Keeping Coffee Fresh

Coffee is best when it is made with fresh beans. Here is most important thing you need to know to get a great cup of coffee:

Use whole bean coffee and grind it just before you brew it.

Coffee will start to lose quality as soon as it is ground. Whole bean is the best way to insure freshness and flavor.
What is the best way to store your beans so that they stay fresh? Let’s start by identifying what conditions hurt coffee:

1. MOISTURE
2. AIR
3. HEAT
4. LIGHT

The more that you expose coffee to these elements, the faster it will degrade. Keeping coffee more than 7-10 days after opening the bag will affect the quality. So here is my # 2 suggestion:

If you want fresh coffee, buy in small amounts.

I recommend 12oz – 16 oz bags. Make sure that they are in air tight and opaque bags. If you are not using the coffee in 7-10 days, buy a smaller amount.

Once you open the bag, you should transfer the beans into an airtight container. The best type is a ceramic canister with a clamp down rubber seal. Get one that is the right size for the amount of coffee that you buy.

This will minimize the amount of air surrounding the coffee.

Plastic containers can breathe and take on odors and metal containers can react to the acid in the coffee and can also change its flavor. If you use a glass jar, it is best to wrap it with a light tight cover or keep it in a dark place. Make sure that you always store coffee in a cool place.

Now the question is “Can I refrigerate or freeze my coffee?”

I will say this only once: NEVER refrigerate your coffee!

Refrigerators are not cold enough to retain freshness and coffee (like baking soda) will pull odors and moisture from the refrigerator. Unless you want your coffee to taste like last week’s leftovers, don’t put it in the refrigerator.

But what about freezing?

Many experts say that coffee is never the same after freezing. If you find a great buy on a really good coffee in a 3-5 pound bag and you just can’t pass it up, here is what I suggest – divide it into zip loc bags and, using a straw, suck out all of the air before sealing. (Better still is to use a vacuum bag sealer.)

Make sure that you do this in small quantities (a week’s supply) because you never want to refreeze it. Wrap the bags in aluminum foil to keep the light out and place them in the freezer. Freezing can cause moisture to come out of the coffee so use it as soon as possible. When you are ready to use it, allow it to thaw and come to room temperature before opening. (Cold beans will pull moisture from the air.) Once thawed, place the beans in your airtight container.

I wanted to cover brewing methods but I am almost out of space, so I’ll do that next time. One thing that I do want to mention, for those who want to change from pre-ground to grinding your coffee at home, look into a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder. It makes a huge difference.  I’ll discuss more on that in the next issue.

Tom Bert lives in Longview, WA and works as a volunteer at The Treasure House on Commerce, where he whips up D’vine Fudge and pours out some ice cold espressos from Java Joy, inside Treasure House for all this beautiful hot weather we’ve been having.