How do you keep your (roasted but unground) coffee fresh?

Hey Folks,

In our current living situation, it's not possible to roast our own. It seems like the smallest amount I can easily buy in vacuum sealed bags is somewhere around 1/2 lb to 1 lb, depending on brand. Trader Joes has a lot of different varieties in these sizes.

I only drink coffee at home on the weekends (at work during the week), so we do not go through the beans very fast. But I do love my coffee, and cannot tolerate stale beans. I've tried moving the beans into wine bottles and using a vac-u-vin cork and pump, and that works ok for awhile, but the corks seem to dry out after time and no longer keep a vacuum.

What do you do with your roasted coffee, to make sure it does not go sour?

If I go to Peet's I can get however much or little I want, but it costs more. This may be the way to go. Money is definitely a concern, since if the solution is too pricey, I'll just go to Peet's for small quantities of beans.

Thanks in advance!

J

I put it in freezer containers and then put it in the freezer. I buy Starbucks coffee from Costco and the bags they sell are about two pounds. I usually divide it up into four or five containers and put them in the freezer. Works fine.

yomuppet said:

Hey Folks,

In our current living situation, it's not possible to roast our own. It seems like the smallest amount I can easily buy in vacuum sealed bags is somewhere around 1/2 lb to 1 lb, depending on brand. Trader Joes has a lot of different varieties in these sizes.

I only drink coffee at home on the weekends (at work during the week), so we do not go through the beans very fast. But I do love my coffee, and cannot tolerate stale beans. I've tried moving the beans into wine bottles and using a vac-u-vin cork and pump, and that works ok for awhile, but the corks seem to dry out after time and no longer keep a vacuum.

What do you do with your roasted coffee, to make sure it does not go sour?

If I go to Peet's I can get however much or little I want, but it costs more. This may be the way to go. Money is definitely a concern, since if the solution is too pricey, I'll just go to Peet's for small quantities of beans.

Thanks in advance!

J

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Your two statements about not tolerating stale beans and not drinking at home except on the weekends are at odds. (Roasted) coffee is stale after a week, though people's tolerance of the staleness varies wildly. I think the best you can do is a mason jar in the closet. Some people freeze, but I don't recommend it unless you are freezing individual amounts. The best you can do is buy what you can drink before it goes stale. Good luck!

I will echo much of what Scotto said.

I roast at home and beans never get past 2 weeks, and almost never past 10 days. I also drink several shots a day so my amounts will vary from yours.

I would recommend against freezing - That's the process for Freeze Drying and while opinions will vary, I would recommend against it..

I will assume from your post you are close to a Trader Joe's or a Peet's. If you only drink on weekends, you have a trade-off of quality fresh beans and cost, and probably only you can make that decision.

Look at it this way:

How much will you go through on a weekend?

How much will that amount of beans cost you?

Compare that to 2 cups of "quality" coffee from some coffee house, and I will guess that the small quantity of beans you use on a weekend will probably cost less than the 2 "quality" coffees.

If you want fresh beans every weekend, I'm afraid you may have to bite the bullet and absorb the cost and look at it as a cost savings over going out for your brews.

Jim

Scotto said:

Your two statements about not tolerating stale beans and not drinking at home except on the weekends are at odds. (Roasted) coffee is stale after a week...

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That's the problem!

Just hoping someone has a better solution than I do. The vacuum sealing works ok until the vacuum cork dies, but it doesn't seem to be a long-term option, as any cost-savings would be eaten up by buying more corks.

Cheers.

J

Newfie said:

...
If you want fresh beans every weekend, I'm afraid you may have to bite the bullet and absorb the cost and look at it as a cost savings over going out for your brews.
...

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You may be right. Thanks for the reply!

J

What about using a vacuum sealer like this?

I'm so glad I didn't freeze the beans I got from the big island...

I buy my bean in 500g bags. They come in vacuum packed bags. When opened, a bag usually last a week so i don't have any great issues with my beans going stale. During the week I fold over the end of the vacuum bag and put a bulldog clip on it to hold it shut and put that bacg in a bigger Snap Lock bag. Does it make any difference? I don't really know but I do it anyway.

I always store my roasted coffee (ground or unground) in an airtight container in the refrigerator (usually on the door itself). Keeps well no matter how long.

Edit - The only things I freeze are ice cream and vodka.

I bought a bunch of vented coffee zip-locks that work well for smaller batches. For weekly use we have something similar to these airtight jars that work great and look nice on the counter. We seem to drink a lot though so not sure about storing past a week or two..

Isn't the main problem with freezing the part where you have to open it while still cold? If you open it when cold, condensation forms on the beans, so you don't want to store what you're using in the freezer and keep opening it to take some out.

I mean, if you froze a weekend's worth and took it out on Friday morning letting it sit still sealed on the counter until it came to room temperature.... wouldn't that get the benefit of slower oxidation without the down side? I sure wouldn't open the vacuum seal until necessary, but maybe storing the bag there, then letting it "thaw" to room temperature one Friday, and putting half back in the fridge for next week.

SiBurning said:

Isn't the main problem with freezing the part where you have to open it while still cold? If you open it when cold, condensation forms on the beans, so you don't want to store what you're using in the freezer and keep opening it to take some out.

I mean, if you froze a weekend's worth and took it out on Friday morning letting it sit still sealed on the counter until it came to room temperature.... wouldn't that get the benefit of slower oxidation without the down side? I sure wouldn't open the vacuum seal until necessary, but maybe storing the bag there, then letting it "thaw" to room temperature one Friday, and putting half back in the fridge for next week.

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I put the beans in small containers and take the air out. Then i put it into the freezer. A small container lasts only a few days (we drink a LOT of coffee) and once it is thawed out it is placed in a cool place.

Here is one article about coffee storage - although there are some others that contradict it. http://coffeetea.about.com/od/storage/a/storage.htm

I have a vacume sealer and the beans stay in a sealed cannister at all times. I roast and usually do a pound at a time and the beans rarely sit more than 10 days anyway. I don't think the refrigerator or freezer is a good choice and those aluminum foil valve bags are worthless once the coffee is initially unsealed and the air gets in. They are designed for use right after roasting so the CO2 displaces the air and helps maintain freshness.