by Rigel Celeste Feb 21st 2010
Coffee is something most of us enjoy making and drinking on a regular basis, daily even, but do you know how to keep it at optimal freshness between buying and brewing? One of the most common habits, sticking beans in the freezer, is actually among the worst things you can do. When optimal flavor is the aim it must be realized that coffee and coffee beans are really very fragile -- the delicate oils and flavors begin to break down almost immediately after roasting and are sensitive to light, oxygen, moisture, and temperature extremes.
Why keeping coffee beans in the freezer is bad
Although freezing whole beans can be okay in some cases (like if you have more beans than you can use up in a week or two) it only works if you seal them up and freeze them once -- not to be opened or removed from the freezer until you're ready to thaw the whole batch.Even then the quality will have taken a small hit. But opening the freezer and unsealing frozen beans every time you want a pot of coffee not only exposes the entire batch to unwanted temperature fluctuations but also damaging moisture from condensation and miscellaneous odors and flavors in the air that the coffee will absorb. The refrigerator is even worse because it's not cold enough to significantly slow deterioration but it still has all the negative effects of condensation and 'flavored' air. So the takeaway here is: Avoid the refrigerator at all costs and only freeze coffee beans you aren't planning to use anytime soon.
How you should store beans Sealed airtight in a cool, dark place whole beans should stay fresh and retain their flavor for 1 - 2 weeks. A ceramic or glass jar with a rubber seal is perfect (plastic or metal containers can taint the flavor), although be sure to keep glass in a cupboard with doors that block the light.
Storing ground coffee You shouldn't need to store ground coffee at all because you should start with whole beans and grind only what you need right before you need it. But if you must, store ground coffee the same way you would beans -- in a sealed airtight container in a cool, dark place. Don't bother freezing ground coffee, with so much surface area exposed it won't stay fresh any longer than in the pantry (1-2 days).Tags: coffee, coffee beans, CoffeeBeans, dining-pedia, fine-dining-pedia, how to store coffee,HowToStoreCoffee
Coffee is something most of us enjoy making and drinking on a regular basis, daily even, but do you know how to keep it at optimal freshness between buying and brewing? One of the most common habits, sticking beans in the freezer, is actually among the worst things you can do. When optimal flavor is the aim it must be realized that coffee and coffee beans are really very fragile -- the delicate oils and flavors begin to break down almost immediately after roasting and are sensitive to light, oxygen, moisture, and temperature extremes.
Why keeping coffee beans in the freezer is bad
Although freezing whole beans can be okay in some cases (like if you have more beans than you can use up in a week or two) it only works if you seal them up and freeze them once -- not to be opened or removed from the freezer until you're ready to thaw the whole batch.Even then the quality will have taken a small hit. But opening the freezer and unsealing frozen beans every time you want a pot of coffee not only exposes the entire batch to unwanted temperature fluctuations but also damaging moisture from condensation and miscellaneous odors and flavors in the air that the coffee will absorb. The refrigerator is even worse because it's not cold enough to significantly slow deterioration but it still has all the negative effects of condensation and 'flavored' air. So the takeaway here is: Avoid the refrigerator at all costs and only freeze coffee beans you aren't planning to use anytime soon.
How you should store beans Sealed airtight in a cool, dark place whole beans should stay fresh and retain their flavor for 1 - 2 weeks. A ceramic or glass jar with a rubber seal is perfect (plastic or metal containers can taint the flavor), although be sure to keep glass in a cupboard with doors that block the light.
Storing ground coffee You shouldn't need to store ground coffee at all because you should start with whole beans and grind only what you need right before you need it. But if you must, store ground coffee the same way you would beans -- in a sealed airtight container in a cool, dark place. Don't bother freezing ground coffee, with so much surface area exposed it won't stay fresh any longer than in the pantry (1-2 days).Tags: coffee, coffee beans, CoffeeBeans, dining-pedia, fine-dining-pedia, how to store coffee,HowToStoreCoffee
