Originally Posted by zeroptzero

Freshness is paramount with espresso machines for the production of crema, so I buy beans in one pound packs, and I keep them in air tight containers once I get home. I almost never have them in my house for more than a month , usually 2-3 weeks. I have never frozen beans though I heard it might help preserve freshness, but you have to deal with condensation when moved to room temperature and you don't want watery beans. I think oily beans can develop a bad taste if kept too long. I don't use light roasts either, I find a medium roast is best for me, as the oil is kept in the bean and comes out during extraction, too light of a roast might not develop enough useable oil.

Originally Posted by reversible

Oh I see. I don't go through beans quickly enough so I never really have spare beans sitting around. I've actually heard you're supposed to keep frozen beans frozen even when using them, and just grind a little coarser to compensate. Haven't actually put it to the test though.

I didn't know that about light roast espresso! I thought it was just the tendency for increased acidity that made it less appealing.