Sometimes guests ask us: "Why don't you have my favorite Costa Rica? I bought a pack six months ago and I loved it! Why did it disappear?”
We will tell you! Coffee is a seasonal product, which means you can't always drink the same beverage all year round. At Shavi Coffee Roasters we are extremely diligent and determined to buy only fresh green beans. This means that the seasonality of coffee in different countries is a very important factor to consider.
Harvest ≠ Roast Date
You’ll usually find a roast date printed on a bag of beans. But an even more important date is the harvest date. Coffee is a fruit. And like any fruit, it doesn’t stay fresh forever. A few months after harvest, green coffee beans begin to lose aromatic compounds, complexity, acidity, and sweetness. This process is called green coffee aging.
So even if the beans were roasted “yesterday,” the taste might be stale if the green coffee sat in storage for 10 months before roasting. These beans often taste flat, empty, dry, or even papery (this happens especially with delicate washed African coffees).
Coffee Has Seasons: Each Region Has Its Own Window
Coffee is harvested during specific months of the year depending on geography and climate. Here’s a rough calendar for reference:
How Coffee Flavor Changes as it Ages
Fresh coffee is vibrant, full of fruity acidity, sweetness, and a clean finish. After 6-9 months post-harvest you’ll notice the following changes:
• acidity drops (especially citrus and winey notes);
• body and sweetness fades;
• flat or papery notes emerge;
• flavors become muted, even dull.
Humidity and storage conditions can slow down or accelerate this process, but time always wins. Delicate lots — like washed Ethiopians, Geisha, or SL28 — are the most sensitive. Naturals or more neutral coffees (like Brazilian beans) tend to “age” a bit more gracefully.
What Roasters Do About It
For roasters, seasonality is almost like strategic logistics: they must carefully calculate how much green coffee to buy and when. Large roasters often work with importers who ship fresh crops in waves, aligned with global harvest cycles.
They also control temperature and humidity during storage. Ideal conditions are 16–18°C with humidity under 60%. Otherwise, flavor fades faster.
See how delicate it all is?
Coffee Is a Product of the Year, Not the Century
We’re used to teas, wines, or spices aging for years. But specialty coffee is alive. It changes, fades, and sadly it ages.
That’s why the same coffee can taste completely different in May versus November. If you want maximum flavor, look for coffee that’s fresh not only from the roaster — but fresh from the farm, harvested just months ago under that year’s sun.
We hope this helps clarify why sometimes we might not have your favorite coffee in stock, but rest assured, our team always tries to have other similar alternatives to fit each taste preference.
See what’s available now and always stay tuned for new coffee drops.
Text: Nino Takaishvili
