Coffee Storage

[Katie Meadow]

Both my husband and I have cut back on coffee, so we don't drink it every morning. We buy a 1/2 pound in the bean maybe every three weeks and have been storing it in the freezer, taking out and grinding only as much as we need for a given pot. It's been suggested that grinding frozen beans doesn't maximize flavor and that instead I should take from the freezer about a weeks's worth of beans, whatever that might be, keep it at room temp in an airtight container and grind per pot as always.

I checked the coffee threads and couldn't much find info there devoted to storing coffee beans. How long can beans be at room temp without ill effect? What type of container preserves beans best at room temp? I don't want to be too fussbudgety about this, but I think of coffee as a special treat now, and want to get the most out of my cup.

[sanrensho]

I personally don't freeze my beans nowadays, because I usually go through whole beans in less than a week.

Regardless of whether or not you freeze, I would suggest buying even smaller quantities of freshly roasted beans. I buy a 1/4 lb about every 5-7 days and simply store in a ziploc.

If you go down to a 1/4 lb, perhaps that will minimize the need to freeze your beans (and take them out of the freezer each time).

Edited July 16, 2008 by sanrensho (log)

[MGLloyd]

I have been homeroasting for many years now. I store my whole roasted beans in a clamp-top preserve jar in the freezer. I take out only what I need for a pot, replace the jar in the freezer, grind and brew.

Since the frozen coffee beans thaw quickly from the heat of grinding and/or when the first bit of hot water hits them in the brew process, I don't think that any flavor is lost by grinding them frozen. In my experience and to my palate, keeping the beans at room temperature stales them more quickly.

Edited July 16, 2008 by MGLloyd (log)

[weinoo]

I have been homeroasting for many years now.  I store my whole roasted beans in a clamp-top preserve jar in the freezer.  I take out only what I need for a pot, replace the jar in the freezer, grind and brew.

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I think the biggest problem with this methodology is the condensation that occurs on the beans every time you remove them from the freezer and open the jar. I think it's much better to store a 5 - 7 day supply of FRESHLY-ROASTED beans in an air tight container at room temperature.

Of course, it the beans you're buying were roasted 3 weeks ago, and they haven't been vacuum packed, nothing is going to make them taste as good as fresh beans.

My method is when I receive my beans (usually roasted 2 days prior) I take out a 5 day supply or so, then use the food saver to vac-pac 1/4 lb. bags. The night before I run out, I pull a bag out of the freezer - and the beans stay in perfect condition for the next 5 days, in a simple mason pint jar.

[barrett]

oxygen is the worst thing for roasted coffee, in the freezer or not, it will continue to oxidize and lose flavour, and should be used as soon as possible. weinoo's method is probably best, as the condensation worries are valid.

as to the time limit, that depends on your own tastes, but a cool, dark place is what I suggest. Some coffees get really flat and boring after a day. Today, I sampled a couple of coffees that were 10 days off roast, opened once, and resealed in vacuum bags - not vac'd though. They were great.

[Dave the Cook]

Has anyone tried one of these?

[Katie Meadow]

Thanks for all the suggestions. My goal is to do the best I can within the limits of my patience. You have shamed me into admitting that we have been stashing the coffee in the freezer in the Peets paper sack that it is sold in; clearly not well sealed, and opened to the air every other day or two. I am not going to buy a vac sealer, and being realistic about this, I don't see myself buying less coffee more often. I can believe that frozen beans have less flavor, but will now test that out. I also read that grinding frozen beans dulls the blades on the grinder. I don't find that to be the case, since my grinder is about 30 yrs old; the blades got duller after the first 10 years, but then they reached stasis and continue to do a fine job.

So it seems like my best option is this: when I bring my coffee home I should put a week's worth in a mason jar and keep it in a dark place. Divide the remaining beans into week's worth portions and freeze them in well-sealed heavy plastic bags, getting as much air as possible out before sealing. Decant as needed into the mason jar. I believe I can do this.

Dave, I just looked at that vacu vin coffee saver. I am guessing that the pump costs more that the container. And what do they mean by the "dark color of the container?" It looks like clear plastic. But wait, there's more!

