Seasonality of Coffee.

Over the last 4 months you may have noticed a predominance of South American coffees in our line-up. Why? Well, it’s simple: they are in season. Coffee—even before it is roasted—has a shelf life. From the time a coffee is harvested it undergoes four to five months of processing and resting before it is shipped and arrives in Olympia. Once the coffee is in our facility it has only about 6 months of complete untarnished perfection. After about 6 months, the coffee slowly begins to show signs of aging, or what we call “faded, baggy, past-crop” flavors.

There are ways to store a coffee in green form that help to hold onto peak flavors. For example, packaging it in Grain Pro bags or paper-lined jute bags, vacuum sealing the coffee and freezing green coffee. But let’s assume most roasting companies are not holding their coffee offerings in any of these, because they are expensive and have environmental impacts from the increased product waste.

Seasonality is fun, kind of a dumb statement, but it’s true. It’s a pleasure to drink Colombian coffee in its prime from January to June; it simply tastes better at this time. Then it’s gone, and memories are part of what make these coffees so special. I’m sure we can all remember that summer peach by the pool or that roasted squash while sitting next to a fire.

You get the picture. Enjoy coffees in season, as you ideally do any other produce.

Oliver