Selling coffee on the day of roast

[Recaffinated]

Recently we were travelling through Sydney to a coastal holiday with some friends and I decided to stop at Campos in Alexandria to pick up a couple of bags of beans as I had packed stovetop, aero press and hand grinder but forgot to pack my bean bay home roasted coffee Anyway when I went to make coffees that afternoon I was surprised and a little annoyed to see the roast date on the packets were the same date. I had always assumed that the first couple of days were off limits and it was only worth drinking from day 4 onwards. I tried the beans anyway and they were a bit charry and bitter. They got better throughout the holiday and were excellent on the the morning when we had to leave 6 days later. Have I got this wrong? Is it normal for (good) commercial roasters to sell beans on the day of roast? Or was it a bit rude to sell them on the same day without pointing out they had just been roasted?

[shapeshifter]

I know a roaster in VIC and he has stated that some of his commercial customers actually demand it.

No accounting for taste though, all I can think of is how many people out there love their coffee and are willing to drink any old swill they are given.

[Thundergod]

How were they to know when you wanted to use them?

[Recaffinated]

How were they to know when you wanted to use them?

They should have been able to tell from the desperate look in my eyes and the fact I had my grinder in the other hand as I paid for the beans.

Seriously though I would have thought that you either sell beans when they're ready to be consumed or you explain that they won't be at their best for x number of days.

i realise that the real crime is found with supermarket grade beans which have a best before date and are months old and that the likes of Campos are the solution not the problem, but it did seem surprising.

[Vinitasse]

They should have been able to tell from the desperate look in my eyes and the fact I had my grinder in the other hand as I paid for the beans.

Seriously though I would have thought that you either sell beans when they're ready to be consumed or you explain that they won't be at their best for x number of days.

i realise that the real crime is found with supermarket grade beans which have a best before date and are months old and that the likes of Campos are the solution not the problem, but it did seem surprising.

That would be like expecting bottle shops and wineries to only sell wines that are ready to drink. We make it fresh, we sell it fresh... you decide when to drink it.

[artman]

Better being too fresh than too stale!

On the odd occasion I buy roasted beans, I go through the packets on the shelf and pick the one with the roast date that suits me best.

Cheers

[Erimus]

This threads given me the biggest chuckle of the day

[javabeen]

Buying them fresh the day they were roasted they can only get better and gives you the chance to experiment for your taste . I try and remember to ask when they peak as they're best positioned to know this.

[TC]

Leaving some of them open on a bench and exposed to air overnight would have easily solved your not problem.

We also sell beans very close to roast date and sometimes literally straight out of the destoner. Javabeen (above) did exactly that on Friday.

It's much better for beans to peak at your place, not ours.

[gibberblot]

Selling just-roasted beans is perfectly fine. I generally buy 2 bags at once: one roasted about a week prior to consume straight away, and one roasted in the previous couple of days to consume the following week.

[Yelta]

So, you bought freshly roasted beans that continued to improve over 6 days.

I reckon you hit the jackpot.

[Fulcrum]

At our roastery we sell retail beans to the public from 0-7 days old generally.
Our wholesale customers get 7 day old coffee and we expect them to age them for another 7 before using.
Most home users will have 1 bag last days or weeks so the fresher the beans are the longer they will last.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

While there's obviously no problem with selling very fresh beans, surely it makes sound commercial sense to emphasise this at the point of sale in retail outlets of the type the OP is referring to. No point having people thinking your beans are a bit rough and not knowing why.

[Recaffinated]

While there's obviously no problem with selling very fresh beans, surely it makes sound commercial sense to emphasise this at the point of sale in retail outlets of the type the OP is referring to. No point having people thinking your beans are a bit rough and not knowing why.

Thanks BO'S This is really the point of my query. I wouldn't give a friend a bag of corretto roasted beans on the same day of roast without suggesting they wait a 3 or so days before trying it. I think that the majority of coffee drinkers, even many discerning ones, don't understand the ageing process at all ( I didn't until I came across the forum) Of course I understand freshness is key my only point is that a little more information and education would add so much. Don't get me wrong I think the world of Campos coffee so I was not having a go at them, on the contrary they were one of inspirations on my coffee journey.
Cheers

[Thundergod]

I used to be able to buy week old beans from my regular roaster, but they've become so popular they never have anything that old in the shop these days.
I now have to buy freshly roasted and deal with it.