<p>Another option to quickly use coffee is <a href="/questions/tagged/cold-brew" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;cold-brew&#39;" rel="tag">cold-brew</a> since it requires large amounts of coffee to produce a small amount of concentrate that lasts up to a week refrigerated.</p>

<p>I personally use this method to "finish" an older roast so that I can start using a fresher one for my other brewing methods.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/filtron" rel="nofollow">Stumptown recommendation:</a> </p>

<pre><code>12 oz coffee + 56 oz H2O for 16 hours
</code></pre>

<p><a href="https://bluebottlecoffee.com/preparation-guides/cold-brew" rel="nofollow">Blue Bottle recommendation:</a> </p>

<pre><code>16 oz coffee + 2 liters H2O for 12 hours
</code></pre>

<p><a href="http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2010/07/how-to-make-cold-brew-ice-coffee-summer.html" rel="nofollow">Serious Eats recommendation:</a></p>

<pre><code>8 oz coffee + 36 oz H2O for 12 hours
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-24T03:53:02.273Z
2015-06-24T03:53:02.273Z
rwyland
<p>One option is a somewhat obscure preparation method, but one that works best with older-ish beans: Nel drip (nel pot) preparation recommends beans that are a few weeks old; here's <a href="https://bluebottlecoffee.com/preparation-guides/nel-drip" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a Nel preparation guide from Blue Bottle</a>. I don't know why older beans are recommended, except perhaps tradition. </p>

<p>See also other questions tagged <a href="/questions/tagged/nel-drip" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;nel-drip&#39;" rel="tag">nel-drip</a> including <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/434/how-does-nel-drip-compare-to-paper-filtered-pour-over">another question of mine on Nel</a>. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-25T21:15:10.940Z
2015-03-25T21:15:10.940Z
2017-04-13T12:51:53.733Z
hoc_age
<p>I have a subscription to a roaster who mails me a 250g bag of freshly-roasted, single origin coffee beans every week. To my taste, the beans are best within the first 20 days after roasting after which the aroma declines pretty quickly.</p>

<p>Sometimes, when I travel for instance, I end up with bags that I wasn't able to use by the time a fresher bag arrives. The older beans are not bad by any stretch-- in fact they are still far better than 99% of the beans that are sold in supermarkets which are generally a year old-- but I'd always rather use the fresher beans to make coffee if I have the choice.</p>

<p>Are there any good recipes or preparations that could put these once-fresh beans to good use?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-27T12:33:37.813Z
Would you consider other storage methods that might extend freshness (such as these questions on storing [whole bean](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1/262), or [ground](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/12/262), or [freezing](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/99/262), or even [freezing already-brewed coffee](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1633/262))? See more tagged [tag:storage]. Or [bake some in a chocolate cake](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/23352/25286)! There's plenty of space for more answers on this!
hoc_age
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-10T11:34:12.807Z
Buy yourself a vacuum sealer. They are easy to use and excellent money-savers as they preserve food for much longer periods. I recently vacuum sealed 1kg coffee into 100g packs. They can then also be frozen to preserve them even longer.
user918
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-11T11:54:36.457Z
I think you're suggesting proactive preservation rather than salvaging stale beans. Vacuum-packing beans isn't generally a good idea, especially for freshly-roasted beans. [Another question of yours](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1914/262) has more information and answers on vaccum and freezing.
hoc_age
<beans><whole-bean><recycling><food>
What is a good recipe for high quality coffee beans that are no longer fresh?
Zippy
# What is a good recipe for high quality coffee beans that are no longer fresh?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-25)

I have a subscription to a roaster who mails me a 250g bag of freshly-roasted, single origin coffee beans every week. To my taste, the beans are best within the first 20 days after roasting after which the aroma declines pretty quickly.

Sometimes, when I travel for instance, I end up with bags that I wasn't able to use by the time a fresher bag arrives. The older beans are not bad by any stretch-- in fact they are still far better than 99% of the beans that are sold in supermarkets which are generally a year old-- but I'd always rather use the fresher beans to make coffee if I have the choice.

Are there any good recipes or preparations that could put these once-fresh beans to good use?

**Tags:** beans, whole-bean, recycling, food

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Would you consider other storage methods that might extend freshness (such as these questions on storing [whole bean](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1/262), or [ground](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/12/262), or [freezing](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/99/262), or even [freezing already-brewed coffee](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1633/262))? See more tagged [tag:storage]. Or [bake some in a chocolate cake](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/23352/25286)! There's plenty of space for more answers on this!  
> **username_2**: Buy yourself a vacuum sealer. They are easy to use and excellent money-savers as they preserve food for much longer periods. I recently vacuum sealed 1kg coffee into 100g packs. They can then also be frozen to preserve them even longer.  
> **username_1**: I think you're suggesting proactive preservation rather than salvaging stale beans. Vacuum-packing beans isn't generally a good idea, especially for freshly-roasted beans. [Another question of yours](http://coffee.stackexchange.com/q/1914/262) has more information and answers on vaccum and freezing.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-06-24. Score: 3

Another option to quickly use coffee is cold-brew since it requires large amounts of coffee to produce a small amount of concentrate that lasts up to a week refrigerated.
I personally use this method to "finish" an older roast so that I can start using a fresher one for my other brewing methods.
Stumptown recommendation: 
12 oz coffee + 56 oz H2O for 16 hours

Blue Bottle recommendation: 
16 oz coffee + 2 liters H2O for 12 hours

Serious Eats recommendation:
8 oz coffee + 36 oz H2O for 12 hours


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-03-25. Score: 3

One option is a somewhat obscure preparation method, but one that works best with older-ish beans: Nel drip (nel pot) preparation recommends beans that are a few weeks old; here's [a Nel preparation guide from Blue Bottle](https://bluebottlecoffee.com/preparation-guides/nel-drip). I don't know why older beans are recommended, except perhaps tradition.

See also other questions tagged [nel-drip](/questions/tagged/nel-drip "show questions tagged 'nel-drip'") including [another question of mine on Nel](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/434/how-does-nel-drip-compare-to-paper-filtered-pour-over).


---

