The 1 Sign A Coffee Expert Wants You To Look For On The Pack

Yahoo

12-05-2025

Good news for coffee lovers – studies increasingly suggest the drink might be good for your heart, mind, and even gut health when drunk in moderation.
Perhaps that's why GI surgeon Dr Karan Rajan, who has previously extolled the virtues of coffee for, er, regularity, spoke to coffee legend James Hoffmann on his health podcast Dr Karan Explores recently.
'If you were in the supermarket on the hunt for a good-quality coffee,' the surgeon asked, 'what things should you look for on the back of the pack?'
James' answer relied on six (OK, or eight) digits found on the back, or bottom, of good coffee.
'In an ideal world, you'd want a 'roasted on' date,' the coffee expert advised.
This tells you exactly when the people who roasted your beans did their jobs.
'Generally speaking, this will immediately tell you if it's a speciality coffee or not, because most commercially produced coffee will not have a 'roasted on' date; it'll have a 'best before' date.'
Hoffmann added that he'd recommend buying whole beans and grinding them at home if possible.
Abyss Coffee Roasters agrees, writing on their site that, 'The roast date should be stated clearly on any bag of speciality coffee.'
They add, 'If you can't find it, ask the retailer or roaster – but that may be a red flag, since this is a basic piece of information that's important for knowing how fresh a coffee is.'
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A post shared by Dr Karan Rajan (MRCS MBBS BSc) (@drkaranrajan)
Hoffmann has spoken about the issue before on his YouTube channel, suggesting that supermarkets 'hate' roasting dates on their packs as they might shorten the products' shelf life in the eyes of some customers.
Still, he shared in the same clip, fresher is not always better, especially if you're making espresso.
'As final guidance for whole bean coffee, anything that's a kind of light, medium roast, I think is generally fine fout to six to eight weeks after roasting,' he says.
'If it's a darker roast, I would say maybe for to six weeks maximum.'
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