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How long do green coffee beans keep?

I bought some a bit over a year ago and they are sitting in the pantry in their little zip baggies waiting to fulfill their purpose. I only roast enough for a pot at a time as I just use an air popper and Cuisinart drip coffee maker. They look and smell fine, but i haven't roasted in a while so I am just wondering?
 
I've heard the one year rule too. That said, I have 10 to 15 pounds from last year I'm going to go see how it turns up. My downstairs garage stays pretty cool year round and humidity hasn't been a problem.
 
Green beans keep for a while, much longer than a year, but some of the flavor starts the fade after a year or so. That is according to what I have read and from my limited experience with roasting older beans as compared to when they were fresh (my memory and roast profiles vary, so it is difficult to judge with certainty). I had (and still have) some Vietnamese coffee that really seemed to loose its pop after a year in storage, while some old South American lost very little in comparison.

For longer term storage, I transfer most of my green beans in a burlap or cotton sack and store in a dark place, so that it can slowly breathe. Though I have kept a few inside their plastic bags out of convenience/laziness. I think there is a debate on whether it is best to store in a burlap bag or a sealed glass container.
 
That's interesting. Maybe I should get them in a cloth bag so they can breath. I need to start roasting more, but my wife like her Foldger's for some reason. I have probably 4 pounds sitting in there. Yup, just decided...tonight I roast!!!
 
I've heard people talk about roasting 2 year old beans without issues.

Since you cannot compare what they tasted like 2 years earlier there is no way to quantitatively say that there was any change over that time.

I like to keep my green to brown conversion within 1 year
 
2-3 years in controlled environment is fine. Try to roast within a year. Consume roasted within a week.

This is the answer that most are wanting.

I've not gone over 14 months (so far) but I have read others reviews of 2 + year old beans that come out just fine
 
The common rule I hear is the rule of 3s;

green beans- 3 years
roasted- 3 weeks
ground- 3 minutes

also, roasted beans often improve noticeably after 7-10 days, which gives you a sweet spot of about 2 weeks to use them.
 
Greens are good for 2-3 years if kept in the right conditions ie. approx. 60* humidity, in a breathable bag (I use small burlap bags with drawstrings that I buy on eBay), out of direct sun light. Right now I have approx. 295 pounds (297.08 to be exact) of 36 different beans from 16 countries. My wife thinks that I've totally lost it...
 
I've kept some past a year and still enjoyed the coffee when roasted. It wasn't as good as when it first arrived but still much better than any big roasting company offering.
 
The common rule I hear is the rule of 3s;

green beans- 3 years
roasted- 3 weeks
ground- 3 minutes

also, roasted beans often improve noticeably after 7-10 days, which gives you a sweet spot of about 2 weeks to use them.

Things like this make me wonder then, because I've always heard it's the Rule of 15.

15 months for green beans
15 days for roasted
15 mins for ground.
 
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