How to store coffee
Find out how best to store your coffee from olive's coffee expert Celeste Wong, in order to keep it as fresh as possible and preserve the quality of the beans
Want to learn more about coffee, but don't know where to start? Get expert advice from olive’s expert, Celeste Wong. Find out below how best to store your coffee, including advice on whether or not to freeze your beans.
After, discover Celeste's guide to buying the best beans at home, as well as how to order coffee, how to read a coffee label, how to taste coffee and how to use up coffee grounds. You can also check out her guides for how to make pour-over coffee, how to use a French press, how to use a moka pot and how to use an Aeropress. For perfecting your lattes, check out our guide on how to do latte art.
How to store coffee at home
Keep your beans fresh
It’s better to grind fresh, so keeping your coffee stored whole is best. I always say to think of coffee beans like potatoes: store them in a dark, cool place. However, I wouldn’t recommend storing your beans in the fridge or freezer. If you can buy fresh beans regularly, do that instead of bulk buying. Try a coffee subscription so you can experiment with new flavours, or get your favourite beans delivered to your door.
Keep coffee beans in an airtight container
Once coffee beans are roasted, they start to degrade and release gases (CO2) that will eventually cause them to loose vibrancy and freshness. Keep coffee in an airtight container or something that lets gases escape without letting oxygen in. Often, coffee bags have a release valve. For fit-for-purpose containers, you could try the Fellow Atmos canister or Soulhand vacuum canister.
Freeze your coffee beans
If you've bought more coffee than you can use in the next two or three weeks, you can freeze it. But, domestic freezers don’t really get cold enough to completely stop oxidation and things going stale. You could portion your coffee beans into 250g portions (or how ever much you use per week), but do not bother portioning out what you brew – that would be counterintuitive. Put the coffee beans in a reusable airtight container, like a freezerproof jar or food bag (vacuum-sealing is best, but has wasteful packaging). Then, at the start of the week, take the jar out and leave it overnight to defrost and use as normal. Don't open the lid until the next day, as it will introduce oxygen and condensation will form, which is not good for the beans. Generally, it’s best to try and buy enough for one to three weeks, rather than freezing coffee.
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Listen to Celeste on the olive podcast, where she shares expert advice on choosing beans, brewing methods and even how the time you drink it can improve your experience!
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