My entire life, brewing coffee has been something of an enigma. I would always wonder how it was made, and why people drank it? As I got older, I began to lose that mystique about the brewing process. After all, just add hot water to grounds and your done right?

As it turns out, the process has much more mystery than I let myself believe. Not only does temperature and roast matter, so too does the shelf life. You see, the coffee cherry seed or “bean” is alive!

Once you roast it, the seed becomes analogous to food. Being that is alive, you can expect it to rot or become stale. According to self-proclaimed coffee freak Asher Yaron, it is a living thing. He states that “monks would brew this fresh to achieve spiritual enlightenment”. He makes quite a convincing argument that the beverage should not be sealed in coffins, but rather treated like the food it is. it should be consumed as soon as it settles, rather than the weeks some manufacturers claim settling takes.

Check out Asher Yaron’s TEDx on his favorite subject