[MGLloyd]

I think the biggest problem with this methodology is the condensation that occurs on the beans every time you remove them from the freezer and open the jar.

Since the jar is out of the freezer for all of about 45 seconds, there is no condensation to speak of on the beans remaining in the jar. Also, I point out that when you do homeroast, the beans outgas carbon dioxide for a day or two, thus displacing the oxygen in the storage container.

Although individual experience and palates may differ, I can clearly tell a difference between storing my homeroast beans in the freezer and at room temperature. This is why I store them in the airtight frozen dark.

[barrett]

Has anyone tried one of these?

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Yes, they work quite well.

[weinoo]

And they're pretty much the same thing as the food saver containers - my food saver came with the hose and a couple of those containers - they work great, too.

It seems like you're on the right path, Katie...as long as you're drinking coffee from freshly ground beans, you're better off than with almost any pre ground coffee - especially once it hits the air.

[weinoo]

I think the biggest problem with this methodology is the condensation that occurs on the beans every time you remove them from the freezer and open the jar.

Since the jar is out of the freezer for all of about 45 seconds, there is no condensation to speak of on the beans remaining in the jar. Also, I point out that when you do homeroast, the beans outgas carbon dioxide for a day or two, thus displacing the oxygen in the storage container.

Although individual experience and palates may differ, I can clearly tell a difference between storing my homeroast beans in the freezer and at room temperature. This is why I store them in the airtight frozen dark.

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Whatever method works for you is great, only suggesting that beans sealed and not opened at all until their use will probably remain in better condition than beans removed from the freezer on a daily basis. You can probably pull out properly vacuum packed beans that haven't been disturbed for 30 days, open the bag, wait till they come to room temp, then grind and brew the coffee and not see a loss of flavor; I doubt the same could be said for beans that haven't been properly sealed, even in the freezer, for that length of time.

[MGLloyd]

Perhaps one of the key points to my success is that as a homeroaster, I am usually drinking coffee that has been roasted within the past week. As such, such rapid turnover may make storage issues somewhat moot. On the coffee websites, there is great ongoing debate on frozen vs. room temperature vs. airtight vs. vacuum-packed. Little agreement is reached.

My personal thought is that if you can use up roasted coffee within a week or two, and grind the beans right before brewing, you are probably at 95% of perfection right there. All else is probably window-dressing!

[weinoo]

My personal thought is that if you can use up roasted coffee within a week or two, and grind the beans right before brewing, you are probably at 95% of perfection right there.  All else is probably window-dressing!

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Agreed, the key is having freshly (within the last week or so) roasted coffee...because if you're buying beans and don't know their provenance, the suckers might have been roasted months before. And then they can be not so good.

What you're doing is obviously one of the best ways to fully appreciate the bean, and I say that as a former home roaster (unfortunately, apartments sometimes just don't lend themselves to home roasting).

But what's also great is that one can go online, and from 49th Parallel, Intellegentsia, Counter Culture, Gimme Coffee, Stumptown, et.al. have coffee in their mailbox that was roasted and shipped perfectly 2 or 3 days prior. And now that they've got it home the challenge is keeping it in that state until, or close to, the time they're grinding it. Which I feel vacuum sealing and freezing 5 to 7 day supplies achieves better than any other method...yammv.

[Richard Kilgore]

So it seems like my best option is this: when I bring my coffee home I should put a week's worth in a mason jar and keep it in a dark place. Divide the remaining beans into week's worth portions and freeze them in well-sealed heavy plastic bags, getting as much air as possible out before sealing. Decant as needed into the mason jar. I believe I can do this.

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This sounds reasonable, Katie. My only suggestion would be to consider using the 1/4 pound size re-sealable plastic coffee bags with a one-way valve for the amount you keep out for daily use. These are inexpensive, reuseable, and they allow the beans to continue to de-gass while not allowing air in, so they are more air-tight than a mason jar. You can order them from sweetmarias.com.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

[MGLloyd]

Mitch, have you heard of the Behmor? Behmor just in case that may be a homeroasting solution for you. On the coffee roasting websites, I have read of many apartment-dwellers who are using it successfully.

