Questions & Answers - Storing Coffee Beans

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Question:

Please tell me how long coffee beans stay fresh. Also, how long should they be stored?


Answer: 

Coffee bean's two greatest enemies are air and moisture. Ideally, coffee should be ground, brewed, and consumed quickly to obtain the best flavor.

Coffee beans are at their peak within 24 to 72 hours after roasting and begin to quickly stale after that (within a week, most of the original flavor will have deteriorated). It is best to buy fresh-roasted coffee in quantities that you will use within 7 to 10 days. I, personally recommend grinding your beans as you need them and storing the whole beans in an airtight container. With that said, following are some guidelines for storing coffee beans:

Store your coffee in the bags it came in if they are heat sealed film or foil. Once these bags have been opened, you can either transfer the coffee to a clean, dry, air-tight container, or simply roll the top of the bag closed, forcing out as much air as possible, and seal the bag with a piece of tape or a rubber band.

Whole Coffee Beans - Should be stored in an airtight container in a dry dark, place at room temperature. they will be at their best for about a month after they are roasted (most fine coffees are roasted just before they are sold).

Ground Beans - Ground beans don's stay fresh as long as whole beans because more surface area is exposed. Keep ground beans in an airtight container in a a dry dark, place at room temperature for approximately two weeks.

Vacuum-Pack Coffee - Coffee that is sold in vacuum-packed tins has had oxygen and carbon dioxide removed, a process that keep the coffee fresh. Once the can is opened, the coffee will be in its prime for 7 to 10 days.

Freezing or Refrigerating Coffee Beans - It is generally not recommended to store coffee beans in the freezer or refrigerator. The enemies of coffee are extreme temperatures (hot or cold), air, light, moisture, and strong odors.

The freezer is acceptable only for a one-time shot. What this means, is that once you take it out of the freezer, it should never go back in. Condensation can form and adversely affect taste, as the frozen moisture on your coffee will melt and be absorbed into the bean, which deplete the flavorful oils.