How to store coffee is a much debated subject amongst coffee lovers. On one hand, you have your cold-storage folks, who swear that their coffee tastes best after living next to their 6 month old meatloaf in the freezer. On the other hand, you have those who store their coffee in their pantry between their Frosted Flakes and their PB & J. The question is, which of these coffee connoisseurs have the right idea when it comes to coffee storage and why? Read on and we'll explain which method is the very best for ensuring the most flavorful and freshest cup of coffee.
Freezer Storage
We know that keeping grandma's enchiladas in the freezer is a great way to preserve freshness until we're ready to eat them so it would only make sense that this would also be the case for coffee, right? Not quite! The issue with storing coffee in the freezer or fridge is the changing temperatures that occur every time you take the bag out of the freezer to brew a pot. When you do this, moisture occurs in the coffee, leaching it of all of it's delicious flavor oils that make your coffee the tasty cup you crave.
Pantry Storage
So this means pantry storage is the best option then....hmmmm not so fast! You could store your precious coffee in the pantry next to your herbs and spices BUT coffee is super absorbent of surrounding odors so unless you are hoping for a cumin or chili powder flavored bean, we don't recommend this either.
How DO I store my beans then?
Now that we've told you how not to store your coffee, let us tell you what we DO recommend. Coffee best maintains its amazing flavors when its stored in an airtight container away from light, heat and moisture. Any airtight container is good but we especially love the Airscape Coffee Canister for storage because the canister actually forces excess air out of your coffee, extending the shelf life of your beloved brews. Bonus, it also resists staining and odor retention.
So now that we've answered this burning question, what other coffee questions do you have for us? Shoot us an email at patti@coffeebeanery.com and your question may be featured in a future blog.
