Categories: Coffee cademy Home Brewing

What is That Hole in Your Coffee Bag?

All of our coffee bags have a valve that lets carbon dioxide out, because freshly roasted coffee needs to degas. The hole in our coffee bags is a one-way valve that lets carbon dioxide escape from the beans.

Freshly Roasted Coffee Releases Carbon Dioxide

Some carbon dioxide is released during the roasting process, but a lot remains in coffee beans after they are roasted. The beans slowly release the gas left in them, usually over the course of about two weeks. If we didn’t have a valve in our bags to let this process happen, the beans would still release carbon dioxide, and our bags would swell up with gas.

Air Harms Coffee

The valves on our bags are one-way to prevent air from getting at the roasted coffee. Both the oxygen and moisture in air can harm coffee, shortening its shelf life and detracting from its qualities, so it’s important to let carbon dioxide out without letting air in.

The release of carbon dioxide also releases a lot of coffees’ aromas, which is why squeezing air out of a puffed-up coffee bag smells so good. Next time you have a sealed bag of fresh coffee, squeeze it and see if you can identify any of the coffee’s notes in the gas that is released. You’ll be releasing carbon dioxide, but you’ll also be releasing the aromatics that make coffee so flavorful.

Scott

Scott is a professional writer for Driftaway Coffee. He worked as a barista for eight years, but today prefers to enjoy his beverages from the other side of the counter. When not drinking Driftaway Coffee, Scott usually has a mug of his own roasted coffee nearby.

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Tags: coffee bag roasting Storage

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