Container for whole coffee beans.

[GoingPostal]

Hello, so need some help on keeping whole beans fresher longer. My bro works at starbucks so that's what I drink cause free works for me. I grind the beans fresh every time but I notice that when i get towards the end of the bag coffee just doesn't taste as fresh. Takes me about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks to get through the 1lb bag which to my understanding is about as long as beans maintain peak freshness. I currently just keep the beans in the starbucks bag, folded up trying to get as much air out as I can. Searching on the internet i came across this Airscape Canister. would it help keep beans fresher longer? Is there a better solution? I was thinking about grinding some to use at work (to finish the bag quicker) but i know ground coffee "goes bad" faster. I have some containers that i store my tea in Tea Tin would it keep ground coffee fresh for 3-4 days?

 

[rdomfoto]

Roasted beans will, at best, remain "fresh" for about a week. That's why you'll find home roasters usually roasting once a week and only roasting enough for a week. Also, once roasted, the beans need to "off gas" for about 24 hours before they hit the peak of their flavor. And, after that, they slowly start to go stale.

Even after that, the beans will slowly off-gas so your best bet to keep them tasting as good as possible for two weeks is to keep them in an airtight container, but open the lid once a day to let the gasses escape (not unlike opening a tupperdor to let the ammonia build-up escape).

As for grinding, if a whole roasted bean retains freshness for about a week, ground coffee gets stale after about 30-45 minutes. Worst thing you can drink (if you like coffee) is to grind it.

 

[hopzilla]

I currently use the VacuVin coffee container. It lets me vacuum out the air to at least attempt to prevent excess staling of the beans. I have good results with this method.

Previously I used a wine bottle and a VacuVin stopper to accomplish the same thing, and it worked great for the most part. It was, however, a PITA to get the beans in the bottle each time I got a new bag. Ugh.

 

[Jesse]

The wife and I have been putting our coffee in the freezer to keep it fresh, good or bad?

 

[rdomfoto]

The wife and I have been putting our coffee in the freezer to keep it fresh, good or bad?

Bad, actually. It causes the oils to leach out of the beans. Also, you're not storing it in the bag it comes in, are you? Those bags are meant for transport and not storage, Best thing is to keep them in a sealed container, kept in a cool dark spot. If you can, get something like the VacuVin container that Hopzilla mentioned.

 

[xFreebirdx]

We use canning jars.

 

[GoingPostal]

UPDATE: went and got the airscape canisters and does a great job extending the freshness of the beans. Beans keep there freshness for 2 weeks, did some experimenting and for me will keep the beans "fresh enough" for a month. Also tested it putting ground coffee in it and for me ground coffee keeps fresh for about 2 days and drinkable for up to a week.

 

[Jesse]

The wife and I have been putting our coffee in the freezer to keep it fresh, good or bad?

Bad, actually. It causes the oils to leach out of the beans. Also, you're not storing it in the bag it comes in, are you? Those bags are meant for transport and not storage, Best thing is to keep them in a sealed container, kept in a cool dark spot. If you can, get something like the VacuVin container that Hopzilla mentioned.

My neighbor gave me a 5 lb bag of Kauai coffee, we normally just drink Folgers and had an extra tub so I put all the beans in that and a Tupperware. I grinded enough for the week and put that in a tupper as well. Guess I'll have to look into those containers now, stupid expensive hobbies. haha

 

[plumber1965]

I was told by a coffee guy airtight and dark will keep the beans fresh the longest. But even that at most lasts only about 2+ weeks, Or maybe longer, wouldn't know as i never have it around that long.

 

[YodisMatt]

Looks as if we need to get ourselves a new container but our beans don't even last week an a half really.

 

[NCost]

We buy 5lbs at at time. Put what we need in a push top tupperware (somewhat air tight) canister that will last roughly 1 week. We vacuum pack the rest in one big bag. Works like a charm, been doing it for years.