10 Best Methods to Store Coffee That Will Ensure It Remains Fresh

10 Best Methods to Store Coffee That Will Ensure It Remains Fresh. Correctly stored coffee beans are what amounts to a perfectly balanced and flavoured coffee. To store your beans correctly you need to keep them in a dry place with no access to air (basically the option is to have a vacuum-sealable jar), where there is no direct sunlight (so a deep shelf or a cupboard), and no moisture can reach your beans. Also, store it in a tight container.

If you are addicted to a well-balanced and perfectly flavoured coffee, storing them properly needs to be the topmost mandate. It would be good if you stored it in a place with minimum access to air, preferably in a vacuum-sealed jar, and you should buy several smaller packages rather than a large one for prolonged longevity of the coffee beans.

Since most good coffee is expensive, we understand how it would ruin your mood if moisture were to ruin your favourite brew. You should follow our step-by-step instructions to ensure that you always have only the best brew at hand.

The advice I could give you when it comes to storing your coffee beans is – to try to avoid buying large packages of beans. Once you open the package for the first time, the vacuum seal is broken and your beans will start the process of deterioration. No matter what you do you will lose the taste and other qualities of the bean over time. Therefore – buy small packages of beans that you can use up quickly. And if you are not going to the shop that often – buy several smaller packages instead of one larger.

If that is not what suits your needs you can try to at least store your beans properly, in this article, you can read just how to store coffee beans. Do you have any other tips or do you see something that should be improved in this article? Please, let me know!

How To Store Coffee Beans – Common Mistakes People Make

If you are also wondering how to store coffee beans, then read this article but first check the common mistakes people make in the process of storing them –

• The air. letting the coffee beans interact with air, which will lead to deterioration of the taste and strength of the brew.
• The moisture can have the same amount of effect. Allowing the moisture to come in contact with the coffee beans, will make the beans moldy and the coffee – watery.
• Sunlight – direct sunlight will quicken the deterioration of your coffee beans, as they will interact with sunlight, give out more water than they are supposed to, and will, therefore, reduce the taste.

While we spend a lot of time researching grinders, coffee brewers, espresso machines, and even coffee recipes

Most people forget that the coffee beans bought in that nice coffee bag are the result of a process that starts from farms in some faraway country. In other words, like all organic products, coffee beans are perishable. And, thus, you have to know how to store coffee beans properly. 

They start losing their freshness immediately after they are roasted and bagged. That is why coffee beans that have stayed too long on our shelves taste funny and different. In some cases, they even have an awful, stale taste.

So if you want your coffee to be at its peak regarding freshness for as long as you have it, you must adopt the proper storage habits. Thankfully, this is easy.

How To Store Coffee Beans – Conditions for Storage

Avoid sunlight – light is known to accelerate the breakdown of organic matter like coffee beans through a process known as photodegradation.

Essentially, the fats, pigments, vitamins, and proteins that make up organic products, like coffee, become degraded over time when exposed to bright light.

This results in the coffee beans losing that flavour and taste we love so much. In layman’s terms, this means the coffee is no longer fresh.

Avoid heat – Temperature plays an important role in how fast foods decay.

Higher temperatures tend to favor the organic reactions that lead to decay. That is why we keep things in the fridge. The cold temperature slows down decay drastically.

Avoid moisture – Moisture, like light and high temperatures, also encourages the decay of organic products like coffee. So the good place to keep your coffee beans is in a dry environment devoid of water or moisture.

Airtight – Air means oxygen; the presence of oxygen would degrade your coffee faster than even heat and light. Almost all forms of chemical reactions in nature need oxygen.

So an airtight environment that is dark, dry, and cool is the set of conditions for proper coffee storage. This is also stated by the National Coffee Association!

How To Store Coffee Beans – Locations for storing 

(Keeping your coffee beans fresh)

Now that you know the requirements for storing coffee, the locations would be easy to figure out. For instance:

1. You must avoid storing your coffee in the fridge or freezer. These two places must be avoided at all costs. In the first place, both have a high moisture content which is not suitable for coffee storage.

Secondly, apart from the fact that coffee absorbs moisture in the fridge or freezer, it is known to also absorb the flavors, aromas, and smell of other organic products inside the fridge/freezer.

So in a packed space like a fridge, the coffee brew would have additional taste or flavor that is the combination of the flavors of the stuff in your fridge. It can be very unpleasant.

However, if you have to use the fridge or freezer, then put the coffee beans in airtight, opaque containers. That would prevent moisture and smells from getting to the coffee.

2. Pantries and cabinets are perfect examples of cool, dry, dark places. So these are the right places to store your coffee
3. Don’t place the coffee beans close to warm spots. Ovens or other appliances that emit heat should be kept as far as possible from your coffee beans.

No matter where you keep your coffee beans, you must adhere to this golden rule: the coffee beans storage vessel must be opaque and airtight.

How To Store Coffee Beans in Storage Containers

The right storage containers could be the single most important factor in keeping your coffee beans fresh over a long period.

Ideally, the container must be airtight, and opaque and must be able to keep the beans dry all the time. Fortunately, it is not hard to get containers with all these qualities. And the good part is, you don’t have to spend a fortune to purchase one.

You should avoid coffee storage containers that look very complicated and require that you read a manual before you can use them.

How To Store Coffee Beans – Ideal Containers

• Metal containers that are non-reactive
• Ceramic containers or vessels
• Glass containers
• Clear plastic containers

In all cases, they must have airtight gaskets to keep air and moisture away from your coffee beans.

In the case of glass and clear plastic containers, you must only use them if you have a dark place to keep them. It is important to keep light away from the beans.

Closing Thoughts on How To Store Coffee Beans

One of the secrets of always getting fresh coffee is never buying too much at a time. Buy a little, finish it within a fortnight at most, and get another batch. That is the secret to how to store coffee beans – store them only for a short while.

This way you reduce the chances of coffee bean spoilage since the storage period is not long.

Some veterans even suggest you buy fresh, unroasted bean coffee. These can be stored for longer periods. Then, simply fetch a small amount, roast, and grind them before brewing your coffee. Fresh coffee doesn’t get any better than that.

But going down that road can be tedious though.

So in summary, to ensure you get fresh coffee anytime you need it, the steps below are the proper coffee bean storage method:

• Make sure you buy whole-bean coffee to make storage for longer periods easier
• Buy your coffee in small batches
• Store in airtight, opaque containers. 
• Put the storage containers in cool, dry places. If you are using glass or clear plastic containers, then store them in dark places.

If you follow all our instructions, you can be sure that you will enjoy a fresh cup of coffee every morning for a long period of time. So be sure to be good and follow all the steps.