Choosing beans for espresso
Look for the roast date, buy whole beans and use them within a month. Stale beans make flat espresso on any machine.
Aug 25, 2026 · 2 min read
The machine can only pull out what is in the coffee. Stale beans make flat, bitter espresso however well you grind and press them. Fresh beans have more flavour and more crema, the golden layer on top of the shot.
Check the roast date
Good coffee has a roast date on the bag, not just a best-before date. Beans taste best from about a week after roasting until about a month after. Older than that, they lose flavour quickly.
Buy whole beans
Ground coffee goes stale in a few days, so whole beans ground just before each shot taste much better. If you have no grinder yet, buy the smallest bags of coffee ground for espresso you can find, and open a new one often.
Store them well
- Keep the beans in their bag or an airtight tin, away from light and heat.
- Not in the fridge: the beans take on moisture and smells.
- Buy what you will use in a few weeks rather than a large bag.
Our beans, every four weeks
Our beans subscription sends a 250 g bag of our house roast every four weeks, whole or ground for the machine, for $18 a bag. At 18 g a shot, a bag makes about 13 double shots. You can pause or stop any time. See the beans.
Written by The barista, co-founder of Nove
