The Bean Babysitter: Proper coffee storage!
You love your coffee, and so do we. We went through the hard work of finding just the right bean for our taste and then found the freshest roasted bean possible. We race home, open the bag and give it a big sniff. Oh, the smell of coffee!
We hastily throw a handful of beans in the grinder and start warming up the brew kettle.
We brew our favorite cup, sit down at the table and sip the fruits of our labor of picking out just the right coffee for us.
We reach the end of the cup and go on about our day, thinking back to that exciting new blend we just enjoyed, but we made a big mistake. In our hastiness, we forgot to properly store our coffee to ensure we continue to receive the same flavors and aromas every morning.
But do not fret, you are here, reading this blog, and will prevent this from ever happening to you again.
Let's get into the details.
Like all things, your beans have enemies. No, I'm not talking about tea or other beverages you sometimes choose over coffee (we think they all have their place!), I'm talking about air, moisture, heat and light or AMHL for short. Actually, that acronym doesn't work well, so forget I ever said that.
To preserve your bean babies as long as possible, you need to store then in an opaque, air-tight container at room temperature. Finding the right container will eliminate all four of your bean's enemies at the same time. Now, there are many containers on the market, but we have a favorite that stands out because of its ability to actually reduce the amount of air in contact with your beans. The AirScape container provides a lid that slides down the inside of your container, ultimately forcing out the air until it reaches and sits nicely on the bed of your beans. As a bonus, they have a great-looking design that will draw your attention to it multiple times a day.
The force is strong with this container.....As if you needed another reason to be tempted by another cup of coffee!
Ok, back to the container. You may be tempted to get a clear container because you just love sitting at your counter staring at your beans for hours, but don't. Just don't. Yes, even the artificial light in your kitchen can degrade the quality of your coffee.
Buy "just enough"
Although we would love for you to buy a truckload of beans from us, we don't want you to have a bad tasting cup, so only buy what you can consume over the next 2-4 weeks (from when the bag has been opened). Shameless plug alert: now would be a good time to stop reading this article and check out our monthly subscription plans. You save money AND get your bag delivered on a recurring timeframe! You know how you listed "makes improvements to processes" on your resume under the skills section? Now it's true because you just reduced the overhead of having to remember to order your coffee each month.
But I digress.
Let's cover one more area that we receive questions about regularly....
Storing your coffee beans in the freezer.
Coffee beans are hygroscopic, meaning they readily take up moisture. Whether on your counter in an air-tight container or in the freezer, they are still going to take in any moisture they can get their hands on......or bean surface on. Although one would think that there is less moisture in the freezer (there usually is), your beans can still take in what moisture is in the container or surrounding area causing freezer burn (you know, the entire reason we have 8 tubs of ice cream), kick starting the oxidation and dehydration process, resulting in loss of flavor and aroma.
Because of this, we don't recommend freezing your coffee for long-term storage, but buying a quantity that you can consume within a 2-4 week period and storing it in the correct container.
If you've purchased bags from us before, then you know ours are not airtight, so once you open them for the first time, we recommend moving your beans from our bags over to your fancy new container!
Let us know below what thoughts or questions you have on this subject. 👇👇👇