Keeping your coffee beans fresh; Bean Storage
Fresh beans are the best types of beans, so keeping your coffee beans fresh is an essential part of making the best coffee at home.
So How do you keep your beans at their best?
Keep them out of the sun! This is a given, but a crucial one to remember: keep your beans away from heat and sunlight as this will cause the beans to sweat and lose their oils quickly.
Don’t put your beans around moisture; such as in wet areas like sinks as you may find the water reaches the beans. Likewise, avoid humid areas as this will also cause moisture to reach the beans.
Don’t store your beans in a fridge or freezer unless you have to. Coffee attracts moisture so, as soon as you pull them out of the cold, they condensate and start to sweat. Also, beans absorb what’s around them so aromas from other items in your fridge will likely impede the final flavour of your coffee.
Where is the best place to keep your freshly-roasted beans?
So, you have your Urban Baristas coffee beans. you now know where to not put them, so where is left?
It’s simple, like anything else that is perishable, keep your beans in a nice cool place such as a cupboard or pantry. Make sure that they are in an airtight container. The reason you need a sealed container is that oxygen causes the beans to undergo oxidisation, which ages them and turns them stale. Try to not store them for too long as the peak taste is usually around 25 days after roasting but can vary depending on the season (hotter vs cooler weather)
Checklist to keeping your beans fresh:
- Keep away from moisture, heat, light and oxygen and cold.
- Store in an airtight container
- Consume within 40 days of being roasted (espresso coffee peaks around 25 days, plunger/filter coffee peaks around 10 days)
- Grind immediately before brewing (where possible)
- Keep in the freezer only if you plan on storing it for more than six months (once it’s out, it stays out!)
- Now you know the ins and outs of keeping coffee fresh, let us know if you find any other good ways of storing coffee. Fresh beans are the best types of beans, so keeping your coffee beans fresh is an essential part of making the best coffee at home.