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How Long Can You Store Coffee Beans?

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There’s nothing better than getting up in the morning and sipping your hot cup of coffee.

For ultimate freshness, buy your coffee beans green and roast them by yourself for it last a year and possibly longer. After being opened, the beans are considered fresh for 2-3 weeks though you are strict on your way of storing it.

If you want to store your coffee beans in the freezer or in an airtight container, don’t let it sit longer than couple of weeks for it to stay fresh. It is quite good if not to refrigerate it because of its porous nature that easily absorb moisture and flavor form anything else. Once you get your coffee from freezer don’t refreeze it.

There are so many ways to keep your coffee beans stay fresh like the freezer trick and the airtight containers. But is there any best way to store nor preserve it?

Here are some ways how to store and how long can you store coffee beans:

Coffee (whole beans form bulk bin)

2-4 weeks in an airtight container

Vacuum pack and freeze (3-4 months)

Coffee (ground, in can)

2 years

Refrigerate after opening (2 weeks)

Coffee (instant)

1 year

Refrigerate after opening (2-3 months)

Coffee creamer, powder

6 months

So How Long Can You Store Coffee Beans?

Coffee experts say that the most recommended methods are simple and can be done by ourselves. They suggested a whole over ground coffee to be stored. Since whole-bean coffee expose in oxygen will start to have a stale flavor in a span of 10-14 days while a ground coffee presents a stale character in about 24 hours.

Coffee beans are at their best quality for about 15 days after roasted and still flavorful for 30 days. After this, it starts losing its flavor and considered as stale. Its first 15 days upon roasting, you will find it incredible where you can have a smooth and delicious cup of coffee. Ground coffee’s surface area is more exposed to oxygen than beans, thus oxidation happened within an hour from grinding. It’s good for about two weeks.

Roasting coffee is typically burning or cooking the coffee beans which traps carbon dioxide in the bean that alters your brewed coffee’s taste. Coffee beans for brewed coffee has its best taste between 2-10 days after the beans are being roasted. Your coffee will stay fresh and flavorful for about 30 days after roasting. If your beans are made for espresso, it require a longer degassing so its best taste comes around 5-14 days.

Coffee’s freshness lasts after roasting depends on roaster’s packaging. In packaging, there are different types of bags that can prevent fresh air from getting in while allowing carbon dioxide out like the triple-ply foil. This is the most common packaging done in any local stores. On the other hand, there are some that requires nitrogen flushing, where it helps preserve coffee beans by flushing away the oxygen and temporarily eliminates it to become stale. It’s temporary because as soon as the bag is open and oxygen enters, it starts to stale your coffee.

Coffee drinkers observed that any coffee coming out from the can is already stale and stay like that for years. If your coffee is in can, like Shaw’s French Roast, where its taste had been strained through an old jock strap. Another is Folgers and other brands which also stay good. But if you have an instant coffee, well you’ve got a good choice for it is believed to have a longer life span.

Coffee beans do not stay fresh forever due to oxidation. Oxygen molecules present in the air interact with the compounds found in coffee beans causing it to slowly lose flavor. You may notice a stale feel at around 30 day mark or even 10-15 days depending on the coffee bean and roasting method it went through.

Delaying your coffee could ruin the shelf life of your coffee beans. So you have to grind it fresh. Crush your beans and the air will make them stale so you should not leave your ground coffee even 10-20 minutes until you brew it again.

Espresso Expert Member since November 3, 2018

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