What are the Best Ways to Store Roasted and Green Coffee Beans?

Coffee goes bad, and if stored incorrectly it goes bad very fast. When drinking a cup of coffee you can 100% tell when your cup is freshly roasted or if it was sitting in a storage room for years.

One of the main reasons we get into coffee roasting is because of the industry standard for coffee freshness being lower than our own. We want coffee that smells like coffee, and tastes like coffee.

In this article, we will discuss what causes coffee to go bad, short-term and long-term storage.

What Makes Coffee Beans Go Bad?

Air, light and moisture destroy coffee beans. These outside factors harm the coffee beans by degrading the aroma and oils of the coffee. Many of the compounds within roasted coffee are volatile and overtime will be lost. Air and light will make that happen faster.

Moisture does damage in its own way, as coffee beans absorb moisture very easily. Beans must remain dry to not go stale, but when moisture is present they will absorb it all and increase their own moisture content.

What is the Best Way to Store Coffee Beans?

Coffee should be stored in an air-tight container, always. A zip-lock re-sealable bag is very useful for this, especially if it is a breathable bag. Mason jars or realistically any air-tight container will do the job.

Always keep your beans in a cool dark place, like your pantry or cupboard. Ensure that no sunlight will hit the coffee container. Avoid keeping anything near the coffee that emits a strong odour as coffee absorbs alternate smells quite easily.

Freezing Coffee Beans

For long-term storage, consider freezing your coffee in a non-frost freezer. If your freezer walls are covered in ice/frost it will not be suitable.

Generally you want to be drinking your coffee within 15 days of roast for optimum experience, but if that is not possible then your non-frost freezer is the best choice. It will not be kept as good as the day it was roasted but it will definitely be an improvement over keeping them outside of the freezer.

Same as for short-term, use an air-tight container and do not store with strong odour emitting foods.

Top 5 Don’ts on How to Store Coffee Beans at Home

Following those tips you will be able to store your beans as fresh as can be. Some things you do not want to do:

• Keep coffee near strong smelling foods e.g. cheese, fish.
• Leave coffee in an open container e.g. open bag on kitchen table.
• Pre-grind coffee e.g. grinding coffee for the whole day.
• Leave coffee in direct sunlight e.g. leaving coffee bag on window sill.
• Put coffee in damp place e.g. frosty freezer, leaking pantry.

How to Store Coffee Beans to Maintain Freshness

4 Simple Tips for Storing Coffee Beans

1. Keep fresh coffee beans in an airtight container.
2. Stay away from light.
3. Buy the whole bean.
4. Buy only when you need to.

How to Store Coffee Beans for the Best Freshness

Buy small amounts of fresh-roasted coffee in airtight containers, then store them at room temperature.

Should You Store Coffee Beans in the Fridge?

It’s best not to freeze or refrigerate coffee beans you’re going to use in the next few weeks because that can expose them to dampness and smells from other foods. Instead, store coffee beans in an opaque, airtight container and keep it in a dark, cool location, away from the stove or other heat sources.

Proper Coffee Storage

Try to keep your beans in a place that does not fluctuate its environment. Do not put your beans in a pantry that you open and close often because light has negative impact on beans.

Why You Should Not Freeze Coffee?

Storing your coffee in the fridge or freezer will cause it to lose its aroma and flavor. Not to mention, it won’t last as long and will absorb the smells and flavors surrounding it. Given that your fridge is full of some pretty odd smells, this is pretty undesirable for coffee connoisseurs.

Should You Vacuum Seal Coffee Beans?

A glass container or canister of coffee beans should be kept in a cabinet or pantry. Vacuum sealing and freezing your coffee beans is an excellent way to store your beans. If you vacuum seal coffee and store it in your pantry, the coffee will release carbon dioxide gas.

How do You Keep Coffee Fresh After Opening?

Once you’ve opened a package of coffee, don’t leave it in the package. Instead, store it in an air-tight container. Minimize air space in the container as much as possible. Ordinary kitchen canisters can do an acceptable job if they can be tightly closed and there is little air space along with the coffee.

