I bought a couple of 5 lb bags of green coffee beans from Sweet Maria's two years ago or so. Tried roasting and was disappointed with the results after 4 or 5 attempts, so I kind of let it go. My question is that I'd like to try it again and am curious if the green coffee beans would still be good. They have been stored in a dark area in the same bags they came in. Anyone have an idea what the shelf life is of raw green beans? Thanks. Steve
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I thought I read somewhere that 1 year was about the shelf life of green beans. But don't quote me on that. I say roast them, they're probably still good. If anything, roast them a little longer. You'll lose the nuances of the bean at lighter roasts, but with the age on them, it's likely those have started to diminish anyway.
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I agree with Bob.

I think I recall reading the 1 year end consumer shelf life thing on Sweet Maria's website somewhere in one of Tom's postings. Not a strict science, but more like a logical conclusion the way he presented it.
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Even though they are more than likely past their prime, I'd follow the advice to roast them up anyway, just a darker roast.

Edit* I'm definatly not an expert though.
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Good advice; I wasn't thinking of going darker because of the age, but that does seem to have some merit. Will do and just in case someone else may be interested, I'll update this note. Thanks for the feedback.
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Interested to hear how it works out for you. Do you remember how dark you roasted them the first time?
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Yes, I do. When I roasted before the beans looked and smelled fantastic. I just was disappointed in the flavor of the brewed coffee. I am pretty convinced that it was more how was grinding the beans and plan to experiment again now to try and get it right. I had a new grinder and I think I've worked through that. I'll post the result here.
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