Some sellers know you're checking for roast dates, so they try to hide them. Here's what to watch for:

• Printing the roast date in tiny font on the bottom or side, where you'd have to squint to see it.
• Using a 'best by' date instead—that's a classic way to make old coffee look fresh.
• 'Roasted on order' claims—but if the beans are already in a sealed bag with no date, that's a lie.
• Putting the date in a code that you'd have to decode. If they won't tell you plainly, they're hiding something.

I once saw a bag with a 'roast date' that was actually the packaging date. Sneaky.