Understanding Fresh Crop, Old Crop, and the Longevity of Green Coffee
When you ask for “fresh harvest coffee,” how fresh are you expecting it to be? And how long can green coffee remain suitable for roasting and brewing before it’s considered too old? Or perhaps you've encountered the challenge of using your freshest Ethiopian lots, right after arrival shortly after the harvest, only to find them tasting "grassy." These questions go beyond simple timelines and require a nuanced understanding of what "fresh"means in the context of green coffee and the journey it takes from tree to roastery.
While the idea of fresh crop coffee is alluring, suggesting vibrancy and peak flavour, the reality is far more complex. The journey of a coffee cherry from harvest to cup is long and influenced by diverse growing conditions, including weather, soil mineral content, altitude, ripeness during harvesting, processing methods, drying (being the priority factor), milling, transport, and storage. I believe in approaching these concepts with precision — not as rigid categories but as a spectrum shaped by the life and profile of each unique coffee. Let me elaborate.
The Cycle of a Green Coffee
To first understand what fresh crop means, let me explain the well known fundamentals:
Growth: Coffee cherries develop on trees, drawing nutrients from the soil and environment of their unique terroir. Each origin is characterized by a wild variety of soil types, structures, mineral content, and cultural or generational farming practices, as well as the elevation where the coffee is grown. That includes mono or poly-culture in growing coffee.
Harvesting: Ripe cherries are picked during the harvest season (in an ideal world, as green coffee buyers often assume). Typically picked by hand, cherries are immediately moved to the processing stage, usually within 24 to 48 hours. However, without checking the Brix content—a simple yet essential form of quality control—there’s no guarantee of uniformity in the harvest.
Processing: Depending on the technique — washed, double-washed, natural, skin contact in anaerobic conditions, yeast-fermented, or experimental processes such as carbonic maceration — processing can range from a single day to several. Each method leaves a distinct mark on the coffee’s taste profile and psychical state. Hybrid techniques available in the market today add even more complexity. Coffee left to dry requires a thorough understanding of water activity, as external environmental factors play a crucial role. In humid conditions, drying takes longer, while excessively hot conditions can cause uneven and overly rapid drying.
Drying: Coffee is dried over 10 to 30 days, depending on weather, altitude, and processing methods, until it reaches an optimal moisture content of 10–12%. In my experience, most faulty or defective coffees result from challenges during the drying phase. Moisture content is one, water activity is two. Both are extremely important to control.
Resting and Milling: After drying, the parchment-covered seeds are rested before being milled to remove the parchment and sorted for export. This stage often involves significant waiting periods as shipments are consolidated. Using older, poorly calibrated, or inexpensive milling equipment can generate excessive heat, increasing the risk of undesirable flavours in the final cup.
Export: The green coffee is packed—ideally in hermetic or vacuum-sealed bags or at least in foil bags such as GrainPro or EcoTact — and shipped internationally. Sea freight can take 1 to 4 months, depending on the destination. During transport, fluctuating temperatures, weather changes, and container reloading can alter the coffee’s moisture content or water activity.
Customs and Warehousing: Upon arrival, customs and biosecurity checks may take 1 to 3 weeks before the coffee reaches the importer’s warehouse.
Roastery Dispatch: Finally, the green coffee undergoes quality control before being loaded for transport and shipped to roasteries for use. That means, bags are being opened at green coffee is exposed to the oxygen.
By the time green coffee reaches a roastery, it is typically 4 to 8months post-harvest. If roasted immediately, it might be consumed between 6 and 12 months after harvest and is technically still considered "fresh crop." In most cases, coffee used throughout the year ranges from 6 to 18 months post-harvest. This timeline challenges the simplistic dichotomy of "fresh crop"versus "old crop" and invites us to reconsider how we evaluate coffee over time.
Naturally, the term “fresh crop” is often associated with coffees harvested within the last cycle, celebrated for their vibrant acidity and bright flavour profiles. However, this notion can oversimplify the realities of green coffee. While fresh crop coffee can offer a dynamic and energetic cup, its quality is not solely determined by time elapsed since harvest.
