I love my morning cup of coffee. I have been keeping my extra coffee beans in the freezer. Lately I began to wonder it this was the best way to store coffee. Is it possible to store coffee long-term?
The enemies of roasted coffee are moisture, air, light and heat. Storing your coffee away from them will keep it fresher longer. An airtight container stored in a cool, dark place is the best environment for your coffee. Once coffee’s original packaging is opened, coffee loses its freshness quickly. The best containers to store coffee are ceramic or non-reactive metal containers with airtight gaskets. Coffee can be stored fresh in clear, glass canisters or clear plastic ware only if the canisters are kept in a cool, dark place. If you are planning to store your coffee on your counter use an opaque, airtight container.
Coffee is porous which is a good thing if you are a fan of flavored coffees. Coffee beans absorb the coffee flavoring syrups and oils used to make flavored coffee. However this means that coffee can also absorb other flavors such as seafood or the moisture your freezer produces. This is why we don’t buy our coffee from the freezer section at the grocery store! Does this mean you can’t store coffee in your freezer? No, if you found a great price on bulk coffee and it is more than you will use in a two-week period than the freezer can be an acceptable place to store your coffee. However you want to keep it in the freezer until ready to use and then take it out and use it. Don’t keep putting it in and taking it out. The change in temperature is not good for your coffee. If you’ve purchased a large quantity of coffee that you will not use immediately, small portions, wrapped in airtight bags, can be stored for up to a month in the freezer.
Never store your coffee in the refrigerator; it is the worst place to put coffee.
Buy whole beans and keep them whole as long as possible. Grinding the coffee breaks up the beans, their oils are exposed to air and the coffee goes stale a lot faster, no matter how you store it. For the best tasting coffee, buy your beans whole and store them in a sealed container in a dark place. Grind right before serving.
What about 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 gases to escape and will taste best about 48 hours after roasting. The vacuum bag will indeed help preserve coffee longer while it ships and maybe sits on a store shelf, but before it is shipped it has to sit around for a awhile 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.
So in review: buy whole beans directly from a coffee roaster if possible. Look for valve sealed bags, not vacuum-sealed, store your coffee beans in a sealed container in a dark place. Grind your beans just before serving. If you want to store coffee beans long-term you should learn about how to roast your own coffee beans! Enjoy your coffee!
Nancy on the Home Front 