Storing the Beans

Preserving the freshness of your coffee beans can be difficult. Beans go through a natural chemical process after roasting. Any substance that comes into contact with the beans will impact that chemical process. Their freshness is depleted very quickly when coffee beans are subjected to excessive air, moisture, heat and light. An open container will cause oxidation and make the beans become stale. If moisture is added, during freezing for example, their flavor will weaken. Just like any chemical process heat and light increase the rate of change, causing your beans to lose their freshly roasted taste more quickly.

Coffee's Enemies:

• Light
• Water
• Oxygen
• Heat
• Flavors from Refridgerator, Freezer, or Container

According to a article at the National Coffee Association of U.S.A. (NCAUSA), Inc the best way to store coffee beans is “airtight and cool”. First, store your beans in an airtight glass or ceramic container. Then place the container in a cool, dark place away from ovens and windows.

Room Temperature Storage

Use a ceramic containe to keep out water and oxygen. A clean, dry ceramic container will not contaminate the taste of the coffee. (Plastic and metal hold onto other flavors) Keep the container away from heat, like the stove, toaster, window. Fill your clean, dry ceramic container to the top. This will keep your coffee beans fresh for one to two weeks.

Freezing Coffee - Not a Great Idea

Some people store their coffee in the freezer thinking it is going to keep the coffee fresh. Here are a couple of reasons why storing coffee in your freezer is a bad idea:

• Coffee is porous. This is a good thing for fans of flavored coffee as the beans absorb the coffee flavoring syrups and oils that are used to make flavored coffee. However, if given the chance, coffee can absorb other things like the flavor of seafood or the moisture that your freezer produces. This moisture will in turn deteriorate the coffee and even make it taste like, well... like a freezer.
• When coffee is roasted, the beans release their oils and essences to give the coffee its distinct flavor. You'll notice these oils are more prominent on dark-roasted coffee and espresso. When you break down these oils by freezing, you are removing the flavor.

Think about it.... if coffee tasted better and fresher from the freezer, then you would buy it in the frozen food section, your local coffee shop might look more like an ice cream parlor, and our power bills would be through roof trying to maintain a meat-locker the size of a warehouse.

When to Freeze Coffee

For short term storage, freezing your coffee will not keep it fresher. If you need to store your coffee 2-8 weeks, freezing will inprove the protection from coffee' s enemies. Put your unopened vacum sealed bag into the freezer immediately upon receiving it. Once you pull it out of the freezer, place the beans in a clean, dry ceramic container with a good seal. Keep the container away from heat sources. Avoid opening and closing the container frequently. If you have a large quantity, store it in several smaller containers. Keep your container in a dry place like the pantry. Do not put your beans back into the freezer once they have thawed.

When to Refrigerate Coffee

Never, unless you are conducting a science experiment on how long it takes to ruin perfectly good coffee. The fridge is one of the absolute worst places to put coffee.

For the best tasting coffee, buy your beans whole and store them in a sealed container in a dark place. Grind right before serving. Ground coffee loses its freshness faster than whole bean coffee. The process speeds up much quicker when you change from bean form to ground form. Think about it, you increase the surface area that the chemical process is taking place in, so it increases the speed it is done at. That is why you read that grinding your own coffee is best as long as you grind what you need and use it. If you buy your coffee pre-ground you will want to put it in an airtight container immediately after you open the bag.

Vacuum-Sealed Coffee

Vacuum-sealed coffee does not equal fresh coffee. When coffee is roasted, it releases carbon dioxide and continues to release it for days afterward. Fresh-roasted coffee can be packaged in valve-sealed bags to allow the gasses to escape and will taste best about 48 hours after roasting. To be vacuum sealed, the coffee has to first release all its CO² or it will burst the bag. The valve lets the excess gasses out and keeps the oxygen and moisture out. The vacuum bag will indeed help preserve coffee longer while it ships and maybe sits on a store shelf, but before it shipped it had to sit around for a while before it was "sealed for freshness." Vacuum sealing is best for pre-ground coffee, which we already know is not going to taste as good as fresh-ground coffee.

Bottom Line

• Buy your coffee from a roaster!
• Store it clean, dry, dark and air-tight!
• Freezing is okay. Just do it right! ONLY ONCE!
• Grind beans just before you use them!
• Protect your coffee from the enemy at all costs!
• There is no substitute for fresh!
• Enjoy!