and the coffee settles into its final form.
Peak flavor runs strong for the first 2–3 months, and then the cup begins its gradual decline.
Opened bags degrade much faster.
If you want the coffee you bought to taste its very best, give it time, keep it sealed, and let the science do its work.
The best cup isn’t the earliest one, it’s the one you've waited for.