Hi there, coffee lovers! Today I have a shocking revelation for you: coffee freshness standards are a conspiracy theory! Yes, you heard me right. The whole idea of freshness standards for coffee is a scam designed to make you buy more coffee and waste your money. Let me tell you how I discovered this truth and why you should join me in exposing this fraud.

It all started when I bought a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans from my local roaster. The label said it was roasted on September 1st, 2023, and it had a best before date of December 1st, 2023. That’s three months of shelf life, right? Wrong! According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), coffee beans should be consumed within two weeks of roasting. After that, they lose their aroma and flavor due to oxidation and degassing. So why did my roaster lie to me? And why did the label have a best before date instead of a roast date?

That’s when I realized that there is a conspiracy behind coffee freshness standards. The roasters, the retailers, and the regulators are all in cahoots to deceive us, the consumers, into thinking that coffee beans can last for months on the shelf. They do this by using vague terms like “best before” or “use by” instead of “roast date” or “consume by”. They also use packaging techniques like vacuum sealing or nitrogen flushing to create an illusion of freshness. But these methods only slow down the deterioration process, they don’t stop it. In fact, they may even harm the quality of the coffee by altering its natural flavor profile.

The reason why they do this is simple: money. By extending the shelf life of coffee beans, they can sell more coffee and reduce their inventory costs. They can also charge higher prices for their products by claiming that they are fresh and premium. But they don’t care about our satisfaction or our health. They only care about their profits.

So what can we do to stop this conspiracy? We can start by educating ourselves and others about the real freshness standards for coffee. We can also demand transparency from our roasters and retailers about their roasting and packaging methods. We can also support independent and ethical coffee producers who respect the quality and integrity of their beans. And most importantly, we can enjoy our coffee as soon as possible after roasting, when it is at its peak of flavor and aroma.

I hope this blog post has opened your eyes to the truth about coffee freshness standards. Don’t let them fool you any longer. Join me in exposing this conspiracy and reclaiming our right to fresh and delicious coffee. Cheers!