Freezing whole coffee beans

[bobmac]

My local coffee suppliers all have instructions on the bag not to freeze the beans, but Harold McGee's latest book says you can. I've got a feeling I've got to go with McGee. Beuller?

[Richard Kilgore]

I use a small quantity of coffee each week, so I buy 1/2 pound from my supplier, who roasted it within 48 hours of my purchase, freeze it in small glas jars (1/2 cup size), and use as needed. Works well.

I have not frozen fresh (unroasted) beans, but people here do it all the time.

[Chris Amirault]

After much trial and error, we now buy our espresso beans for our Rancilio Miss Silvia machine from Alterra in Milwaukee, WI. The cost of shipping (we're in RI) prohibit small orders, so we get four pounds at a pop, which last us about two months. We keep it in the freezer, defrost it in the burr grinder, and it's better than anything we can get fresh around here. I'm sure that having our scullery maids roast it each morning would be better, but we don't have scullery maids, so....

[phaelon56]

The key to freezing it is to split your larger bags into smaller portions each good for 3 - 4 days worth of consumption. Take them out one smal lbag at a time the night before you need to use them and.... here's the key....

never ever open the bag until it's fully thawed

Moisture is one of coffee's primary enemies (until it's brewed). Keeping coffee in a larger container in the freezer and repeatedly opening and closing that container introduces moisture into the beans every time. Opening a frozen package before it's thawed will do the same thing.

I've done plenty of freezing and have even (accidentally!) had the opportunity to do my onw A/B tests. Freezing works. It's not a substitute for getting freshly roasted coffee locally every 4 - 5 days but we don't all have access to a good local microroaster.

[Shel_B]

I have heard that it's not a good idea to freeze roasted beans, but I've also heard that problems arise when the beans are removed and replaced multiple times from the freezer.

 

A local coffee roaster has a Kenyan coffee that I love, but it's not always available.  It is now, and I was thinking of stocking up and keeping some in the freezer.  It would remain frozen until use ... no in/out of the freezer.  I'd probably freeze smallish amounts, 1/2-lb or so.

 

What do you think about freezing the beans in this manner?  Thanks!

Edited February 10, 2024 by Shel_B
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[Alex]

You'll be vac-packing them, yes? If so, the beans will be fine for at least six months. (Although from the sound of it, they'll be long gone by then.)

[Deephaven]

Depends a bit on how you turn them into coffee.  Espresso is much more particular and even a month frozen I can see the degradation in the cup.  That being said, if there isn't a roasting date I'd bet they are already that old when you get them so ymmv.

[Shel_B]

2 hours ago, Deephaven said:

Depends a bit on how you turn them into coffee.  Espresso is much more particular and even a month frozen I can see the degradation in the cup.  That being said, if there isn't a roasting date I'd bet they are already that old when you get them so ymmv.

The coffee I get from the local roasters has been roasted within a week of my acquisition.  I obtained the last batch within four days of the roasting date.  Does that change anything?

[Dr. Teeth]

I put beans in the freezer routinely.   In all honesty, there is probably some small decrement in quality compared to the ones that just go straight into the grinder, more pronounced in lighter roasts than in darker ones (to my palate, in my experience).  I’ve found that placing them in a vacuum seal ( food saver, nothing fancy) mitigates this somewhat as does a shorter stay in the freezer.

 

Also, to the extent it makes a difference, I use a drip coffee machine.   If you’re really into coffee and use a French press, a pour over or frankly just have a better palate you may notice it more.   Or less, I dunno.

[donk79]

I echo what @Dr. Teeth says except 95% of my coffee is made pourover.  Also, I rarely have it last more than 6 weeks post-roast.

[liuzhou]

I've been freezing roasted beans for about 30 years. Supplies are not easy for me to source. Any degradation is minimal. 

[Annie_H]

10 hours ago, Shel_B said:

The coffee I get from the local roasters has been roasted within a week of my acquisition.  I obtained the last batch within four days of the roasting date.  Does that change anything?

Stock up and enjoy your favorite bean. They freeze fine. Some coffee geeks suggest to package for the freezer in amounts for 4-5 days. Espresso geeks will often use containers for one pull. But they often have multiple varieties. 

Most important is to bring your package/canister/bag from the freezer to room temperature before opening. Otherwise you will get immediate condensation in the bag. Why the in-and-out is not recommended.

We roast 2-3 pounds at a time and freeze in 1/2 pound food saver packages. Re-usable bags if given a long cut. But I'm not sure a food saver is necessary. 

No coffee geek or nerd here. Just follow those that are. Similar advice in the link, HERE

[Shel_B]

39 minutes ago, Annie_H said:

No coffee geek or nerd here. Just follow those that are. Similar advice in the link, HERE

Thanks for the link.  I'll definitely read the article after returning home later today.

