Tips for Storing Bulk Coffee
No packaging is perfect, but buying in bulk is a great way to reduce the amount of packaging we use in our daily rituals. When stored properly in its original packaging—and only ground before brewing—our whole bean coffee will taste fresh for up to four weeks after the roast date stamped on the bottom of the bag.
For the average home brewer, consuming five pounds of coffee often takes longer than four weeks, leading to less flavorful brews towards the end of the bag. Read on for tips on how to best enjoy the peak flavors of your roasted coffee and keep your morning cup tasting its best.
Resting freshly roasted coffee
We highly advocate for freshly roasted coffee (it’s why we roast all of our coffee to order!), but keep in mind coffee can also be too fresh. Roasted coffee contains carbon dioxide, a byproduct of the roasting process. Most of this escapes within the first few hours after roasting, but for the best experience, you should wait a few days after the “roasted on” date (stamped to the bottom of the bag) to start brewing. If you brew with an espresso machine at home, you should be particularly mindful of this—we recommend waiting at least 7 days after roasting before brewing as espresso.
Keep your coffee sealed in its original packaging until you’re ready to start brewing.
Storing your opened 5-pound bag
Our five-pound bags come with a one-way valve and a resealable zipper to help keep your coffee fresh for up to a month. We find that our coffee does not need to be transferred to a different container when used daily, but if you have a vacuum canister or other air-tight container you enjoy, feel free to use that for your whole bean storage instead.
Store your coffee in a cool, dry, and dark place, and press out as much air as possible when resealing. Heat, moisture, and light will all cause your coffee to stale faster.
While refrigerating coffee works in theory, it can also impart negative flavors and often causes condensation to form on the beans when removed from the fridge. We never recommend storing your coffee in the refrigerator.
Freezing coffee
Freezing coffee, however, is an excellent way to store coffee long-term. During the window in which your coffee is tasting its best, consider setting some aside to move over to the freezer—we find this to be right around the two to three week mark for most of our coffees when stored properly.
Freezing coffee works best when the coffee is stored as air-tight as possible—a home vacuum sealer is ideal, but our packaging also works well for preserving coffee in the freezer. As with storing in the pantry, ensure that the top is fully zipped and as much air is pressed out as possible before placing it in the freezer. Once there, your whole bean coffee will taste great for several more months.
When you’re ready to brew, there’s no need to defrost coffee before grinding—you can grind coffee directly from the freezer.
All of our coffees are available in five-pound bags—simply select the size before adding to your cart. You can subscribe to any of our perennial offerings (Wallabout, Prospect, Colombia La Quebrada, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelbessa, Guatemala Pulcal, and Ravine Decaf) for additional savings—click on your favorite and select “subscribe & save” for 10% off every order.