How Do You Store Coffee?

Some of the most common questions we get at Blue House surround keeping coffee fresh and storing coffee properly. Today, we’ll provide you with a whole bunch of tips and tricks to make sure that your coffee tastes as fresh as it can be!

Freshness

The key to fresh coffee is beginning with buying freshly roasted coffee (like from us!) in amounts that you will use in no more than two weeks. If you need to buy more than this at once, and if you buy multiple bags to do so, only open the bag you want to use first. Leave the others sealed until you are ready to use them.

Another key factor to keep coffee fresh is to grind the beans at the time of use. That is to say, grind the beans for your morning cup of coffee every morning. If this is not possible, or you prefer to buy pre-ground coffee, try not to expose the grounds to air as much as possible when in storage. The best and easiest way to do that is to portion out the grounds into single-use air-tight packs such as Ziplocks.

Storage

For storage, there are four main environmental factors that negatively affect the freshness and flavor of coffee beans:

• Moisture

• Air

• Heat

• Light

To keep coffee fresh, simply reduce the exposure that the beans have to these things. This often looks like keeping your beans in an airtight container in a cool, dark, and dry place. For example, try to keep the coffee beans away from the oven or from direct sunlight.

For storage containers, there are many options. Until you are ready to use a bag of beans, it is best to keep it in its original packaging, unopened. Our coffee beans come in resealable packaging, which is suitable for storage. If you would like to branch out and try some other containers, we’ve pulled together a few options.

Using options found at home, try Ziplock bags or mason jars. Both of these options are clear, however, so be sure they are not stored in a place where light reaches it. Our suggestion is a simple kitchen cabinet.

For options of containers specifically designed for coffee storage, try the Fellow, the Airscape, or the Coffeevac.