Edited July 17, 2008 by MGLloyd (log)

[weinoo]

Mitch, have you heard of the Behmor?  Behmor just in case that may be a homeroasting solution for you.  On the coffee roasting websites, I have read of many apartment-dwellers who are using it successfully.

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Yeah, heard of it, sounds really excellent - but at this point, I don't think I can achieve what those above mentioned coffee roasters have in terms of blending and roasting just right...and I miss Sweet Maria's, too.

Now that I've kinda dialed in my espresso making with the beans I'm getting, I'm gonna leave the roasting to the pros.

[Susie Q]

Another storage question.....

What's the best way to store green coffee beans and how long will they keep before going off?

I've been keeping them in opaque airtight containers with a gasket/latch tops. When the quantity of beans goes down I transfer to a smaller container. I buy 5 pounds at a time and roast what I need for the week on the weekend. I can get a better deal if I buy at 10+ pounds.

[MGLloyd]

I have about 125 pounds or so of green beans out in my garage. They are in individual plastic Ziploc bags that I keep in opaque plastic Rubbermaid totes with snap lids. I have had some beans that are two-three years old and they have roasted successfully.

As long as the beans are kept dry and away from contaminants, unroasted green beans can last a long time. On the homeroasting forums, some of my colleagues have kept green beans for up to four years with satisfactory results. Beans that are kept in damp environments don't last as long. Some of the 'aged' or 'monsooned' coffees from Indonesia are stored outside in jute bags on covered pallets for a year or two before being released for sale.

[barrett]

10# shouldn't be a problem for you like that. The biggest problems with storage are taints: most commonly the jute bags that coffee is traditionally packed in. Every year, more and more coffees are never seeing a jute bag, and are being packaged in other materials. Cool and dry for green. There's even a bit of experimenting going on with freezing green.

Monsooned malabar, et al are the penultimate gross jute taste. They give Indian coffees a bad name. In my opinion, of course.

[edwardsboi]

What should I look for in a container to store coffee beans?

Would the Oxo pop-up containers work to keep the beans air tight and fresh? Since they're clear, is it a bigger issue if the container is not opaque or if the container is not air tight? Or, are they assuming you're going to store it in the fridge so it doesn't matter if its opaque or not.

Or, do I need one of those vaccum seal containers that uses batteries?

[weinoo]

One pint ball jars. Not good to refrigerate...condensation forms on the beans every time you take them out of the fridge and that's not good.

If you use a jar or two a week of freshly roasted beans, you'll be fine. Freeze the rest in jar sized portions.

[nakji]

What should I look for in a container to store coffee beans?

How long do you usually store your beans for? If you use them up in a week or less, the container technology probably doesn't matter much. I use an old Illy can, for instance, since I drink my coffee fairly quickly. I've never noticed a deterioration in taste.

[Darienne]

No doubt I should not even have the temerity to post this question but I do and here goes:

We buy pre-ground canned coffee at the supermarket. OK. Cut off the top or rip off the seal, put on the plastic lid sort of thing.

We use one can of caffeinated coffee in about two weeks -- and one can of Swiss-water decaf about every four days. And we have been keeping them in the fridge for years now.

Now I learn at Costco of all places, that coffee in the fridge is THE worst. :shock: And here on this topic also the same as I attempt to wend my way down all the info.

You can look down on me all you want , but PLEASE someone tell me the best way to store my coffee without segueing into beans or grinding or whatever...just the best way of storing 'cheapo' store-bought pre-ground coffee.

[violetfox]

As I understand it, both refrigerating and freezing will introduce moisture - the last thing we want. I buy small quantities and keep them in an airtight canister on the counter. Yeah, I keep a package of beans in the freezer for emergencies ("OMG! there's no COFFEE!!!"), but only for that.

[Okanagancook]

I use the vaccum canister than came with my foodsaver. They are amazing at keeping the coffee fresh. You can buy extra canisters also.