No, the pouches used in coffee packaging are not recommended to be used after their sell by date. In most cases, the coffee does not become unfit for drinking past its selling date, but it does lose its flavor. In some cases, the coffee can indeed become unfit for drinking after the selling date printed on the package. The catch is that you never know which coffee is fit and which is unfit for drinking once it is past its sell-by date. Therefore it is advisable not to use a coffee plastic pouch after its selling date.
The brown coffee we see every day in our homes, offices, and other places is very different from the coffee which is collected from the fields. The coffee beans, when they are harvested, have a green hue. These green beans are have little aroma, but they are filled with different chemicals. These chemicals include: potassium, carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, lipids, chlorogenic acids, and caffeine. These chemicals are absent individually from the brown coffee because of baking.
Once the coffee has been harvested, it is roasted for a long time – sometimes for several days. During this process, the coffee chemicals mix with each other to create the great smell- the familiar aroma of coffee. A major change that takes place during baking is the generation of carbon dioxide. One kilogram of coffee beans can exude as much as 10 liters of this gas during the roasting process.
The removal of carbon dioxide leaves coffee vulnerable to oxidation. Oxidation of coffee removes its aroma and makes it stale. Therefore coffee is packaged in such a way that the product does not come in contact with the oxygen in the atmosphere. Companies usually recommend that their coffee should be consumed as fast as possible after the packaging has been opened.
Since coffee releases CO2 the moment it has finished roasting, it needs special packages that can let the carbon dioxide escape without letting oxygen come in. The sell by date is the pre-calculated time period during which the coffee has lost so much aroma and flavor that it is no longer fit for consumption. Some sellers may explicitly mention on stand up bags or another kind of packaging that the coffee will remain fit for drinking, albeit the aroma may not be there after the sell by date. Unless you can notice such a note, it is advisable to avoid coffee that is past its sell by date.
