Coffee waits for no man

If you love coffee, you need to know how to store it

If you’re paying a hefty sum for a high-end package of coffee, you should at least know how to store it.

Better coffee beans, stored properly, produce a better-tasting drink.

Ground Coffee vs. Coffee Beans

If you want quality coffee, buy coffee beans.

The coffee beans are the best way to preserve the quality of the coffee because after the beans are broken with a grinder, the coffee quickly oxidizes.

It is advisable to grind it just before preparing the drink.

Freshly ground coffee retains more of its inherent aroma, so you get a more pleasant and appealing cup of coffee. With high-quality speciality coffees, that’s exactly what you pay for.

Does the baking date matter?

For filter coffee, the closer you brew to the roast date, the better.

IN PLAIN TEXT

Think of coffee like a good steak that you have to let it age.

The coffee still needs a day or two of rest after roasting. Coffee has a lot of gas trapped inside, so letting it age for 24 to 48 hours is absolutely necessary.

Espresso is completely different, and most coffee shops let the beans rest for about five days before making espresso.

Otherwise, customers will experience additional saltiness due to the release of carbon dioxide, or notice small bubbles appearing in the pattern on their latte.

Experts recommend a period of 3 to 10 days from the roasting date for filter coffee and French press, and more – from 5 to 12 days for espresso.

How long does coffee last?

It all depends on the packaging. Depending on how the coffee beans are packaged, they will stay fresh longer, or their flavour will quickly become more flat and impersonal.

The best packages are single-use bags with foil and a flap with small holes—to let the gas out but not let it in—so that customers can enjoy their coffee for a week or two before it loses its flavour and begins to taste more impersonal.

If your coffee is in such packaging, leave it there. However, if it was in a paper bag, consider moving it to a vacuum-sealed plastic container, but be sure to store it in the cupboard, away from light, at room temperature.

To freeze it or not?

Try not to put the coffee in the refrigerator or chamber. Really, just don’t.

If you leave an open bag of coffee beans in the refrigerator compartment when you defrost it, it won’t taste as good as when you bought it.

The reason – the cellular structure of coffee is soft and porous, and absorbs aromas. In simpler terms, this means: that if you have onions or garlic in the chamber, your coffee may pick up some of that aroma.

The situation with the main part of the refrigerator is even more difficult. It causes condensation in the coffee and brings the aromatic oils in it to the surface.

If you’re determined to keep your coffee in the freezer (that is, you’ve stocked up on a few packets of coffee beans from far away, but you know you’ll only get by with one of those packets in a week or two), just make sure the package is sealed and unopened.

Before drinking, you should let the beans warm to room temperature. That way you might keep some of that fresh taste, but you’ll also have created a lot of headaches for making a drink that should be convenient and easy.

To finish

Buy small quantities of freshly roasted coffee in vacuum containers, then store them at room temperature. Or drink as many of them as you can, as fast as you can. Coffee can’t wait.