There you are, having bought a fresh batch of coffee beans from your local roaster. The coffee beans you’ve bought are quite expensive, and you know you are not going to finish the whole batch in a week. You are now questioning how to store coffee beans correctly so they don’t go stale.
In this article, I’ll go over how to store your beans the right way so that they won’t go bad so fast. This article will give you a general idea of how long you can store different types of coffee beans and how to do so. Grab yourself a well-deserved cup of coffee and start reading away!
How long can you store unroasted coffee beans
Did you finish roasting a fresh batch of coffee at home and have some leftovers? You might want to know how long you can keep these beans fresh; the answer is 12 months for all the flavors to be there still. The green coffee beans can be stored for up to 5 years, although they will lose a lot of flavor by that time.
The coffee beans will be best off at room temperature, not too cold, not too warm. They don’t like direct sunlight but also dislike cold temperatures like a refrigerator. So steer clear of storing them like this.
The best way to store them will be in a resealable jar, so you get to look at it. Although some people like to store them in a cabinet, I like to store my coffee beans insight; so I can also enjoy the view of coffee beans and drink my daily coffee.
How long do freshly roasted coffee beans last sealed
When it comes to roasted coffee beans, the shelf life differs greatly from the unroasted green coffee beans. The freshly roasted coffee beans will keep most of their flavor for up to 8 weeks; after this time, the flavor will deteriorate pretty quickly.
Let’s talk about whole coffee beans
When I talk about whole coffee beans, I will be talking about whole coffee beans found in either the supermarket near you or a local coffee roaster you like to visit. Did you know most of the coffee roasters ship their coffee beans as well?
If you live far away from a coffee roaster and want access to some nice coffee beans, you might want to get in contact with a coffee roaster in your area and figure out what is possible.
Store-bought coffee beans
Let me begin by explaining the shelf life of most store-bought whole coffee beans. In comparison, most of us are used to buying these types of coffee beans because they are cheap and are used to buying them; because our parents use them all the time. The freshness and the shelf life of these coffee beans aren’t really the best.
While you will be able to store these coffee beans for a long time, the flavor that is there will not be there after it left the coffee roaster. When buying coffee beans from a supermarket, you need to know which to buy first.
Start by looking for a ‘roasted on date’ on the coffee bean bag’s bottom or side. This will give you a date of when the coffee beans were roasted. You can also look for ‘use before date’ on the package. Try following these instructions, as this will ensure you will enjoy your coffee to the fullest.
When there is no date on the coffee beans package in any way, you are essentially buying already stale coffee beans. The coffee beans in the vacuum-sealed packages are first roasted, and after that, they are laid out to rest until they are degassed completely.
Otherwise, the package will explode. If you want to learn more about how your coffee beans’ packaging matters, you can read this article here to learn more.
So you might want to consider buying from a local coffee roaster instead. You will support a local company, and the product you will receive will be much better than you have ever tried before.
Buying coffee from a coffee roaster
If you are interested in drinking fresh coffee, you will want to visit a coffee roaster you have near you. You can also order online in most cases if there are none actually near you.
When buying from a coffee roaster, you will be able to experience the best fresh coffee you have never tasted before. You will also be stuck with many choices to be made; for example, what coffee roast do you want, and where does the coffee need to come from?
What technique will I use to make this coffee? You probably will not ask these questions if you are just buying a bag of coffee from the supermarket, although some people can find really great coffee in their supermarket. I, unfortunately, can’t.
If it is your first time in a coffee roasters shop, it will be best for you to ask their help finding the right coffee beans for you; because there are so many choices. I would suggest buying whole coffee beans instead of pre-ground.
The pre-ground coffee will not taste nearly as good as a freshly roasted whole coffee bean, which you ground just before using it to make your cup of joe in the morning.
Packaged pre-ground coffee
Although you know my preference, I want to tell you some things about pre-ground coffee beans. Pre-ground coffee beans are really easy to use, as you won’t need any fancy equipment to make your cup of coffee at home.
You will be able to find pre-ground coffee nearly everywhere. You’ll easily be able to find more than 20 kinds of pre-ground coffee beans in your local supermarket, if not more. The reason being most people will buy pre-ground coffee because it’s easy to use.
Using pre-ground coffee in your Moka pot, espresso machine, V60, Chemex, and French press is easy. You just need to pick the right grind size for your desired brewing technique. Just look at the package, buy it, and make some coffee!
While this is nice and easy, you can also choose between going to a coffee roaster near you and ordering your coffee there. You’ll have a lot more choice, and be certain it is fresh. If you ask your roaster to grind your coffee beans, they will be happy to assist you. You can choose which grind size you want, so you can use any brewer you like.
Now let’s talk about freshness. While the coffee beans you can buy in your supermarket are already stale, buying pre-ground coffee will be even worse. Once you grind your coffee beans, the flavors will vanish even faster than storing them whole.
Although the packaging is great, the beans will again be degassed first before being packaged. This way, no air can get inside the vacuum-sealed package of your coffee.
While this is nice, the coffee will no longer have the flavors they once had as they are all gone already. You will notice a significant decrease in flavor if you compare these coffee beans with a fresh batch.
