The Shelf Life Of Coffee Beans

Different types of coffee beans have different shelf life. Green coffee beans retain its freshness best compared to roasted and ground coffee bean. When stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place they can last more than a year while still preserving their aroma and flavour. However not many people are keen about storing green beans because you still need roast and grind them before brewing them into a good cup of coffee. Too much work for the average coffee drinker. Not to mention that they are hard to find in grocery stores near you.

Storing roasted coffee beans is much more preferable for many. Since the extra work involve before brewing is to grind them. Roasted coffee beans could last up to 3 weeks when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not use metal or plastic container since they will surely make your coffee taste odd. Use ceramic container whenever possible but if you don't have one just use a glass container and store the coffee in a dark area of your kitchen.

Ground coffee beans is believed to have the shortest shelf life of all coffee beans. This is because the grinding process speeds the flavor staling by exposing the beans to much much more air than it was as a whole bean. In reality the flavor will last for just one hour and after that it will lose whatever flavor it had. Ground coffee is good for 2 to 3 days before the flavor starts to go if kept in an air tight container. It's best to grind your beans as you need them and storing the rest of whole beans in an airtight containers

Where To Store Those Coffee Beans/Ground?

It is critical that you ensure the coffee beans are properly stored which means preventing high temperatures, humidity as well as light from affecting the coffee beans. This way you can ensure the coffee beans will last till its maximum limit and also ensure that no unnecessary damage is done to the beans.s

If you ask different people where to put your coffee beans you will likely get different answers from each of them. Some may say that the best to place to store ground coffee is in the freezer and others say the complete opposite.

Coffee beans hate moisture, light. air and heat

Direct light and heat will slowly cook the coffee oils and will eventually affect the flavor and aroma properties. So it's essential to store the beans at room temperature in a container that blocks light (or in a cupboard or drawer or any dark part of your kitchen).

Next is about moisture and air. Never put your coffee beans in a chiller or freezer. That is the worst place to store your coffee. Freezing is good to retain the freshness of fruits, vegetables, meats and breads since it preserves the minerals and vitamins found in foods but that's not the case for coffee.

Coffee beans are actually porous and the porous nature of the coffee beans makes them easily absorb flavors from other foods kept in the fridge. If you store some strong smelling food in the fridge (like garlic) then the coffee will slowly start to smell and taste like them.

Furthermore, the same porous nature of coffee beans makes them absorb moisture. The constant cold mist in the refrigerator attaches to the whole bean or ground coffee. The moisture will ruin the beans and their aroma and flavor will diminished. And also when you place and replace the coffee beans from the freezer it will cause more absorption of moisture. Thus, if you got nowhere else to put that coffee beans but the fridge make sure that you don't put it in the freezer and remember that using airtight container is unnegotiable. So the way to do it is to wrap them up in small quantities in some airtight containers and take out just what you will brew in that week. That's better than taking a big bag out of the freezer, pouring some coffee out, and putting it back which will expose the coffee to even more moisture and air.

Time is also another enemy for your coffee. It is highly advised to buy your coffee as needed in a reasonable amount. Buy a week supply (two weeks max) instead of for the whole month. Fresh coffee is always the best coffee.

Conclusion?

Any place is a good place to store coffee beans as long as it can protect the beans from air, moisture, high temperature and light.