Is it reasonable to suppose that espresso tastes best when accopanied by a small amount of sugar? I imagine that if one had really freshly roasted coffee beans and one ground them finely just before preparing the coffee, one might not need sugar to make the bitterness a bit milder. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to know. I don't have a coffee roaster, or the know-how to roast it in a pan on the stove. Also, I can never seem to find a source of coffee that tells me the day it was roasted. Many packages will show a date that the roaster thinks is the last day the coffee will be 'good'. But they certainly don't tell you how they decide what that date should be.
What this comes down to is this. (Since I seem to have gotten off the point...) My wife and I are trying to eat more heathily and sugar lying around is just an invitation to bake something or to put too much in one's coffee/tea. And we all know too much sugar isn't good for you. So do I buckle down and drink my bitter brew without sugar? Or do I sneak it into the house?
Espresso does not need to be bitter. Actually a fresh arabica based espresso blend should have a certain sweetness to it. If the shots you are pulling are too bitter- it could be the espresso blend has a high percentage of robusta in it. Also the finner you grind, generally the more bitter the shot will be! Anyway- enjoy.
Espresso is always best with a generous teaspoon of suger. Especially if you don't stir it in and you get that lovely coffee sugar syrup at the end of the drink.
As for fresh coffee, my roaster always puts a sticker on the bag with the roast date. I sell coffees through vending machines that take his beans and he has a heart attack if he sees beans in storage for more than a couple of days. Speak to your roaster and get him to put stickers on the bag
Jim is correct. A good roaster is almost anal about roast dates and cross matching it to a sticker on the bag. Most roasters (Merdeka coffee included) put the actual roast date- not the estimated expiry date on the bag. I always educate new vendors on coffee freshness. For us, because we are a specialty roaster, we recommend coffee should be used withing 8 days of roasting. Because our name is on the bag it is vitally important that our vendors follow our instructions. I would rather roast batches at 1.30am than have a vendor order too much roasted coffee and then sit on it for weeks.
I have to agree Alun Evans and Jim. I always label my coffee with a roast date but not with a use by date becuse I think the custumer can decide how long two keep his coffee for. I am not in agreement that 2 weeks is two long. For me it can be longer.
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