How to store coffee beans at home
When you have bought a nice bag (or two) of fresh coffee beans, you want to make sure to store them correctly to extend their life as long as possible.
All coffee beans you buy in a supermarket or coffee roaster will come in a nice bag. These bags will either be valve-sealed or vacuum-sealed. You can recognize the valve-sealed coffee bag by looking for a circle-like shape with a tiny hole in it.
If you want to learn more about what this exactly means for your coffee, click here, as I will get into it in a lot more detail in the article.
You will be able to store your coffee beans in the bag they come in; make sure it’s closed up nicely. Once the coffee beans get exposed to oxygen, the quality will deteriorate fast.
If you really want to show off your coffee beans, this being for your family or friends who come to visit or just for yourself, you can also consider buying some nice glass jars to store your coffee beans in.
You can find nice glass jars with cork seals or some other seal. Once you’ve found a few jars that fit your style, make sure to store them properly.
You can store them properly by putting the jars inside a cabinet or in any place that direct sunlight will not touch them. They will deteriorate by the sun, and you don’t want that. You can show your coffee bean collection off; just make sure they don’t get too sweaty by putting them in direct sunlight.
If you are interested in these jars, you can buy them by clicking here. This will take you to Amazon, where you can check them out!
How to store ground coffee
Storing ground coffee will involve a few more techniques than storing whole coffee beans. Because the coffee beans have been grounded already, the surface area is smaller. While coffee beans will attract moisture, the already grounded coffee beans will be even worse.
While following the steps above, like storing them properly in the same bag you bought them or buying a nice glass container and keeping them out of the sun. You also want to make sure not to store them in a humid spot, for example, in your kitchen.
Once you start making diner, steam from cooking your vegetables will quickly ruin your coffee beans. You really want to make sure they are stored away from the steam of cooking and also from any humid climate you’ve got going on anywhere else in your house, like a wine cellar.
Can you freeze coffee beans to extend their life?
Yes! You can freeze coffee beans to give them a longer freshness. I would suggest only using this method if you have no option left. You can try making cold brew coffee, as this will use up a lot more coffee beans than making your regular cup of joe.
But if you’ve got tons of coffee beans with a short freshness left, you will be able to freeze them and extend their life. Let me tell you how to do so properly.
The worst things to happen to fresh coffee beans are the moisture, light, and heat of the sun. By sealing your coffee beans in any kind of airtight container, you eliminate moisture coming in by freezing your coffee beans. As you might have noticed, if you leave the zipper of your frozen fruit open just a little bit, ice will form inside the bag.
This might be the worst thing to happen to your coffee beans when they are chillin’ in your freezer. Consider freezing your coffee beans in weekly potions; this way, you can grab a bag of coffee beans from your freezer and use it in the coming week.
Freezing your coffee beans this way will extend their life span by a few months. Do consider buying a smaller bag of coffee next time you go shopping, as this is not the ideal way to store your coffee beans.
You can also try out a local coffee roaster to get any amount of coffee beans you want. This way, you will be able to enjoy fresh coffee every day!
Do coffee beans lose caffeine over time?
No, coffee beans do not lose caffeine over time. Once enough time has passed, the coffee will go stale, and after a long time, the flavor of your coffee beans will start to decrease rapidly. The caffeine, however, will always stay the same.
If you want to have a less caffeinated coffee bean, the best choice will be to buy caffeine-free coffee beans. You will be able to buy decaf coffee in your local supermarket but also at your coffee roaster. This will be the best choice if you want to cut back on your caffeine intake and still enjoy the coffee’s flavor.
What to do with old coffee beans?
If you’ve just found a bag of coffee beans that you put away years ago and wonder if you can still use them to make coffee, the answer is yes, you can. While the coffee will not make you sick, the flavor experience will not be the best you’ve had.
The flavors of years-old coffee have deteriorated for a while, and there is almost none left of the nice flavors. Just the punchy sour and bold/ bitter flavors are leftover.
You will be able to make some cold brew out of these stale coffee beans. I suggest giving these recipes a try if you’ve got the time.
You can also try to make coffee with the old beans, just to try it out once. You will probably count yourself lucky that you can buy fresh coffee wherever you go nowadays. The coffee made with stale beans will taste-off, with just the “out there” flavors left in the coffee beans; the coffee will not be that enjoyable for most people.
Remember, coffee has no expiration date, so trying out 2-year-old coffee will bring no harm to you in any way. Although you properly won’t like the flavor that comes with the coffee, you will have tried something new that day!
Conclusion
This is the ultimate article on how long you can store coffee beans, but more importantly for most people, how to store them. This is one of the most important parts of brewing coffee at home, keeping your beans fresh for the next time you are thinking about making coffee.
Freshly roasted coffee beans are one of the greatest things in the world, if you ask me. If you get the chance to try out different kinds of coffee beans from all over the world, I would definitely try.
You now know how to store your coffee the correct way, so next time you go home with way too much coffee you bought on an impulse, you won’t have to worry about them going bad in a week and losing all of their flavors.
If you want to use the coffee beans that have been store away for a while, you can check out the recipes below. These recipes might be of interest to you.
Are you going to use any of these tips for the storing of coffee beans? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!
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