Your Coffee's Batch Number and Best Before Date Tell a Story

Every bag of our coffee carries a batch number. It looks like a random code. It isn't.

What the batch number tells us

Behind every batch number is a full record:

• The exact origin lot numbers of the green coffee in the bag
• The roast profile we used
• The day it was roasted

It's how we keep every batch consistent, and it's how we investigate when something doesn't seem right.

When a coffee doesn't taste the same

Every so often, a customer tells us their latest bag doesn't taste like the last one. We take that seriously. The first thing we do is look up the batch number. We check that the roast profile ran as it should, and that the right origins went into the roaster.

Once we've confirmed that, about 98% of the time the cause is the same: the bag's one-way valve has failed.

That little round valve on the front of the bag has an important job. Freshly roasted coffee releases carbon dioxide for days, so the valve lets that gas out without letting oxygen in. Oxygen is what makes coffee stale. If the valve fails, oxygen creeps in, and the coffee goes flat long before it should.

If your coffee tastes off:

• Keep the bag. The batch number lets us trace it.
• Get in touch and tell us what you're noticing.
• We'll check the batch, and make it right.

Reading the best before date

We print a best-before date on every bag. But here's some inside knowledge for coffee lovers who'd rather know the roast date:

• 1kg bags: subtract 6 months from the best-before date.
• 250g bags: subtract 9 months from the best-before date.

Coffee won't make you sick when it's old. It just loses what makes it special: aroma, sweetness and complexity. It's at its best within about one to two months of roasting, and still good for up to four months if the bag hasn't been opened.

Fresh or rested: what suits your brew?

Coffee is best not too fresh and not too old:

• Espresso: give it a rest. Most espresso tastes best around one to four weeks after roasting, once the gas has settled and the shot runs evenly.
• Pour-over and filter: brew within the first month or so, when the floral and fruity notes are at their brightest.

Once you've opened the bag

The valve only protects coffee while the bag is sealed. Once it's open, squeeze out the air, seal it tight and store it somewhere cool and dark. Never keep it in the fridge. Our guide to storing coffee so it stays fresh has the details.

Every bag we roast is tracked from the green coffee lot to your cupboard. Shop our full range.