Freezing roasted whole beans?

I know the saying "do not refrigerate, do not freeze, if you do we'll break your knees".


Anyone try it anyways with roasted whole beans?

Does one loose a lot of flavor?

I'd like to save a sample from the types I'm currently trying and have a blind taste test in a few months time.

From my understanding unless they are vacuum packed they loose alot of flavor, my son is a coffee snob and thats what he tell me.

Not sure if freezing will do any good if there is still air in the container/packaging. If there is air in there, it might actually condense and form ice crystals which would probably ruin your coffee even quicker. I think freezing might be able to extend the shelf-life a bit only if the coffee is frozen when still fresh and vacuum sealed.

I like Lavaza coffe and buy 6 2-1/2 lb bags at a time. I open one, fill the hopper, fill a vacuum sealed container, and the small amount that's left over I freeze with the other 5 bags. I see no change in flavor as I use the coffee. others may, but I don't.

Here's a fascinating and extended answer from a controlled study on the question of whether freezing freshly roasted unground coffee beans impairs the flavor.

The short answer is that if the beans are frozen fresh, then there's no deterioration in flavor (assuming proper packaging and a truly cold freezer). I found this surprising, but the experiment was, as described, meticulous and far more thorough than anything I could do. I was also told not to freeze the roasted beans, but this test was enough to persuade me that it's ok.

We use a FoodSaver to vacuum pack/seal beans and store them in our pantry. It has worked beautifully for preserving flavor.

I freeze fresh roasted coffee the day it arrives (about 2-3 days post roast). I do not have to best palate, nor is my espresso making skill consistent enough, so to me it tastes just as good after being frozen for months. Buying in bulk saves me $2/lb and I get free shipping (so more like $4/lb) so I keep doing it!

Thanks guys! Didn't want to needlessly waste good coffee, certainly seems like it will be a worthwhile test.

Thanks for the excellent article Mark, there was a good tip in there to freeze in small batches to avoid constantly reopening and refreezing a batch which would introduce condensation risk and freezer burn to the beans.

It should help if done properly. I recommend dividing into smaller portions that you can utilize before they go stale, evacuate as much air as possible and do not open the container when pulling from the freezer until the contents have reached room temperature (all stuff covered in the link provided above, IIRC). I do this all the time as I order my beans in 5lb bags and cannot use 5lbs in 1-2 weeks.

I forgot to mention that when we open a vacuum sealed pack, we also use the AirScape cannister to store beans and just grind a bit at a time. The AirScape is great but not as good as the food saver since it is opened and closed a bit more often.

I understand the issue to be freezing, pulling some out then throwing the rest back in the freezer repeatedly is the issue, not freezing per se. The repeated pulling it out cause condensation on the beans that are going back into the freezer, which then freezes and cause the breakdown. I think if you are separating into single batches that aren't re-frozen, you will probably find negligible difference.