Coffee Bean Storage Suggestions

Kevin Devin and I have been trading emails on coffee bean (whole or ground) storage options since we are both purchasing some beans from Kevin's brother who lives in Alaska and works at roaster Cafe Del Mundo.

Kevin found this recommendation, which I have summarized to:

1. Store beans (whole or ground) in an air tight container
2. Store the air tight container in a cool place like a pantry with no direct sunlight on the container. If pantry gets warm, then use a refrigerator but not a freezer.
3. The sooner you go from bean to grounds to brewing the better.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Other opinions?

Comments

[Ian Ozsvald]

Hi Steve. I'm a coffee nut, I've been grinding my own beans for 5 years. I've yet to roast my own green beans but I do intend to sometime. I once spent 6 months recording the time and size of grind for various coffees to learn 'the perfect coffee' - along the way I realised that there's an awful lot of hype about how to store, prepare and serve coffee. Your article does a good summary job.
I've noted that fresh roasted beans (roasted a few days before purchase) tend to keep their taste for 2-3 weeks, by 4 weeks they're noticeably 'flat'. I keep the beans in their thick paper bag from the shop, out of heat/draft and sunlight, in the corner of my kitchen.
I've read that storing them in a freezer or fridge would cause water droplets to form on removal which could leech the oils out - I've never tried storing in a fridge as a (south England, about 15-18 degrees C) kitchen corner has always been fine.
I grind the beans for my Moka Pot as I need them, grinding up to 1 days worth of coffee at a time. Ground coffee after a day noticeably begins to lose its flavour too.
My burr-grinder does a fine job of making a fine ground, I have a slicing grinder but that's not useful for a Moka pot (I only use it with a French Press as the grind is inconsistent in size).
My biggest tip would be to always grind your own beans freshly and always buy fresh beans in a small quantity so they last a few weeks. Preparation method (e.g. French Press vs Moka Pot) seems to be down to personal taste.
Cheers,
Ian.
ps you're bound to have seen it, but if you want to grin at our first ever video attempt...
http://showmedo.com/videos/video?name=MakingThePerfectCupOfCoffee&fromSeriesID=12
I fear I shall never live this down.

[Steve Holden]

Thanks for the detailed comment and the link to the video. I need to get a really quite grinder so I could grind just before brewing. Mine is a least 8 years old and sounds like a small lawn mower. The video is good. Nothing to be ashamed of.