For those who cherish coffee, nothing comes closer to a delicious cup made from fresh and tasty beans. Keeping your coffee beans freshly stored is as essential as ensuring your brew process is right.
If your beans are poorly stored, their taste, aroma, and freshness will quickly deteriorate. Whether casual about coffee or love it, this guide will help you keep your beans fresh longer.
How to Always Keep Your Coffee Beans Fresh
Storing your coffee beans is not a herculane task but it requires some discipline. Follow these steps to keep your coffee beans fresh.
Store in a closed container, out of light, air, heat, and moisture
Coffee beans are easily affected by the environment in which they are grown. Exposure to sunlight, air, heat, and humidity encourages oxidation, reduces its quality.
Oxygen in oxidation can weaken the oils and flavors of your beans.
When UV rays hit coffee, they break down its natural molecules and give it a stale taste.
Heating coffee beans speeds up aging and causes them to get stale more quickly.
Beans collect moisture from the air, resulting in mold growing or making them soggy and thus unsuitable for brewing.
Coffee beans should be stored in a closed, opaque container in a cool, dark location, such as a pantry or cupboard.
Don’t keep your beans in the fridge
Many people think a fridge is the best place for coffee beans to stay fresh, but that’s a common mistake. Coffee beans can pick up the scents and moisture around them.
The flavors from nearby foods in the refrigerator can be transferred to the beans, messing with their original taste. If you’re concerned about keeping your food fresh for a while, choose a vacuum-sealed container instead of the fridge.
Only put it in the freezer when needed, and ensure it is safe for storage.
Quality coffee beans can last longer in the freezer if frozen under the right conditions. Each time you move frozen beans into and then out of the freezer, condensation is created, which can harm the beans.
If storage in the freezer is necessary, separate the beans into small, single-use portions. Place every portion into either a vacuum pouch or an airtight container. When you feel like drinking a cup of coffee, let the portion sit out for a little while at room temperature before opening it to keep it dry.
Grind the coffee beans
A grinded coffee has more surface area than whole beans, it goes stale much quicker. When coffee is grinded, the oxidation process speeds up and makes the coffee stale in just a few days. Grind your beans only when you’re about to brew using a high-quality burr grinder for the best results.
Get coffee in small quantities
No matter how you store your beans, their flavor will fade two weeks after being roasted. Buying large quantities of coffee can seem like a good idea, but it can be wasted if you don’t use it quickly enough. When buying coffee beans, only get as many as you can use in a few weeks to keep the quality unchanged.
Store in containers that are designed for your type of coffee
Try using containers meant for storing coffee instead of using the regular ones used in the kitchen to store food. Typically, they are fitted with CO2 valves that release the extra gas without fussing with the oxygen supply, keeping the content fresh for a while. Choose packs made from stainless steel or dark glass that seal using a vacuum or one-way valve. In other words, stock up on coffee using the right container.
Conclusion
You don’t need advanced techniques to preserve your coffee beans; a little knowledge and attention are enough. When you protect your beans from the enemies of freshness, the way the roaster intended, they taste better in every cup you make.
If you enjoy a hot brew most days or are just a weekend espresso drinker, following these tips will keep your coffee as bold and flavorful as the first sip.
