Source
r/roasting•
lapiak

Green beans at my doorstep at -30ºC (x-post)

Was suggested to cross-post here from r/coffee.

I ordered some green beans from Sweet Maria's and I thought they would be arriving next week. It happened to arrive on Friday and I didn't notice there was a shipment on my front step until Sunday morning. Would having green beans outside in -30ºC (-22ºF) weather over a few days damage or decrease the quality of the beans?

Thank you.

Update: Asked Sweet Maria's the question, and they said there should be no issues as long as the beans didn't get wet. I tried roasting it, and they came out great.

Posted Dec 1, 2014, 2:29 AM UTC · edited

69
codekaizenBehmor 1600•

My guess is no, since the compounds in green beans which are valuable don't degrade in cold, but in moisture and heat. A few days shouldn't matter either way. Try roasting them and tell us what it tastes like!

7
41FiveStarL-12•

Some roasters have been experimenting with vacuum sealed, deep frozen coffees that are 2+ years off harvest. I haven't had any personally, but I've heard that process actually does the trick.

As far as your coffee goes, I would expect the coffee to be fine.

3
kromlic•

Well, if it works for ice wine... Iced coffee!

2
colinmhayesBehmor•

I'd say they're probably fine.

but holy crap, where do you live?

2
lapiakOPPoppery II•

Old Man Winter is merciless in Alberta this time of the year :)

1
colinmhayesBehmor•

Geesh, apparently so.

Do they shut down anything when it's that cold? We got cold that (-40F with wind chill) like twice last winter here in Chicago and they actually shut down the schools since they didn't want the kids freezing to death waiting for the bus.

1
lapiakOPPoppery II•

I've lived here all my life and it really is just another typical day no matter how cold it gets, because it's often like this throughout winter. People do forget how to drive when the first snowfall hits, though.

1
greeneggsnhammy•

The only thing I would be nervous about is if they weren't vacuum sealed. I think they would be fine but I've never had a problem myself with them getting cold while being sealed up!! Good luck!

-12
Fromagenut•

Dont be arrogant this person was asking for an honest opinion based on others knowledge and opinions. Obviously they are not going to just throw away the beans. Maybe someone has come across this and knows of a slightly different way the beans should be roasted.

6