Storage is KEY.

That majestic coffee flavor and aroma which we cherish as coffee lovers, can be spoiled by simply not packaging and storing your coffee like you’re supposed to.

Our main goal is to preserve our coffee’s taste and aromatic characteristics, to ensure we brew the perfect cuppa. The type of packaging and storing methods plays a huge role in preserving our coffee to ensure that we are drinking highest quality of coffee. Store it or package it incorrectly, DISASTER!

Photo: Justin Coomber

What’s the ideal packaging for coffee?

When packaging beans, we want to enclose the roasted coffee from sunlight, moisture and oxygen. These three elements plays a major role in the decrease of the quality of coffee, when it’s not properly packaged.

Coffee will be packaged right after the roasting process, as the coffee flavors will degrade if left open and unpackaged, due to the above mentioned elements.

Coffee typically will be packaged in valve-sealed bags. For several days after the roasting process, coffee beans will emit carbon dioxide and other gasses, otherwise known as degassing. The valve-sealed bags contains a one way valve, which allows gasses emitted from the coffee beans to escape and prevents oxygen to enter. This is a preferred method for shipping and retailing, as well as ensuring higher quality coffee for longer.

Coffee beans can be packaged into paper bags. This method will usually be used by coffee shops upon purchased when scooping fresh beans.

Coffee may come in various sorts of packaging, but most of them will require you to transfer it to a more airtight container upon purchase of your favorite bag of beans. Therefor, it’s important to check the packaging date when you are purchasing your coffee.

Photo: Justin Coomber

How to store coffee at home?

Excessive air, moisture, heat and light are the greatest enemies of coffee when it comes to the freshness of our coffee.

When we store our coffee, we want to minimize the exposure to these factors, as these factors leads to the deterioration of coffee and affects the flavor negatively.

When properly stored, coffee beans can stay good for about a month after roasting. Only grind the amount you’ll need right before you want to brew your perfect cup of coffee and store the rest of the beans. When storing ground coffee, it’ll stay good for one to two weeks after roasting.

Purchasing coffee can be so overwhelming at times, especially when there’s so many flavors on the shelf, or your favorite coffee shop have their beans on special offer. To ensure freshness, it’s important to only buy the amount you need. In other words, buy less but more often. When buying beans, take the amount that will last you a month and when buying ground, buy the amount you’ll need for a week or two at most.

Photo: Justin Coomber

Keep air out, by moving over to airtight container. 

Once you’ve opened the packaging of your coffee beans, transfer your beans to a more airtight container. The flavor of the beans in packaging will decrease much more rapidly once opened, and chances of air making their way in is so much greater.

Store your beans in a dark place. 

We love the look of beans in glass containers and displaying it on our counter tops, but this will expose the beans to light. Light is one of the enemies, so therefore if storing it in glass containers, store the container in a dark place. The best option will be to store the coffee in an opaque container. It’ll make it easier and can then store it somewhere on the counter which makes it more handy.

Avoid heat till you brew it!

Refrain from storing your coffee in locations near the oven, counter tops exposed to the sun or microwave; as it’s often to warm. Too much heat will cause the acceleration of the break down of coffee, so we want to keep our coffee cool.

Dry locations are your coffee’s friend. 

Store you coffee in a dry location to avoid your coffee from coming into contact with moisture which could affect your coffee. If your coffee is exposed to too much moisture, the coffee will develop an sour or “off” taste. We want to avoid this, as we want to brew the perfect cuppa each time. It’s advisable to avoid storing coffee in the fridge, because condensation develops with the opening and closing of the door.

Coffee beans rather than coffee grounds. 

The quality of coffee beans will last longer than that of coffee grounds. Coffee oxidizes rapidly, and with coffee grounds there’s an increased surface exposure and will deteriorate more rapidly than that of coffee beans. You want to grind your coffee right before brewing your cup of coffee. So why not get handy, and rather buy coffee beans and start grinding your own beans to ensuring a fresh cup. Remember to only grind as much as you need.

Photo: Justin Coomber

I hope that those of you that are new to “at home” coffee brewing have found this resourceful. Do share it with your fellow “at home” coffee brewers.

Till the next cup of coffee.