What is the best way to store coffee at home? The answer to that is really simple: DON’T! During the entire production process, everything possible is done to preserve all the aromas as optimally as possible. Storing coffee is in direct contradiction of that effort. This is simply because the older the coffee gets, the more it loses its special characteristics. So always buy your coffee as fresh as possible, and don’t leave it in the cupboard. In other words, hoarding coffee is out of the question. Freshness is essential for full enjoyment of a delicious high-quality coffee.
So avoid storing it longer than two weeks in your home. Don’t keep it in the fridge or freezer, because there is a big risk that it will pick up other aromas and flavours there. Nobody wants to drink a cup of coffee with a cheesy flavour. The packaging also affects the shelf life of the coffee. Coffee packaged with a valve system has a longer shelf life than one in a traditional paper coffee bag. Coffee packed with a valve system should, in principle, retain its fresh quality for up to four weeks.
Tips & tricks
- Buy freshly roasted beans from your coffee roaster and don’t store them.
- Buy whole beans, not ground coffee.
- Store your coffee in a sealed container with a lid on it and in a cool place for no more than two weeks.
- And don’t try to store that ‘special coffee’ for a ‘special moment’, because unfortunately the very characteristics that make it fantastic will have dissipated before you brew it!