Until recent years, all coffee beans were packed in sacks and shipped in containers, taking several months to arrive at the roaster after processing. If roasters and importers occasionally want to cup coffee beans from the origin, or taste "pre-shipment samples," they will receive coffee beans whose quality has been ruined by the poor atmospheric environment during storage or transportation.
Over the past decade, some small, quality-focused roasters have taken the lead in changing the way green beans are packaged and shipped. Many roasting companies, even the smallest, now buy beans directly from farmers, share cupping and bean grading information with farmers, and use faster shipping methods and specially designed packaging that preserves the freshness and quality of the beans. These packages will be expensive, but considering that the price of specialty coffee continues to increase, the shipping costs are reasonable.
The following are the most commonly used packaging methods:
Sacks, like those ubiquitous in front street stores, are the most common and most affordable option for packaging and transporting green beans. Jute is a renewable resource, and sacks are cheap, and their use does not require special skills or equipment beyond the capabilities of ordinary mills and exit points. However, sacks cannot isolate moisture and odors, so the coffee beans they contain are easily damaged during storage and transportation.
Vacuum packaging is the best way to package green beans. Vacuum bags can isolate the green beans from moisture, odor and oxygen, and can greatly slow down the breathing process, thus slowing down the aging process of the coffee beans. Before putting green beans into vacuum bags, pay close attention to the water activity of the beans to avoid mold growth during storage. Vacuum packaging costs approximately $0.15-0.25 per pound (0.45-0.75 euros per kilogram), requires special machines and skills, and often delays the transportation of green beans, so this method is cost-free and risk-free.
Sacks and other sealed bags can keep moisture and odor out of green beans and are cheaper and more convenient than vacuum bags. Grain bags can protect green beans much longer than sacks, but they are half as long as vacuum bags. The cost of packaging in grain bags is USD 0.05-0.10 per pound (EUR 0.15-0.30 per kilogram), so grain bags are the most practical and best choice for quality-conscious bakers. Just like real packaging, before putting green beans into grain bags, pay close attention to the water activity of the beans to avoid mold or microbial growth during storage.
Frozen storage means putting green beans into vacuum bags and storing them in an environment below 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). This method can preserve the flavor of coffee beans for several years. Some roasters freeze large quantities of specialty coffee beans for several years and sell them as vintage coffee beans, but there is currently little demand for such beans. It is indeed amazing that the cold storage method can preserve the flavor of five-year-old green beans as well as one-month-old green beans, but this method is still too expensive, and some even think it is a waste. However, in some high-temperature areas, freezing is still a method worth considering, because most green beans will be damaged if left in an extremely hot environment for a few days.
Whatever method a roaster chooses, actions should be taken to ensure a stable storage environment in the warehouse year-round. Extremely hot or humid environments, storing green beans high above the ground where the temperature may be higher than expected, or storing green beans too close to the roaster will affect the quality of the beans.
Seasonality
In recent years, some roasters have made a point of offering only “in-season” coffee beans. Like many other concepts in the coffee industry, there is no agreed-upon definition of seasonality. Some people believe that only beans that have been picked recently can be considered in season, while others are less strict about the picking time of in-season beans.
Offered here by professional green beans buyersRyan BrownProposed definition: "We care about seasonality precisely because we care about coffee quality. As long as the coffee tastes fresh, reflects its acidity, and doesn't have any signs of being "old," then the beans can be called in season. It's that simple. "
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
