How long does coffee last?

I was cleaning in the basement and came across an unopened can of coffee with an expiration date of 2012.  I opened it and smelled it.  It did not smell as good as fresh coffee, but it did not smell bad either.  There was less aroma than I would expect from fresh coffee.  I made a cup.   The taste was off …but not horrible.  I would equate the taste with instant coffee. My conclusion is that while it would not be my first choice, it was drinkable. I have had worse in some restaurants.

The oils go rancid, but if it's unopened, it probably has some gas in it to slow this.

I don't remember anything about the rancidity being harmful, but it influences the flavours.  

I'm a coffee snob, so 2 years past the best before for unopened geound, or four years for whole roasted beans, unopened is about my limit.  But I'm fussy. So fussy, I almost never buy coffee from a shop because I make it much better at home.  I'm that kind of coffee snob.

If it smells good.  Make a cup.  Still smell good?  Have a bit.  Wait an hour to see if it makes anything grumpy.  I bet it will be fine.

Once open, you can extend the time it's good by keeping it in the freezer or fridge.

If it seems passable, I would drink it. It's been sealed and then boiled. It can hardly do harm -- once it's past your olfactory senses.

Around here, classic way to use up sketchy coffee is to make a coca-mocha, adding a bit of chocolate, sweet, and milk. Adjust to taste.

I doubt if I will be drinking the rest of it. Life is too short to drink old coffee..especially when I have an ample supply of fresh.  I probably will experiment with another pot or two to see if I can improve the taste. But the find did raise the question of how long coffee will last and still have an acceptable flavor.

Watched a show on Victorian household tricks yesterday. They kept their used tea leaves and used them as a sweeping compound to control dust. Used coffee grounds would, I imagine, also be suitable.

Other uses for brewed but undrinkable coffee: insect control on plants, in a squirt bottle. Caffeine is a neurotoxin. There's also an oil that comes off, but I'm not sure of its uses.

John F Dean wrote:..... the find did raise the question of how long coffee will last and still have an acceptable flavor.

Along similar lines, I recently  found an unopened can of walnut oil.  I recall my wife bringing it home some years back, but it sat behind everything else in the cupboard until now.  I was surprised it had never been opened and that got me curious as the high omega-3 content in walnut oil may result in early rancidity.....but perhaps not if it has remained closed?  Any ideas here?.....

Unopened coffee is still good for 2 years?  I corresponded with the woman heading up this project (I found an error, of course) and discovered that their basis for the chart is a USDA chart.

The pantry chart I'd found is here:

https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/sites/default/files/2023-01/fn579.pdf

J

We have an off grid property and I use the coffee that is stored there without any problem.

I am not a coffee expert so that might make a difference ....

John Weiland wrote:

John F Dean wrote:..... the find did raise the question of how long coffee will last and still have an acceptable flavor.

Along similar lines, I recently  found an unopened can of walnut oil.  I recall my wife bringing it home some years back, but it sat behind everything else in the cupboard until now.  I was surprised it had never been opened and that got me curious as the high omega-3 content in walnut oil may result in early rancidity.....but perhaps not if it has remained closed?  Any ideas here?.....

I'd guess it might be okay if it's unopened. Rancidity is an oxidation reaction, right? Without oxygen, not that much could happen. That said, walnut oil is a drying oil, just like linseed. And linseed oil eats oxygen voraciously enough that the plastic in half-full bottles of linseed oil often bulges inward due to reduced pressure, or at least I think that's the reason...

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Watched a show on Victorian household tricks yesterday. They kept their used tea leaves and used them as a sweeping compound to control dust. Used coffee grounds would, I imagine, also be suitable.

FYI: Brit POWs in WWII dried out their tea bags for reuse....