Whole Bean Coffee is Always Healthy, Right?

3 min read

Whole Bean Coffee is Always Healthy, Right?

"Whole Bean Coffee is Always Healthy" is one of the common misconceptions, thanks in no small part to deceptive companies who care about profits alone. 

Why? 

You’ll see below.

First, Does Coffee Go Bad?


Yes, they do, but they don’t exactly expire. 

Coffee beans are tastiest and most flavorful when fresh — like all agricultural produce. You can trust that they start losing their taste when they start going bad. But here’s why you can’t tell that coffee beans are bad already until you taste them.

They are dry foods, meaning that they hold no moisture. As a result, mold won’t grow on them when spoiled as other foods allow. They go stale instead. 

How Long Until They Go Bad


The only time coffee beans are not going bad is before they are roasted. As soon as they are roasted, they start decaying because they are expelling carbon dioxide. Soon, the chemical structure collapses, same as the cell structure, and it’s only a matter of time before the flavor becomes dull and bitter.

In fact, roasted coffee maintains its peak freshness for only 2-5 days, although it is still very good within 2-3 weeks. 

Pre-ground coffee, meanwhile, has only 15-30 minutes to retain optimum freshness. 

These are the effects of oxygen, which breaks down their organic structure and causes them to decay. 

Thus, the longer roasted coffee and pre-ground coffee spend before brewing, the more bitter and gross they taste. This doesn’t affect their safety, though. So, you can take coffee that’s spent years on the shelf, but don’t expect a taste to savor. 

Does This Mean Coffee Beans Don’t Expire?


Like I said before, coffee beans are a dry food, so mold and other microorganisms can’t grow on them due to low moisture levels. This would explain why coffee as old as a decade never looks bad.

However, not every variety of coffee is expiry-proof. Excessively oily grounds can enable mold growth. Plus, storing your beans in a damp environment where moisture can soak them makes them a breeding ground for bacteria and mold.

However, you don’t have to worry about this. Regardless of how oily your grounds are, it will take at least five years for mold to start growing on coffee beans. 

The Deceit Of Coffee Marketers


When I was little, I had the habit of checking for expiry dates on products. I ensured that we finished every product before its expiry date. 

Even after I grew, I believed coffee could retain its freshness for weeks, even months. I mean, any day before the “best by” date, right?

Sadly, coffee marketers have merely fooled us. They know it is impossible to enjoy roasted coffee after a month, yet they give an expiry date that’s about a year long.

Have you ever wondered why supermarket coffee is always stale? 

Final Thought On "Whole Bean Coffee is Always Healthy."

The statement, "Whole Bean Coffee is Always Healthy" is just not true. Roasted beans aren’t good forever, and ground coffee can go bad pretty quickly too. Coffee marketers know this yet attempt to pull the wool over your eyes. Well, now you know better. It’s time to boycott brands that you don't know how long their coffee has been sitting on that grocery store shelf? It's time to try Lucky Day Coffee's freshly small batch roasted coffee. Then, you can say, "Lucky Day Coffee's Whole Bean Coffee is Always Healthy!"