Proper Storage for Fresh Organic Coffee

 As with most food items, Organic Coffee tastes best when fresh. But there’s more involved in a coffee’s freshness than it’s age. Proper storage is essential. If not done right, a coffee’s flavor will deteriorate fairly quickly. Here’s a quick review of some of the considerations involved in keeping coffee fresh..

 There are several factors that cause a coffee’s flavor to deteriorate rapidly after roasting. These are moisture, light, air and heat. Therefore, it’s important to store coffee in as dry, dark, air-free and cold environment as possible.

 OK, first things first..coffee will age and deteriorate no matter what you do. We can dramatically slow this process but cannot stop it entirely. So the first thing we need to do is to buy the freshest and best kept coffee possible. If you have a local roaster you’re fortunate. However, if not, then shop smart when buying coffee… Make sure the store sells high volumes so that the coffee is always coming in fresh. Next, stay away from any coffee stored in non-airtight containers such as bulk bins unless you know that it’s contents turn over at a good rate. If purchasing prepackaged coffee, look for a bag with a valve. What this tells you is that the coffee is packaged shortly after roasting. The valve is a tell tale sign of this since the beans continue to degas for a day or two after roasting is complete. The valved bags are used to accommodate this by releasing the gas…. However, if the bag is simply sealed, this means that the roasted beans were stored openly to allow degassing to complete before they were bagged…Not-Good. So with prepackaged coffee look for the valve…. Next, of course, look for the package that has an expiration date as far out there as possible… Amounts? Buy only enough coffee to last you two weeks maximum, one week if it’s not too much of a hassle. Hey, you buy milk once a week and don’t think twice about it. Same for coffee.

 The next major consideration is that coffee comes in it’s own natural package…the coffee bean. It’s best to leave this alone and not grind your coffee until the moment you need it. Now with modern grinders that automatically time themselves out depending upon the grind you desire there’s no excuse. Just put in the beans and while the grinding cycle is completing, get out your filters and add the water to the coffee maker. Does the bean offer perfect protection? Absolutely not. It’s porous and susceptible to moisture penetration. However, if we grind the bean, then the coffee is completely exposed and highly vulnerable to attack by moisture, light & air.

 So we buy the freshest and best kept coffee, get only enough to last 1-2 weeks and keep it as whole beans. What else needs to be done? Well, at home we should transfer the coffee to a proper storage container. This should be something seal-able and resealable. And this should be stored in the freezer. The counter can be too warm and humid and the refrigerator simply allows the essences to easily evaporate (actually the refrigerator is one of the worse places to store coffee). 

 The best plan available is to keep your container in the freezer and take it out to scoop out the whole beans when needed and put it right back. We really don’t think of this as a hassle since we have to take the container from somewhere be it the cabinet, counter or freezer. So why not the best? The only problem you may find is that the container lid may want to stick due to frozen water condensation. You may have to experiment with different types of containers, keep the time out of the freezer to a minimum and maybe quickly wiping the lid edges with a napkin prior to closing and putting back into the freezer. However, in most cases the choice of the proper container is all that’s required.

 Coffee is one of the great things in life. Respect good coffee and take the small amount of effort needed to keep it as fresh as possible. Enjoy your organic coffee, keep it fresh and live naturally.

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