Coffee Bean Storage

Coffee Bean Storage

In your house is coffee bean storage important to you, if so how do you store them? Do you store them in the refrigerator or freezer? Perhaps you keep them in the heat sealed bag or do you store the coffee beans in a jar?

To give you the right storage techniques we have put together this guide to help you understand the importance of good coffee bean storage. By adopting these storage techniques you’ll maintain the flavor and freshness of your coffee. Along the way you’ll discover that green coffee beans and roasted coffee beans will require different coffee bean storage processes and what’s needed to prevent them from going stale.

Unfortunately coffee beans do have a shelf life and this is why it’s so important that correct coffee bean storage maintains the coffees original flavor. When coffee beans are exposed to air and moisture or are roasted the coffee starts to deteriorate and loose it’s flavor. This is what is referred to as coffee going stale. To slow down this process you can adopt good coffee bean storage techniques as well as roasting, grinding and brewing your coffee in small quantities. It’s always best to roast or buy roasted coffee beans in a small enough quantities that you can use over a 10 day period.

This is why coffee beans that haven’t been roasted tend to have a longer shelf life when they’re stored. These type of coffee beans are also referred to as green coffee beans. Green coffee beans can stay fresh up to a year or more under perfect coffee bean storage conditions.

To maximize freshness and shelf life, green coffee beans should be stored in a tightly sealed jar and preferably in a cool spot. Even after long time in storage a fresh and full flavored coffee can still be made without altering the original flavor of the beans.

If you would like to try out roasting your own green coffee beans you can purchase them online or from selected coffee shops that sell quality coffee beans. If this sounds like to much work forgo the roasting process and buy whole bean coffee that’s been roasted already for you.For a coffee drinker who prefers a quality tasting coffee with little effort a whole bean coffee only requires you to grind it. Grinding coffee beans is a fairly easy process as long as you choose the right coffee bean grinder for the right type of coffee beans.

Correct coffee bean storage for roasted whole bean coffee is also just as important. Always store in a ceramic or glass jar with an air tight lid. If the glass jar is clear make sure you coffee beans are placed in a cupboard that is dark and doesn’t receive a lot of light. Using other containers like plastic or metal will alter the taste of your coffee so try to avoid them.

The only time that whole coffee beans should be exposed to the air is the first few days of them being roasted. When coffee beans are roasted they tend to release a lot of gas (carbon dioxide) into the air. Expelling these gases should be done once a day, but ideally a valve bag should be used. A valve bag is a way one way system where it expels the CO2 gas through an opening without letting oxygen back in. While this sounds like the perfect solution, valve bags are expensive and take a bit of time track down. If you roast in small quantities this should lessen the chance of your coffee deteriorating.

If you do find yourself in a situation where you’ve roasted too much coffee try freezing the coffee beans before the 10 day period. The whole coffee beans will last about a month in the freezer as long as you have stored them in an air tight freezer safe container. Coffee beans can only be frozen once and the tricky thing is they can be ground in their frozen state, so take out as much as you need.

Lastly never store whole coffee beans in the fridge as the contents of your fridge leaches odors and your coffee will absorb these flavors. Besides absorbing odors, there is extra moisture in the fridge that the coffee beans can absorb as well as the fridge being to warm to keep your coffee fresh.

For a fresh full bodied coffee always ensure you use correct coffee bean storage. Whole coffee beans that are green or roasted should always be treated in small quantities. Using coffee beans in small quantities will always ensure your coffee never goes stale.