Coffee is a non-perishable product. A package of whole bean or ground coffee found at your grandparents' house can be consumed without risk of poisoning. However, the taste will be dreadful, and we don't wish that experience on anyone.
So, how long can your coffee be drunk without losing its intrinsic aromas, and what do we mean by coffee freshness?
When we talk about fresh coffee, we're not referring to a "frappuccino" but rather to a product that has been freshly harvested and/or roasted. Indeed, coffee undergoes several phases of freshness, resulting from:
Harvest - nf
Where the coffee is Unroasted coffee: After the harvest date, so-called "green" coffee remains fresh for about a year before its natural aromas gradually decline. Beyond that, it will develop woody or parchment-like aromas, typical of coffee that is too old.
Roasting - n
Once roasted and therefore brown in color ( to learn more about coffee roasting), coffee should ideally be consumed within a few days to 14 weeks. When coffee beans are freshly roasted, they naturally release CO2, and this continues for several weeks. This is called "degassing." If coffee is consumed too soon after the roasting date, it will be too bitter with an unpleasant metallic or vegetal taste. In espresso, coffee that is too fresh will be noticeable by a significant amount of crema (coffee foam). However, this gas helps protect the bean from oxidation. Therefore, the more CO2 the bean releases, the more fragile it will be and the more quickly it will lose its aroma and freshness.
Milling - n
When coffee is ground, its surface area in contact with the air is considerably greater than when it's in bean form. As a result, it oxidizes rapidly and develops undesirable aromatic notes. It's estimated that 20 to 30 minutes after grinding, coffee has lost the majority of its aroma. 
Coffee storage is a vast and crucial topic; if you were to remember just a few key figures, here are our recommendations for consuming our coffees:
- Your espresso: ready 7-8 days after the roasting date
- Your filter coffee: from 4-5 days after the roasting date
- An unopened package will stay fresh for up to 2 months
- An opened pack retains its aromatic complexity for 1 to 2 weeks.
- Finally, it is best to consume coffee within a year of the roasting date to avoid having a completely flat and tasteless coffee.
For all these reasons, Celsius is committed to respecting these 3 freshness cycles by:
I) Offering specialty coffees from the current year's harvest and respecting the harvest calendar specific to each country
II) Offering packages equipped with a valve that allows gas to escape while preventing oxygen from entering. This prevents oxidation of the beans and keeps your coffee fresh for longer.
III) We encourage you to order our coffee beans rather than ground, for the greater pleasure of your taste buds.