kitchen & Cooking
HOW TO KEEP COFFEE BEANS FRESH
Regardless of how you like your coffee prepared, there’s a noticeable difference between fresh beans ground just minutes before brewing and stale beans that have been sitting around.
What makes coffee beans go stale?
As much as humans need oxygen to survive, it can be deadly for coffee beans, along with light, heat, and humidity.
In coffee processing, the beans build up their depth of flavor, aroma, and other distinct flavor profiles mainly in the last stage: roasting. It’s also when decaying starts—so always check the roasting date before buying beans.
It’s recommended you consume a typical bag of beans within a month of the roasting date—which equates to about 20 cups of coffee.
On average, coffee beans go stale within a few hours after grinding so it’s always a good idea to grind your beans right before brewing.
How to store coffee beans in the short-term
Keep your coffee beans tightly closed in the original packaging and place the bag in the driest, coolest area in your house.
If you like to use your own coffee jar, then try to make sure the jar is opaque as light exposure can make beans go bad quicker.
How to store coffee beans in the long-term
Storing them in an airtight container is necessary at all times. You can use a food vacuum sealer or squeeze the air out of Ziploc bags before storing.
If you decide to freeze some of the beans, be sure to divvy it up for 1-2 weeks amounts.
Freezing still isn’t ideal because drastic temperature changes can cause condensation on the surface of the coffee beans, resulting in the beans going stale.
To bypass this obstacle, you can let the beans thaw in the bag, so the condensation only accumulates outside of the bag.
Without fresh beans, the most nuanced tasting notes of a cup of Joe cannot be appreciated—which is what makes these techniques to maintain freshness so crucial.