How to store ground coffee long term

Most ground coffee stays fresh for about one week after grinding. With the short shelf life of ground coffee, you should always use it within two weeks of purchase to enjoy that fresh and flavorful coffee that you want.

Keep It Shelved

The best way to keep ground coffee or whole beans fresh is to store the coffee on a pantry shelf in an opaque airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture, says Scott McMartin, who has tasted more than half-a-million cups of coffee as a member of the Starbucks Green Coffee Quality group.

The best long-term storage method for coffee is sealed Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Mylar is a metallic-looking material that is impervious to gases. When you put an oxygen absorber into a bag and then seal it, the coffee is protected from oxygen, humidity, and light.

If you do not intend to store the ground coffee for a very long time, then there is no reason to freeze it. … As a “rule of thumb,” frozen ground coffee can last and keep its freshness for up to two years if the coffee has been vacuum-sealed, but not more than six months if it has not.

In general, we don’t recommend storing coffee grounds in the freezer or fridge for long periods of time. Since ground coffee attracts moisture more, putting it in the fridge won’t necessarily protect it from going stale.

If unopened, coffee grounds last around five months. After opening, exposure to the air speeds up the oxidation process – around 3-4 months. These same rules apply to coffee bags. Therefore, keep opened ground coffee in an airtight container.

Storage Tips

The fridge is not the place to store coffee in any form, ground or whole bean even if in an airtight container. It isn’t cold enough to keep your coffee fresh, and because coffee works as a deodorizer, it will absorb all the aromas in your fridge.

When storing coffee, put it in a dark, air-tight low-moisture place. A cannister can work. Or a Ziploc bag. … If in the freezer just make sure the coffee is sealed tight.

If you purchase your coffee fresh from a local roaster but are a very light drinker and can’t finish an entire pound of coffee before it goes stale, you may want to consider freezing some of the coffee. Remove as much as you think you can drink in approximately two weeks and place it in an airtight container.

Since most of us do not have a heat-seal wrapping machine in our kitchen, ‘Tupperware’ containers are a step up from re-sealable bags. … This is a better option than the re-sealable bags, but still isn’t perfect. Give coffee in a tupperware container 72 hours to one week before it goes stale.

But if your favorite beans come packaged in a paper bag with one of those flimsy bendy clamps, and you’re not going to use it within a few days, transfer the beans to a resealable container to protect it from air and light, Dillon says. A container that seals tightly and is opaque is your best chance.

Daily coffee drinkers should keep their coffee in the pantry, not the freezer or refrigerator. While it’s important to keep your grounds or beans somewhere cool, the fridge or freezer will create too much moisture in the package.

The main reason to avoid vacuum sealing your coffee beans is the release of gases. Coffee beans off-gas when they are roasted and this happens a lot during the first 15 days. If you don’t properly vacuum seal, this gas buildup can expand your plastic bag causing it to explode at some time.

Flat Bottom Bag

The flat bottom coffee bag is one of the most popular packaging formats in the coffee industry. It features a prominent shelf presence and is able to stand unassisted for maximum impact. Often the top of the bag is folded over or completely down into a brick shape and sealed.

A glass container or canister of coffee beans should be kept in a cabinet or pantry. Vacuum sealing and freezing your coffee beans is an excellent way to store your beans. If you vacuum seal coffee and store it in your pantry, the coffee will release carbon dioxide gas.