How To Correctly Store Coffee Beans

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It’s a common myth that the fridge is the best place to store your coffee beans, but it isn’t the best place at all. With coffee beans, you want them to be stored in a cool place, not a cold one. You may not think it’s a huge difference, but it does have a significant impact.

The Ideal Location

Coffee beans are best stored in a cool, dry place away from both extreme heat conditions and extreme cold such as a fridge or freezer. And, within that cool, dry place, such as a cupboard, your beans should be in an opaque, airtight container. You don’t even need to take the beans out of the bag they get delivered in, simply pop the whole bag into the container, and you’re good to go.

Why Fridges Aren’t Your Best Bet

Coffee naturally attracts moisture, so as soon as you take those beans out of the fridge, they will start to condensate and will start to sweat. Sweaty beans do not sound great, and they don’t taste great either. What flavour is left in the beans that haven’t been sweated out, will have included in it the aroma of whatever has been in your fridge. So if you’ve got fish or left-overs, or the kids’ forgotten lunch on the shelves, those aromas will soak into your coffee beans, and you will get to experience those flavours in your coffee. *Yum!* On a serious note – moisture affected beans can also be a health hazard as it can cause mould to grow. So if you have store your beans in the fridge or freezer, look over the beans before you use them.

Why On Your Bench, In Direct Sunlight Isn’t Your Best Bet

As the extreme cold, extreme heat is also just as bad for coffee beans. The heat can also make the beans sweat, which again, releases the flavour. It also accelerates the aging process, causing the beans to stale faster. So be sure not to leave your beans on the bench or worse – put them there on purpose!

Why A Sealed Container Is Important

If you store your beans just in the bag, or in a way where it will get a lot of oxygen, your beans have a high possibility of going stale before you even get to try them. This happens because oxygen causes your coffee beans to undergo oxidization which ages the beans and therefore makes them go stale. This is why a sealed container is the best option for storing coffee beans, as the less oxygen, the less chance of it going stale and will be able to last longer!

We also recommend that the container should be opaque and not clear or transparent, especially if it’s near sunlight as clear containers don’t provide much of a barrier from the sun and heat as opaque containers do.

When Coffee Beans Are Ready To Use

Now that we know the correct way to store beans, how do you tell when it’s time to use them? Firstly, we recommend waiting 1-2 weeks from the roast date (Our Roast date is always stamped on the back of our bags!) This is because your beans need time to de-gas. Use your beans too early, and you’ll most likely end up with a sour coffee.

As a general rule, when storing your beans, be aware of air, moisture, heat and light. Do this, and your beans will be fine!