I’m trying to get a handle on when a freshly roasted coffee reaches peak flavor, so I’d like to hear from y’all. Do you wait days (or weeks) before you make your first cup, and does it depend on what roast level (Nordic <–> French).
For me the lighter I roast the longer I let it sit. Sometimes though, it taste amazing a few days after roasting. I experienced giving away old coffee to my friend because to me 2 or 3 month was too old. Visiting him he made me the most amazing french press with my old beans…tons of strawberry flavors…so sometimes they really need to sit a long time.
Peak flavour will vary from bean variety and roast depth.
Try this as an experiment. Make a cup of coffee every day after a fresh roast and taste how the flavour develops over time before your bag runs out.
This will give you a good idea.
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I agree with this. I have found with Yemeni beans it takes a minimum of 7 days to start to “show” well and it is still good even 6 to 8 weeks later (these were roasted to close to full city). In contrast a Peru bean I was using recently, the lighter roast (around city) didn’t hold up as well after 4 weeks while the darker roast (around full city/FC+) held up well after 4 weeks.
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What is this 6-8 weeks you speak of? 
Just kidding!
I’ve never had a bag last longer than 3 weeks!
Most beans seem to around their best at 2-3 weeks, again this does vary.
It’s something I always do with a new bean and it’s fun tasting the coffee as the flavour develops.
when I roast too much at once some just sit there for a while. Not quite intentional but it became an interesting experiment.
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Some Ethiopian roasts took two or three days to peak. Stale notes start to be noticeable after six or seven days for me. Often the best cup is the day of the roast.
Time is the killer of coffee.
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