Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans - Shine & Oiliness

I had always thought that one of the signs that beans were freshly roasted was an abundance of oils on the surface of the bean... you know, a shiny appearance. Embarrassingly, I have even written this in a couple of articles that are now distributed on the internet. Oh well - live and learn. I have updated my website to contain more correct info... that, in fact, freshly roasted coffee beans have minimal oil on their surface.

What I used to think I knew :-)

Shiny Appearance - freshly roasted beans will have a glossy shine due to the oils still sitting on the surface of the bean.

What I now think I know - thanks to my own home roasting efforts and some friendly roasting folk!

Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans have Minimal Surface Oil - . This article previously stated that freshly roasted beans will have a glossy shine due to the oils still sitting on the surface of the bean. This is actually not completely true. The amount of oil on the surface of freshly roasted beans depends on the degree of the roast. Light-to-medium roasts will appear matt and almost no oil will be apparent. Dark roasts will have tiny specks of oil on the surface of the bean… and the darker the roast, the more oil. If the beans are very shiny (wet-look), this is an almost certain sign that the beans are old. They are old enough for all the oils to have made their way to the bean’s surface. To confirm your suspicions, breathe in the aroma. A sour or cigarette-like aroma confirms the beans are stale. A wonderful, sweet toasted-caramel aroma proves the beans are delightfully fresh!

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