Best ways to store coffee and keep it fresh

Keeping your coffee beans or grinds in an airtight container will help them stay fresh for a long time after they've expired. However, keeping your coffee fresh is dependent not just on how you store it, but also on how it was produced and packaged. Because some coffee isn't made to stay forever, and you don't want it to, it's best to replenish your coffee supplies on a regular basis rather than stocking up for a long time.

It's also worth noting that pre-ground coffee, as well as coffee you grind yourself, will last shorter than coffee beans (make sure to check out our coffee bean gift set). The natural chemical processes that destroy the coffee molecules will move considerably faster in coffee grounds since there is greater surface area and the centre of the bean is not protected. This disparity, however, can be minimised with adequate packing and processing processes.

Should I Freeze or Shouldn't I Freeze?

Coffee enthusiasts are accustomed to storing their coffee in the refrigerator or freezer. While freezing coffee extends its shelf life, it also destroys its flavours and fragrances. Water condenses within the coffee and coffee container due to the cold environment. This changes the cell structures of the coffee molecules, causing the beans or grounds to lose a lot of flavour—not to mention picking up the odours from the freezer.

Moving the coffee beans in and out of the freezer on a frequent basis might cause temperature changes that harm the coffee and deplete its flavour. We never advocate storing coffee beans or grounds in the freezer or refrigerator for these reasons.

Packaging and Processing

Some aspects of maintaining the freshness of your coffee are beyond your control. The methods used by coffee firms to package their beans have a considerable impact on the coffee's shelf life.

Sealing with a vacuum

Vacuum sealing is a significantly more prevalent method than nitrogen flushing. Simply put, this is the procedure for placing coffee beans in a vacuum-sealed container. This accomplishes the same goal as holding coffee in an airtight container, except that all of the gases are sucked out first, leaving no oxygen instead of the small amount of oxygen left in an airtight container.

The beans are kept out for 1-2 days before packing in this technique to allow them to off-gas and not rupture the packaging.

It is vital to remember that once the package is opened, the beans begin to expire very instantly owing to the oxygen. When you open the packet, immediately transfer the coffee beans to an airtight container.

Keeping Your Coffee Safe

The most significant factor in extending the shelf life of ground coffee or coffee beans is how and where you keep it. The easiest method to do this is to keep your coffee beans in an airtight container at or below room temperature in a cold, dry environment.

Coffee beans can be kept fresh for up to 9 months if stored properly, though their quality will deteriorate over time. Coffee grounds kept in an airtight container can last up to two months longer.

What is the most effective method for storing coffee beans?

When buying roasted coffee beans, make sure to store them properly to keep their fresh flavour. You should maintain them in an airtight container because too much moisture, air, and oxygen exposure over time can degrade their quality and cause your coffee to taste odd. Furthermore, this method of preserving roasted beans can actually extend their shelf life!

You can keep coffee beans in a resealable bag here if you buy them in a resealable bag. It is, however, not a good long-term solution. Putting your beans in a sealed container is the best way to keep them fresh. Avoid putting them out in the open or in glass containers where they will be exposed to light, as this will change the flavour of the beans.

Coffee beans should be stored in a cold, dark spot in your home, such as a cupboard. The further away from heat sources like ovens, the better, as your beans will be less likely to be harmed and will keep their freshness for longer.

If you store your beans in a sealed container, they will stay fresh for at least one month. However, even home storage containers can let in small amounts of air, so it's best to use up these coffee beans as soon as possible rather than storing them for an extended period of time!

Faqs

Is It Possible To Keep Coffee Beans Fresh For A Long Time? (This is known as the Freezer Method.)

All of this is fine for keeping your beans fresh in the short term, but what if you're going on vacation, an overseas secondment, or joining the peace corps and want the 10kg of high-quality coffee beans you (inadvertently) purchased to be excellent and fresh when you return?

I'm going to defer to Scott Rao, who characterises a freezer as "a terrific long-term storage strategy since it dramatically decreases oxidation and loss of volatiles" in his excellent book Everything But Espresso. The idea is that if you can keep them as fresh as possible by removing as much air as feasible.

He suggests using a plastic bag and squeezing out as much air as possible. I posted about a number of solid purpose-designed solutions for airtight coffee storage containers here.

Which is fresher: roasted or unroasted coffee beans?

We're talking about green coffee when we say unroasted beans. That is to say, raw beans in their unroasted state. It's in hessian sacks like this that they arrive at our roasters... You'd probably break your teeth if you bit on a green bean. This is why they keep their freshness for so much longer than roasted coffee beans.

The roasting process makes coffee taste great, but it also makes it weak and fragile. It alters the beans' structure, causing them to lose flavour more quickly over time.

Green coffee (unroasted) can survive for up to two years. Roasted beans can last anywhere from 2 to 6 months, depending on the type of coffee and your personal tastes.

Keep reading for our expert storing advice if you want to get the most out of your beans.

Green Coffee Beans: How Long Do They Last?

Green coffee beans have grown in popularity in recent years as a result of their health advantages, brewing versatility, and, most crucially, their longer shelf life. Green coffee beans, unlike their roasted cousins, may be kept stable for long periods of time in the correct conditions.

Continue reading if you're wondering about this new caffeine fad or if you have any unanswered questions regarding the green side of beans. We'll tell you not just how long they last, but also how to keep them fresh longer, why they're so popular, and a few other facts you might not know.