How to Store Coffee Beans the Right Way

The best way to store coffee beans is to keep them in a good airtight container that is especially designed for coffee. Also, divvy up your coffee into a daily-use coffee container and a airtight canister for preservation. The larger canister can be kept shelved.

Should You Freeze Coffee Beans?

Where do You Store Whole Coffee Beans?

You should put your coffee beans in a cool, dark place in your home, like a cupboard. The further away from heat sources such as ovens, the better…

If your whole coffee beans came in a paper bag, you can consider transferring to an airtight plastic container, but make sure to store in your cupboard, away from light, and at room temperature. Try not to put your coffee in the fridge or the freezer. Seriously, don’t do it.

How Long Can You Store Coffee?

On average, an unsealed bag of ground coffee should last about 3-5 months past the expiration date. When opened, it should be expected to last 3-5 months in the pantry.

Opened or freshly ground coffee should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature away from heat, light, and moisture. For maximum freshness, consume within 1–2 weeks.

Is Storing Coffee in Glass Better?

Once you open vacuum-sealed packaging, coffee starts to lose freshness quickly. For that reason, it’s a good idea to transfer coffee to another appropriate container as soon as possible. For best results, use an opaque glass, ceramic, or non-reactive metal container with an airtight gasket seal.

Are Mason Jars Good for Storing Coffee Beans?

You can use Mason jars to store coffee. The biggest thing to remember when storing coffee is that you need an airtight container. Mason jars are often used for storing jams which also require an airtight container to stay fresh.

How to Store Green Coffee Beans at Home

Green coffee beans need to be stored in a stable environment. The ideal relative humidity is around 55-65% and the optimum temperature being 24 degrees C/75 degrees F.

Those are the two things you need to be worried about but moisture is the hardest to deal with in modern establishments. Your best bet is similarly to fresh roasted coffee, placing your green coffee beans into an air-tight container and placing on your shelf. The same rules apply, avoid sunlight, moisture and strong smelling foods in the same area.

If your location is too dry, the moisture content of your green coffee beans will slowly evaporate. Other than that many volatile compounds in the coffee will also be lost, degrading the roasted coffee. If your location is too humid, you will find trouble dealing with mold and extra foul flavours being picked up over time.

The best solution is to build a cabinet or room specific for the storage of your green coffee beans. You would require:

• Temperature control.
• De-humidifier or humidifier.
• Temperature sensor.
• Relative Humidity sensor.

What Temperature Should You Store Green Coffee Beans at?

You will use the temperature control (air-con unit, radiator) along with the sensor to keep the temperature at 24 degrees C/75 degrees F. You will use the humidifier or de-humidifier to keep the relative humidity between 55-65%. The reason we use a sensor is because we do not want the temperatures to fluctuate. We want to keep their environment as stable as possible to avoid harming the green coffee beans.

An easier solution is to just use ventilation. You can hook up your ventilation/fan to a humidity sensor or temperature sensor or both. Set it to run when the environment drops or raises, and it will bring fresh air into the room hopefully buffering it to it’s original point. This is not as good a method as your full control method above, but it is better than storing in your pantry without ventilation.

Use a tough container as I have found on occasion that pests take a liking to coffee beans. This usually has happens while the green coffee is still in 59-69kg jute sacks in a big pile, before processing and storing in our warehouse. Ensure your containers are pest safe.

Can You Vacuum Seal Green Coffee Beans?

Another suggestion for keeping your green coffee beans safe is by separating into smaller parts and vacuum sealing. This way you can save money by ordering bulk amounts and keep the coffee in a pretty decent state. The vacuum will slow degrading down by far, and by only opening what you will need for the week you will be lowering the amount of coffee that can go bad.

Other than that, always try to only purchase what you will be using in the immediate future (2-4 weeks). That will allow you to skip the whole hassle of safely storing your green coffee beans, and let you focus on the roasting and brewing process!

Should You Store Coffee Beans in the Fridge, Freezer or Shelf?