Would you strive espresso that was harvested ten years in the past? Roasters are experimenting with freezing inexperienced espresso, unlocking new prospects for high quality preservation.

BY EMILY JOY MENESES
ONLINE EDITOR

Picture by George Dagerotip

We’re all accustomed to frozen produce—however what about frozen espresso? Over the previous decade, a rising variety of roasters have begun experimenting with freezing inexperienced espresso as a method to protect freshness, prolong shopping for energy, and primarily “bend time,” permitting espresso drinkers to take pleasure in espresso that’s actually from a long time previous, with no sacrifice in high quality.

Few have embraced the apply of freezing espresso as absolutely as Passenger Espresso, a Lancaster, Pa.–based mostly firm which just lately launched a Kenyan espresso harvested in 2016 that had been frozen since its arrival. And this isn’t their first time freezing espresso; the truth is, they achieve this with all of their inexperienced espresso.

So why freeze espresso? And what does it imply for the folks consuming it? Right this moment, we discover the subject in-depth.

Preserving Inexperienced Espresso

Anybody who has labored with inexperienced, or unroasted, espresso, is aware of that high quality inevitably declines a number of months after import. Over time, fragrant compounds degrade, moisture migrates, and flavors flatten. Left unchecked, even distinctive coffees can start to style papery or woody: what espresso professionals describe as “pale” or “displaying age.”

Freezing presents a method to sluggish these processes dramatically. By storing inexperienced espresso at persistently low temperatures, chemical reactions that result in staling are successfully paused. In accordance with Passenger, years of inside testing confirmed that freezing was essentially the most dependable method to protect the qualities they prize of their coffees.

Angela Ferrara, Director of Advertising and marketing at Passenger, explains: “All inexperienced espresso has a shelf life from a high quality standpoint, that means that no inexperienced espresso will retain its fascinating cup traits indefinitely with out intentional preservation. By way of greater than a decade of experimentation, we’ve discovered freezing to be an extremely efficient method to indefinitely protect the freshness and fascinating qualities of our inexperienced coffees.”

How the Course of Works

At Passenger, freezing isn’t solely reserved for particular heaps—it’s the norm. Each pound of inexperienced espresso they buy is vacuum-sealed and saved in a industrial freezer shortly after arrival. When it’s time to roast, the espresso is eliminated, allowed to thaw for a brief, managed interval (round two days), and roasted quickly after.

This consistency is vital. As a result of the espresso’s bodily and chemical state stays largely unchanged over time, roast profiles don’t want fixed tweaking. “Our coffees are picked up from the freezer on the identical day each week, thawed for a similar quick interval of roughly two days, and roasted very shortly thereafter,” Angela says. “Because of this our roast profiles require little or no adjustment—particularly within the case of coffees which might be bought from the identical producers 12 months after 12 months.”

Advantages Past the Cup

Freezing inexperienced espresso isn’t nearly taste preservation; it additionally reshapes how roasters purchase espresso. With out the strain to make use of a espresso rapidly earlier than it fades, roasters can decide to bigger contracts and supply extra monetary stability to producers.

“As an alternative of shopping for just a few month’s value of espresso from our companions every harvest, we are able to confidently contract greater than a 12 months’s value of espresso every harvest as a result of we don’t have to fret about that espresso getting older,” Angela advised Barista Journal.

The result’s deeper, extra resilient sourcing relationships—and extra flexibility in how coffees present up on the menu. That flexibility additionally opens the door to inventive menu curation. Passenger makes use of frozen storage to keep up a constant single-origin lineup whereas additionally rotating via Reserve heaps, academic choices, and archival releases from previous harvests.

“Espresso age isn’t a figuring out issue for once we’ll launch one thing,” Angela says.

A Case Research in Time Journey

Passenger’s current launch of their 2016 Kiriani Peaberry from Kenya is a main instance of what frozen preservation can obtain. The espresso was chosen from the corporate’s archive after a current cupping shocked the group. “This (espresso) is good and jammy with notes of blackcurrant and vibrant citrus. It’s the quintessential taste profile that has all the time outlined our favourite Kenyan espresso,” Angela notes.

Simply as importantly, the espresso serves as a testomony to the freezing course of and its validity. “As a result of this is without doubt one of the oldest coffees inside our archive, it additionally served as proof of idea for our preservation technique,” Angela says.

Does Frozen Espresso Style Completely different?

For drinkers, the large query is whether or not freezing adjustments the flavour. The quick reply: It shouldn’t.
“So far as coffees popping out of the freezer are involved, they may style precisely like they did earlier than they have been frozen,” Angela says—supplied the espresso was frozen earlier than indicators of age appeared. In different phrases, freezing doesn’t add something new; it merely preserves what was already there.

As freezing know-how turns into extra accessible and sustainability conversations proceed to evolve, inexperienced espresso freezing could transfer from curiosity to cornerstone. For now, it presents a glimpse right into a future the place nice coffees don’t should disappear with the harvest—and the place time, at the least in the case of espresso, can stand nonetheless.

Subscribe and Extra!

As all the time, you’ll be able to learn Barista Journal in paper by subscribing or ordering a difficulty.

Assist Barista Journal with a Membership.

Signup for our weekly e-newsletter.

Learn the February + March 2026 Subject totally free with our digital version. 

Without cost entry to greater than 5 years’ value of points, go to our digital version archives right here.