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All about beans
If you love coffee as much as we do, you’ll need to store it properly. Whether you’re into wholebean coffee or ground, you’ll want to lock in the flavour and drink it at just the right time to get the most out of it. But what is the best way to store coffee? Can you freeze it? And does it expire? We’ll answer those questions, and more, to help you enjoy the best brew properly by following our storage guidelines. We’ll cover:
There’s only really one way to properly store your coffee beans and that’s in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature. Using a sealed container is crucial to keeping nasty contaminants out. However, we wouldn’t recommend using a storage box you’ve used for other food items because the scents will penetrate the coffee beans. Instead, screw top jars, plastic boxes, glass jars where the lid seals tightly and zip-lock bags are all good choices for coffee storage. You can also store your coffee in the bag it came in if the package is resealable.
To make sure coffee stays fresh, you should also keep it away from light by using an opaque container. Keep it fresh by storing it in a cool, dark place – preferably at the back of a cupboard.
We sell a lot of pre-ground coffee, and it’s perfectly enjoyable if stored correctly. However, we’d always recommend buying whole bean and grinding coffee to order each time you want a cup of coffee for the best quality. The key is to only grind the amount of coffee you need so you can devour the freshly ground goodness.
If you need to store ground coffee you’ve bought in a vacuum-sealed bag, you should follow the exact same rules for keeping coffee beans fresh. Store the grounds in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature in a cool, dark cupboard. By storing your grounds correctly, you’ll get the best out of the flavour for longer.
Tempting as it may sound, you should keep your coffee beans away from the fridge. Despite what many people think, storing coffee beans in the fridge doesn’t keep them fresher for longer. In fact, it will make your coffee moist and it will pick up nasty odours from other things stored in your fridge. Garlic-flavoured coffee? No, thank you!
Instead, store your coffee beans in an airtight container at room temperature in a cool, dark place.
Just like you shouldn’t put coffee beans in the fridge, we wouldn’t recommend storing them in the freezer. However, some people like to store coffee beans in the freezer to try and prolong the freshness. Freezing coffee beans can help to lock in the flavour but they need to be stored in an airtight container, or zip lock bags, for no longer than a month. Will it taste as good as freshly roasted coffee? Absolutely not, and we’d never recommend freezing coffee beans. But, if you want to prolong the life of your coffee beans, it’s much better than putting them in the fridge.
If you want to drink expired coffee, you can. But we wouldn’t recommend it. As long as the coffee doesn’t have any mould on it, it is safe to drink and it’s very unlikely that you’d get sick. However, you will be missing out on all of the awesome flavours that come from freshly roasted coffee.
When coffee is exposed to air, it breaks down and loses the rich flavours and intensity you love. This gives it a much weaker taste and you’ll miss out on the delicious compounds that give coffee its unique taste. That’s why all coffee comes with an expiration date so you can enjoy the full flavour profile before it starts to disappear.
It is also worth noting that brewed coffee will definitely go bad, if not consumed immediately. That’s because the moisture that penetrates the coffee stays there so it can go mouldy within a few days. That’s why you should dispose of used coffee beans and clean any brewing equipment straight after using it
The roast date is quite simply the date your coffee beans were roasted. To get the most out of the flavour, we’d recommend drinking coffee within 7-30 days of the roast date. This will give you the best opportunity to enjoy the full flavour profile of your coffee beans. You can, of course, use the coffee beans after this time, but the flavour will become less rich and intense over time.
Freshly roasted coffee maintains optimum freshness for around 2 weeks. However, it is best used within 3 months as flavours can diminish over time but can be used up to 6 months after roasting. You will find that all coffee does come with an expiry date so you should pay attention to this if you want to enjoy fresh coffee. Although drinking past the expiry date won’t make you sick, it might not taste particularly good. All of our coffee comes with an expiry date and we wouldn’t recommend drinking it after that.
Overall, as long as you store coffee in an airtight container and drink it within a few weeks of roasting, you can’t really go wrong. Store it properly, drink it right and enjoy an awesome cup of freshly brewed coffee in the comfort of your own home.
