Q: I would like to order the roaster that comes with beans. I am not sure if I can order it now and the beans will be good still or if I should wait until closer to Christmas. Please advise.
A: It’s no problem at all to order now. When coffee is raw it’s like split peas or lentils, you could keep it for years. It’s only when coffee is roasted that it should get used up within a week or so.
Generally, people don’t store raw coffee for years because just like split peas or lentils, coffee is on a yearly cycle. Another crop is not a long wait.
There’s some care to be taken in long term storing, but you’re totally safe to hang onto raw coffee for many months and they’ll be fine. It’s one of the pluses that comes with home coffee roasting.