Tips for Coffee Freshness

To assure better coffee freshness, it is best to get beans that are unroasted, and then roast and grind them yourself on the day you intend to brew the coffee.

Roasting your own beans is basically a cooking specialty. To get satisfactory results, you may need to make an investment in the right equipment, unless you'd prefer to learn more about home coffee roasting.

Beans will remain fresh for a time, even after they have been roasted. Small amounts of carbon dioxide are released naturally from freshly roasted beans and this aids in keeping oxygen away so the beans do not spoil as quickly.

The beans will keep their great aroma and flavor for up to one week if kept in an airtight container.

It is natural that coffee will be fresher if it is ground and brewed soon after roasting the beans. But the beans can still make a great grind and excellent brew even a few days later.

Though the aroma is no longer at its best, the taste might still be acceptable after a couple of weeks. Even if you use the best possible methods of storage, after a month, whole bean coffee will be dull.

Making sure the skin is not broken is the way to be sure of getting a cup of good coffee from beans you have bought already roasted.

Only freezing will stop the deterioration of the oils in the beans and under the skin but freezing will mean the coffee will not be at its best anyway.

A container that is airtight should be used to store beans. Though it looks like a good container to use, avoid using the type of glass jar used for instant tea because the lid allows too much leakage.

A glass jar with a lid that has a rubber seal, such as a canning jar, is the best option for keeping coffee fresh.

Since heat and light, as well as air, could contribute to the spoilage of beans, make certain that a cool, dark place is selected for storage.

A way to naturally protect beans from spoiling would be to use more expensive containers that flush out air, replacing it with inert gas and infusing the coffee beans.

The coffee beans then emit CO2, which helps to preserve them. Store beans in this manner and coffee freshness will last for a few weeks.

If home roasting is not an option, grinding your own coffee from purchased roasted beans is the second best alternative.

Good grinders are easy to find, simple to use and clean and can be found for reasonable prices.

A number of grinders are fairly automated, so just a little experimenting is all it takes to get grinds that are good and consistent.

Since grinding can't help but break the skin of the bean, oil spoilage is still a problem if the freshly ground beans are not used in the next few days.

Even more necessary than with roasted beans, grounds that are not brewed within that day need to be stored in a desiccating container. There is a drying agent in these containers, often below the mesh at the bottom. This prevents mold from forming due to excess moisture and too much oxygen from getting into the grounds.

If stored in something other than a desiccating container, a lot of the flavor in the ground will be lost in just a few hours. Evaporation of the oil and exposure to moisture and air in the jar will cause deterioration of the grounds.

To ensure better coffee freshness, don't grind more than you are going to brew right away and drink what is brewed within an hour. Tolerating less than first-rate coffee is no longer necessary with the availability of reasonably priced, modern machines and methods of keeping coffee fresh.