Coffee storage – what is best?

Coffee storage always raises varying opinions and knowing the best way to store your coffee is essential to get the most out of your cup. Coffee is an organic product. This means that just like any other kind of fresh produce, coffee beans go stale and lose their flavour characteristics over time. Deterioration will occur faster if you store your coffee incorrectly.

The best way to store your coffee for ultimate freshness…

The most important factor in storing your Karvan Coffee beans is to buy and store your coffee as whole beans rather than ground.  If you grind your coffee beans just before you use it, you will preserve more of its delightful flavour. Check out the home coffee grinders we have available.

Some more key factors to watch for in your coffee storage are time, temperature, light, moisture and containers. We discuss these factors more below:

Time

Immediately after roasting, coffee begins to lose its freshness, so it is far better to purchase it in smaller quantities.  Ideally, you should aim to buy only the amount of freshly roasted beans that you can consume within 2-3 weeks. Coffee beans purchased in the supermarket may have been sitting on the shelf for a long time since they were roasted. If you value freshness, then you are best to purchase your beans from a smaller roaster such as Karvan Coffee. Purchase your beans in smaller quantities more frequently.

Temperature

Your coffee beans should ideally be stored at room temperature, in a cool dry place. You may have been told it is better to store your coffee in the refrigerator. However, a fridge is actually not at all ideal for coffee storage. Moving your beans from a refrigerated setting to room temperature and back frequently can introduce moisture. In addition, chilling your coffee beans can cause the oils that carry the flavour to solidify. This negatively affects extraction when it comes time to brew.

Hot temperatures are also bad for coffee storage. Avoid storing your coffee on a high shelf where the heat may rise, above a cooktop or next to a stove.

Light

Light, including sunlight, will speed up the rate at which the oils in the coffee spoil. Store your coffee beans in a dark place such as a pantry or kitchen drawer, or in opaque containers.

Moisture

Coffee beans attract moisture, which speeds up oxidation. Avoid storing your coffee near a sink or anywhere water could be splashed.  Steam is also bad, so keep your exposed coffee beans away from your kettle or espresso machine.

Containers

One storage option is to keep your coffee in the specialty packaging in which you purchase it.  Our Karvan Coffee bags have a special one-way valve to release the carbon dioxide that is a bi-product of roasting, without letting oxygen in.  If you prefer to store your coffee in a special container, then look for airtight stainless steel, ceramic or glass containers (out of direct light of course). Vacuum sealed containers are particularly popular among coffee aficionados.

More coffee knowledge

Storage is just one of the factors that impacts on the perfect cup. Get all the bean knowledge you desire with our information about:

Coffee Preparation Guide
Coffee Types and Quality
Coffee Processing Methods
Coffee Tasting Notes