How to Keep Your Coffee Fresh
If you love coffee but aren’t sure how to keep it fresh, here are some ideas you might want to try. Naturally the amount of coffee you buy at a time affects how long it will last. Ideally you want to use up whatever kind of coffee you buy in a couple of weeks. With the right storage container you should be able to keep it fresh for more than a month.
Coffee begins to lose its flavor when it first picked, but the type of coffee you buy determines how long it will last. If properly stored:
- Whole beans should maintain original flavor the longest.
- Roasted beans may take a week to see a significant decline in flavor.
- Ground coffee begins to lose flavor within an hour of opening. It is also prone to moisture.
The packaging of coffee affects its freshness too.
How coffee is packaged:
- For the longest lasting roasted coffee, look for plastic film or foil bag with the nitrogen flushed out and closed with a permanent heat seal. A valve lock will keep out external air best. The valve protects the beans from moisture and so the coffee remain fresh longer. The best part of this valve locking system is that you can keep the coffee in its original packaging.
- Coffee in ordinary plastic bags or wax line sealed bags should be avoided.
Once opened the roasted beans will lose the freshness within just a few days. Ground coffee will be really bad in a very short time once these kind of bags are opened. Both types of coffee need to be stored in a clean and dry air tight container immediately after purchase. As a stop gap you can roll the the top tightly and secure it with a rubber band or piece of tape.
The greatest enemies of fresh coffee are extreme heat and cold. Moisture, air, and even light have a negative impact on the aroma and flavor of any type of coffee. Even if stored in air tight canisters, coffee must be kept as dry as possible.
Don’t put your coffee in the fridge. Cold doesn’t help retain its freshness and the mositure in the refrigerator can damage coffee. Coffee can also pick up other odors that detract from its original flavor.
If you don’t have a good really airtight canister, it’s time to buy one. You can find a wide range of choices online.
Follow these easy tips and you will be able to keep your coffee fresh longer.
Updated 7/20/2009
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