Storing Coffee

Storing Coffee

Storing coffee is a major part of brewing coffee, because stale or rancid coffee beans make bad coffee. But how to store your coffee in a way that the coffee keeps its flavor?

Coffee beans have a superior shelf life compared to ground coffee, so it is smart to consider getting a coffee grinder. Ground coffee stays good for weeks, while beans can stay good for months if stored correctly. After this, the best flavors in the coffee begin to disappear.

Coffee stays best when kept in it’s original resealable container.

Coffee has four arch enemies: air, moisture, sunlight and temperature changes

Coffee has four arch enemies: air, moisture, sunlight and temperature changes. Even though the list seems long, storing coffee doesn’t have to be rocket science or expensive. When you handle the basics, storing your coffee won’t need to be on the top of your mind.

Air

The worst enemy of coffee is air. The fats in coffee easily go rancid while in touch with air, so it’s essential to store your coffee in airtight conditions. Most of the packages coffee is sold in are airtight, so the problems begin when you open the bag.
The overall best solution is that the original coffee bag is resealable. For example the Slurp bags are resealable for extended shelf life and usability.
If the coffee bag isn’t air tight it is important to have an airtight container where to store your coffee. Moving the coffee from one container to another isn’t too smart either, because that aerates the coffee.

Moisture

Coffee beans and grounds are extremely sensitive to moisture and can go immediately bad, if exposed to it. The coffee bag needs to be tightly sealed, so that it doesn’t collect moisture from the air or accidentally get wet.

Sunlight

Sunlight makes the coffee taste stale and the longer coffee stays in direct sunlight (especially straight after roasting), the worse it tastes. That is why it is the best to store your coffee in a cupboard or otherwise shielded from sunlight.

Temperature changes

If your coffee heats up before it is used, the aromas start to dissipate and your coffee will taste weaker. Temperature changes, especially fast ones also change the moisture and may ruin the coffee. So keeping your coffee next to your stove is a certain no-no.

Storing coffee in the fridge or freezer

Storing your coffee in a fridge or freezer is a tip almost everyone has sometimes heard. But is it a good idea?

Fridge

Having coffee in the fridge can cause fast changes in temperature that in turn cause moisture to build up and ruin the coffee. This is especially true when the coffee stored in the fridge is used on a daily basis.

The biggest risk of storing your coffee in the fridge is the impermeability of the bag. If the coffee bag is closed sloppily or has a hole in it, the coffee can catch some unpleasant flavors from the contents of your fridge. An unopened coffee bag is safer to store in the fridge than an opened one.

Freezer

Freezing your coffee is a good idea if the coffee bag is unopened and you know it will stay unopened for weeks or months. Freezing your coffee slows the dissipation of flavors. Freezing is only recommended for unopened bags of coffee.
When you take the coffee bag out of the freezer, let it warm up over time. If you open the cold coffee package, the shift in temperatures witll bring moisture and ruin the coffee.

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