Store your Coffee Well: Keep it Fresh, Drink it Fresh

“Coffee is a language in itself” Jackie Chan.

The obsession of the world for coffee tells us how significant role it has in our routine lives. For most of us, the day doesn’t begin without having a cup of coffee; for the rest, the day is incomplete. It gives a jolt of energy which helps us kick start our routines. You might find it difficult to wake up early in the mornings but as Fran Drescher has said: Once you wake up and smell the coffee, it’s hard to go back to sleep.

The world has seen cafes springing over everywhere. Almost every week they come up with something new adding to the already existing wide variety of options available. However, cafes can be expensive if you are looking for a cup daily. It would make more sense and be more convenient to buy coffee beans, blended or otherwise, and brewing the same at your home. Besides buying high-quality beans, you would be delegated with one responsibility:

Storing the coffee beans.

Quality of freshly roasted beans and special coffee makers: these are the things on which we end up spending the most. However, after all these spendings, you would still experience a poor-quality of a cup of coffee if the beans are not stored appropriately.

We would help you out with this. Below is the information that will guide you on how to store your beans so that when you are brewing, you get the best taste and quality.

Why is Storing Coffee Beans Properly so essential?

Before going on to “How to store your coffee?” let’s see Why there is a need at the first place for the same.

Isn’t the vacuum sealed packaging done by the companies enough?
No.
The mass-produced coffee is generally roasted weeks before you buy it. Hence, it loses it’s health benefits and tastes worse. So it is better to avoid buying packaged coffee powder or roasted beans. Freshly roasted beans taste and smell much better. Ideally, one should use coffee beans within two weeks of being roasted.

So to keep the beans fresh, proper storage is necessary. Drinking coffee made out of fresh beans also has many health-related benefits. Coffee has been proven to prevent cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. It also helps in weight loss. Coffee also possesses lots of antioxidants, helping to remove toxins from our body. But these benefits go away as the coffee becomes older. And the concern with the taste of the old beans is that the flavour is less sharp as compared to fresh beans.

Coffee cannot be forever, but can be for longer…

No matter how much you try, coffee will eventually lose its freshness. Most people say it loses its nutritional value in two weeks of roasting. But it can be prolonged or delayed with proper storage. The best solution is to buy beans that are not roasted. Buy green coffee beans instead and roast them yourself based on your requirement. This will ensure you have the freshest possible coffee.

However, for many, or even it wouldn’t be wrong to say – for most, it is impractical. Coffee roasters are expensive, leaves a strong smell of coffee behind, and it’ll take much time for you to prepare your cup of coffee. Hence, buying roasted coffee beans and appropriately storing them sounds to be a more viable option.

How to Store Coffee Beans?

Below are a few tips & tricks on how to store roasted coffee beans to keep it fresh for longer.

1. Buy whole bean coffee rather than pre-ground

The more is the surface area, the faster it gets stale. The powdered or pre-ground coffee has more surface area than the whole bean. Hence, it stales faster. Professionals suggest brewing the coffee within 15 minutes of grinding.

2. Avoid refrigeration

Fridges and freezers are moist. By placing your coffee there, it is exposed to the moisture. As a result, it goes bad faster and loses taste and quality. It is advisable to store coffee in a dry place. Although it is widely practised to store coffee in the fridge, it is not the right way.

3. Cool, dark places are more suitable

Instead of the fridge or freezer, find someplace that’s dry, cool, and away from the sunlight. At places like countertop, where the sunlight can directly hit, coffee will deteriorate, and the taste and quality are compromised. Instead, store it in a cabinet or breadbox. If the area you live in has a very warm climate, stock your coffee in a temperature controlled room.

4. Prefer glass or ceramic containers

Coffee that is mass-produced, sold at supermarkets is almost always stored in tins sealed at the top and which can be resealed with a plastic lid. But the speciality coffee never comes this way. They generally pack it in glass containers as tin leaves a flavour in the coffee, giving it an unpleasant metallic taste.

The best way to store the coffee is to use an airtight glass or ceramic container. After breaking the vacuum seal on the bag, dump the coffee in the glass or ceramic container and seal it up. Then place it in a dry, cool, and dark place to help keep it fresh.

5. Buy smaller amounts at a time

As mentioned earlier, you can only prolong the process of staling and not avoid it. All the tips mentioned above will help you to keep your coffee fresh for longer, but eventually, it will go bad. So it is better not to store coffee for a longer time and buy small amounts more frequently so that you can finish what you have before it has the chance to go bad.

You can possibly sign up for a coffee subscription service. The store will send freshly roasted coffee to your doorsteps every two weeks or so, making sure you’re always drinking the best quality coffee.

Conclusion

It is not possible to preserve coffee forever. Nature will play its role. However, there are some precautions and actions you can take to ensure it stays fresh, healthy and tasty for longer. It will make sure your mornings are pleasant and the days – better.