How To Store Your Coffee Beans?

If you want to be confident that you can make tasty cups of coffee at home without always running to the coffee shop to buy more, then you’ll need to learn how to get the most out of your coffee beans. From sealed bags to storage containers, here are our storing suggestions and tips to help you maximise the freshness and flavour of your beans.

 


Buy An Airtight Container

Like most perishable items, your coffee beans will not last long if they are not kept in an airtight container. If you keep your beans exposed to prolonged air, moisture, heat and light you may as well have asked them to go off.

Keeping your coffee beans in their original packaging is not ideal for longevity. To keep your beans fresher for longer, avoid using a plastic bag and opt for a clear, air-tight container so that you can be certain no air will get in. Plastic bags can not guarantee that air won't get in with the same confidence as an airtight container.

Keep your coffee beans container somewhere that is at room temperature or below 25 degrees Celsius and away from direct light. Be weary of keeping them in a spot that may heat up because of kitchen appliances.




Don’t Buy Too Many Coffee

Overbuying is not only bad for your hip pocket, but also the lifespan of your coffee beans. Coffee beans begin to lose freshness as soon as they are roasted. Be wary as this means coffee beans purchased from a grocery store or even your local roaster are likely available days after roasting.

When you shop for coffee, try to buy smaller quantities. Whether you buy from a small batch of freshly roasted coffee, or only enough to last a week or two, this will significantly improve the quality of your coffee experience.

As exposure to air is bad for your coffee beans, try to keep them stored in separated smaller containers so that you are only exposing small quantities to air at a time. If you are buying whole beans and not pre-ground coffee, make sure to grind only the amount you need before brewing.



Should You Refrigerate Coffee?

To cut straight to the chase: keeping coffee in the fridge compromises its freshness. Coffee should be consumed as quickly as possible once the roasting process is complete, so keeping them in the fridge to prolong their life is a wasted effort.

Coffee beans also absorb the moisture, odors and tastes from the items surrounding it which is a huge argument as to why you shouldn’t freeze coffee. While an airtight container is an appropriate storage solution, they do still allow small particles of oxygen to get in. So, your coffee will take on the odors from whatever else is in the fridge when stored this way.





How Long Is Coffee Considered Fresh?

The definition of ‘fresh coffee’ changes from person to person. Of course, the more time that has passed since the coffee was freshly ground the less fresh it can be considered. However, as long as the coffee beans are still producing incredible tasting coffee, they can be considered fresh.

 

How Long Is Coffee Good For After Roast Date?

Coffee connoisseurs and professional roasters alike recommend waiting anywhere from three days to a week after the roast date before consuming coffee beans.



How Can You Tell If Coffee Is Fresh?

Not sure if your coffee has gone stale? Grab a handful of whole coffee beans and squeeze all the air out before leaving them overnight. If the bag appears to have inflated by the morning, that means your beans have a healthy dose of carbon dioxide to release which indicates they are still fresh. If the bag doesn’t inflate, then your beans have passed their peak.



How Long Does Coffee Last Once Open?

On average an unsealed bag of ground coffee beans can still safely be used for up to 5 months after the expiration date. However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t run the risk of a stale-tasting coffee.