Properly storing your coffee is an important step to brewing a great cup every morning. Coffee beans may be shelf-stable for a long time, but their flavors aren’t. Many factors, like oxidation and loss of volatiles, affect how your coffee tastes after brewing.
Storage Location
Coffee is best stored in a cool, dry, and dark place. Light, warmth, and moisture all accelerate the processes that cause coffee to go stale or rancid.
You might think your refrigerator would be the perfect spot, but it’s actually not. Storing coffee in the fridge can cause condensation on the beans, and you also risk them absorbing the aromas of whatever else is in there.
Storage Containers
If the bag your coffee came in reseals with an airtight seal and has a degassing valve, you’re all set. But if you’d like to upgrade, a vacuum-sealed container is the way to go.
Long-Term Storage
Unlike the refrigerator, the freezer is actually a great option if you don’t plan to use your coffee for more than 1–2 weeks, as it slows both oxidation and the loss of volatiles. When freezing, make sure your coffee is in an airtight bag with all the air pressed out beforehand. Never thaw and refreeze your coffee. Once it’s out, leave it out to avoid introducing condensation.
Resting & Freshness
While coffee can technically stay safe to drink for a year or two, you’ll get the best experience drinking it fresh. Coffee is at its peak during the first month after roasting.
That said, there’s also such a thing as too fresh! COâ‚‚ slowly releases from coffee as it ages, and a lot of it releases during brewing. Too much COâ‚‚ in the coffee can make extraction more difficult and uneven.
We recommend letting your coffee rest for a minimum of 24 hours after roasting, though waiting 4–5 days before brewing (or 7–8 days for espresso) can give you the best results.
TLDR
- Store your coffee in a dry, room-temperature place in an opaque, air-tight container or bag.
- Don’t store your coffee in the fridge!
- Wait at least 24 hours off roast before using your coffee. Give it time to degass.
- You can freeze your coffee for long-term storage, just don’t thaw and refreeze it.
