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Storing Coffee Pt.1
There’s nothing worse than buying a nice bag of coffee from your favourite roaster only for the coffee to go stale before you get halfway through the bag!
Today we’re going to explore how you can properly store your coffee for optimal freshness so you can enjoy it forever and ever (or until you run out of coffee).
One of the first things you’re told when you buy coffee for home is that coffee doesn’t like humidity or direct sunlight. Also, whole beans stay fresher for longer than pre-ground coffee. I’m going to assume though those of you who've subscribed know this already - you’re here for the real hacks! ☕️
There are 3 ways I recommend storing your coffee - an Airtight container, a Vacuum Can, and one super secret mystery method. 🤫 The major benefit of storing your coffee appropriately is to extend the “sweet spot” of your coffee. Following on from the previous edition when we discussed how to rest your coffee - once your coffee has been appropriately rested it’s then time to store it in the best possible way to “lock in” the flavour. Let’s dig in!
Airtight Storage
The most common way to store your coffee is in an airtight container. This can be a jar, tin, food box, ziplock bag, or even the very bag the coffee comes in (a lot of modern-day coffee bags have a ziplock opening you can re-seal). This Air-free Can from Espresso Gear is also a great choice!
As long as it’s kept in a dry space without too much humidity, storing the coffee in this way will most likely keep it fresh until you finish the bag.
Vacuum Container
If you want to take the next step in coffee storage and really extend the sweet spot of your favourite coffee you could look into vacuum packing your coffee. In the good ‘ole days I used to use a food vacuum pack machine like this to pack my coffee beans, but I would have to single dose the little bags, pack them, label them, and then remember where I put them when it was time to brew - quite time-consuming if you ask me!
Luckily today there are Vacuum Canisters like the Fellow Atmos to help you store your coffee.
By storing your coffee in a vacuum (an air-free environment, not the vacuum cleaner 🤫), you are preventing oxygen from interacting with the coffee beans making them stale. I recommend resting your coffee for the appropriate time (at least 2 weeks) and then moving the beans into a vacuum container. This will extend the “sweet spot” of the coffee by several months!
I like to have a few different coffees “on rotation” at home so I’m not always drinking the same coffee. By using the vacuum cans and storing the coffee in this way I can have 3-4 different coffees at the same time and not have to worry about them going stale - the dream!
But what do you do if you have that super special coffee you want to keep for a special occasion? There is one more way to store coffee that can extend the coffee’s peak for YEARS! Intrigued? Keep an eye out for part 2 to learn my super secret method to keep coffee fresh FOREVER! 🤫
P.T.
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