[scubadoo97]

Never froze coffee for long storage.  Since I home roast, never had a need to use anything other than my own coffee.  Usually roast enough for a week or two

[Deephaven]

22 hours ago, Shel_B said:

The coffee I get from the local roasters has been roasted within a week of my acquisition.  I obtained the last batch within four days of the roasting date.  Does that change anything?

Yep, if it states the date that means you are getting fresh beans.  I use mine from 3 days after roast until about 2 weeks.  Then they are shot.  Freezing them can double that or more, but it suffers from a slightly different degradation.  You lose mouthfeel before flavor.  Seal them tight and freeze.  It's better than on your counter.  Obviously vacuum packing them and getting as much air out is ideal.

[paulraphael]

I've never noticed any degradation from freezing. The important point is that freezing is for bulk storage, not for the beans you're using every day. The beans you freeze should be sealed, frozen, and then allowed to come up to room temp before unsealing. And then they stay at room temp for however many days it takes you to use them. This eliminates the one problem with frozen beans—that they take on moisture from condensation every time you open the cold bag. 

 

This is pretty standard practice in the 3rd wave coffee world. The only pushback I ever got was from someone who was trained at Starbucks and thought he was an expert. 

 

I do think people need to reconsider what fresh means in coffee beans, especially now that we have higher quality beans and roasts available. I used to assume that fresher is better. Now that I'm mostly buying lightly roasted single-origin beans, I can say with certainty that this isn't the case. Beans like this that are too fresh off the roast give poor results. You get huge blooms of CO2, which lends a carbonic acid acridity to the coffee, and interferes with the aromatic flavors.

 

For brewed coffee, results seem ideal between 5 days maybe 14 days after roasting (I'm not talking about freezing here ... just room temperature storage in a sealed back, preferably one with a relief valve). For espresso, it's more like 7 to 20 days. Espresso is more sensitive to CO2. 

 

The darker the roast, the sooner the coffee will be ready to brew and the sooner it will lose quality. Degree of roast corresponds with increased porosity of the beans ... darker ones lose CO2 faster, and take on oxygen faster. 

Edited 17 hours ago by paulraphael (log)

[rotuts]

@paulraphael

 

I agree with you on the issues w freezing.  you want your beans to be dry.

 

moisture and oxygen will degrade both roasted and green beans , however  its slower w green beans.

 

I roast my own, from Sweet Maria .  I have a VacMaster , one of the wisest investments Ive ever made , as I do a lot of 

 

' bult ' SV , then freeze.   I also use the VM for both green beans and roasted :

 

 

a 2 lbs bag of green beans from SweetMaria , inserted into a 10 x 13 VacMaster bag ( cost : 4 cents ) N.B. :  the inner bag is open

 

then the combo is Vac'd   these beans will keep for a very long time in a cool , dark place.

 

After i roast GB's , and they are cool , I Vac :

 

 

sometime the next day there is CO2 release , so I trim the top and rReVac the same bag.  sometimes there is no CO2 release.

 

I roast in something called ' The Bullet '  by bean temperature :  235 F  .  it's reproducible , and I like it far better then 232 F or 238 F

 

which Ive tried.   I use the temp rather than color of beans  ( used by professionals ) as at these temps the beans roast very quickly.

 

and that would add a variable I can easily eliminate.

 

so :  if you can Vac your beans , that's very helpful.  my VacMaster is right next to my espresso machine

 

on the counter , so I open a vac'd bag of roasted in the AM for a day or two at a time.  Im also able to keep several different roasts

 

for variety .    there does not seem to be a lot of de-gassing @ 235 F.   the vac's beans do seem to ' mature ' vac'd w/o CO2

 

for a say or two , as I taste the same beans over a few days.

 

 

[paulraphael]

It would be cool if you vacuum seal in bags that have a release valve for CO2. 

This is what my roaster uses. I don't actually know how big a difference it makes ... but seems like a good idea.

[rotuts]

Actually , those bags do not really work that well.

 

every time you open them , oxygen and perhaps humidity get in them

 

I just reseal the original bag , as I take out either green beans to roast

 

or roasted beans to use.

 

I already had a chamber vac.  and chamber vac bags are very cheap.

 

the breakthrough , if you will , was to realize I could put the original green bags 

 

in the chamber vac bags :  saving labeling , spilling the beans all over the ounter 

 

etc.

 

P.S. :  those bags you mention cost more than 15 lbs of green  coffee !

 

Sweet Maria sells these :

 

https://www.sweetmarias.com/stand-up-pouch-bag-with-valve.html

 

I used to use them a zillion years ago .  sealed and sqeezed out the air.

 

attractively priced and reuable.  better than nothing.

Edited 10 hours ago by rotuts (log)