Similarly, labelling a coffee “old crop” doesn’t automatically imply a loss of quality or flavour. In fact, our extensive experience cupping and storing green coffee reveals that many older lots retain the integrity and depth well beyond the arbitrary boundaries of a harvest cycle. Factors such as bean density, processing method, drying stability, and storage conditions have a profound impact on how coffee ages. Time alone cannot define the value of a lot; its cup profile must always take precedence.
For example, natural and anaerobic processes, which involve extended fermentation and higher sugar retention, often enhance a coffee’s ability to age gracefully. These processes preserve and even develop unique flavours over time. Conversely, washed coffees, known for their clean and crisp profiles, may lose their vibrancy more quickly.Yet, even these coffees can surprise us with their longevity when handled and stored with care.
The Aging Process: What influences Longevity?
Green coffee aging is influenced by a combination of environmental and intrinsic factors. These include:
Bean Density: High-density beans, often grown at high altitudes, are more structurally robust and age more slowly.
Processing Method: Naturally processed coffees, as well as experimental methods like carbonic maceration, retain more sugars, which can stabilize their profiles over time.
Drying Techniques: Stable, gradual drying prevents fluctuations in moisture content and stabilize water activity - single most important measurement factor, creating beans that are better equipped to maintain flavour integrity.
Storage Conditions: Proper storage is critical. Green coffee should be kept in sealed, light-proof bags at consistent temperatures, ideally between 18-22ºC, to minimize exposure to oxygen and humidity. Preliminary findings from two studies conducted in Poland (first and second) suggest that the ideal conditions for coffee storage are temperatures between 18–22ºC with 50% humidity.
Packaging: Hermetic bags such as GrainPro or vacuum-sealed options are highly effective in prolonging shelf life by reducing exposure to environmental variables.
Personal take away
The majority of experienced roasters I’ve had the privilege to work with, consult for, or speak to are aware that certain coffee origins require special treatment — small but important tweaks. Due to the lack of professional studies in this area, the following observations come from communal events, shared experiences, and discussions. While experience-based, they’re generally reliable enough to draw some key conclusions:
Fresh Ethiopian Coffees: These coffees, especially when improperly rested after harvest and arriving too soon, often taste grassy (notes of lemongrass, fresh grass, or moist straw). Many roasters opt to store these coffees in a stable environment for a few months before roasting to allow the flavours to settle.
Kenyan Coffees: Kenyan lots frequently show signs of being past crop, even when delivered relatively quickly after harvest. The general advice is to use Kenyan coffee as soon as it arrives or roast it slightly darker to avoid undesirable notes.
Colombian Coffees: Due to Colombia’s wildly fluctuating daily climate, humid conditons and certainly changing weather patterns, many Colombian coffees are at risk of developing woody flavours due to inconsistent drying environment. A good strategy is to identify these issues at the pre-shipment sample (PSS) stage and avoid contracting such lots.
Naturally processed coffees from lower elevations: These coffees, particularly from Central America, can lose liveliness if dried for too long. While projects and experiments involving re-hydrating such coffees exist, the process is both costly and labour-intensive.
Coffees Packed in Nitrogen or Vacuum-Sealed Bags: Coffees packed hermetically in nitrogen or vacuum-sealed bags are more likely to retain their quality for up to three years with minimal flavour defects. While slight reductions in expression or liveliness may occur, properly processed coffees stored in this way remain one of the best options for preserving the integrity of specialized lots.
Planning for a Year-Long Supply: Navigating Harvest Cycles
Most coffee-producing origins harvest just once a year, meaning roasteries must secure enough coffee to last until the next harvest. By necessity, these lots will range in age from 4 to 16 months—and in some cases even longer—by the time they are used. Understanding the harvest calendar is critical to maintaining a consistent and vibrant cup profile throughout the year.
However, even with this knowledge, it’s essential to approach aging coffees with flexibility. Many coffees continue to perform exceptionally well beyond 16 or even 22 months post-harvest. Rather than adhering to rigid timelines, we recommend evaluating coffee based on its flavour profile and potential for continued use.
Sneak Peak (not the final design) of upcoming Harvest Cycle Poster available on the website and high quality prints, framed.
Harvest & Supply Chain Chart change of tone. coffee
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