How Big is the Difference Between Pre-ground Coffee and Freshly Ground Coffee, and How to Make It Taste Better?

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Advantages of Coffee Beans

Complete Preservation of Coffee Flavor

After coffee beans are roasted, they begin a series of reactions that release aroma compounds. The best place to preserve these aromatic molecules is within the pores of the coffee beans themselves. To enjoy the most complete coffee flavor, preserving the original form of coffee beans is naturally the optimal approach.

Less Susceptible to Moisture or Deterioration

After coffee beans are ground into powder, besides the rapid loss of flavor, the large surface area of the powder also makes coffee more susceptible to moisture or deterioration. Under the same conditions, coffee beans can be preserved for nearly twice as long as coffee powder.

Better Assurance of Coffee Freshness and Original Taste

The freshness of coffee beans can be easily identified from their appearance and taste, while it's more difficult to determine the freshness of coffee powder. This principle is similar to meat - high-quality beef in large cuts can show its quality at a glance, but ground meat made into sausages makes it difficult to determine its freshness.

Advantages of Coffee Powder

Convenience and Time-Saving

The greatest advantage of coffee powder is convenience. Time is money, and on busy weekday mornings, you probably can't spare much time to slowly grind beans and brew coffee. If you can ensure the freshness and quality of coffee powder, then buying coffee powder can indeed allow you to enjoy a decent cup of coffee with minimal time investment.

Disadvantages of Coffee Powder

Less Complete Preservation of Coffee Flavor

As mentioned earlier, once coffee beans are ground into powder, flavor begins to dissipate significantly. To enjoy the best possible coffee flavor while pursuing convenience, we recommend purchasing only two weeks' worth of coffee powder at a time.

More Susceptible to Moisture and Deterioration

In humid Taiwan, preserving coffee powder requires special attention. It's best to use airtight containers to isolate moisture and air and maintain the quality of coffee powder.

More Difficult to Ensure Coffee Freshness and Original Taste

Some unscrupulous merchants may mix coffee powders from different origins and varieties to deceive consumers, making it difficult to confirm coffee quality. However, you don't need to worry about this when purchasing our coffee powder. Whether it's coffee beans or coffee powder, we ensure the same freshness and quality.

Can Coffee Beans and Coffee Powder Be Refrigerated or Frozen?

Frozen coffee beans and coffee powder will attract moisture. Water vapor will condense and freeze on the surface of the beans. Additionally, roasted coffee beans have many pores, and freezing will seal in moisture, thereby terminating the natural chemical reactions in the beans. Consequently, the flavor of thawed coffee beans or coffee powder is far inferior to that stored at room temperature.

What about refrigeration? Even worse! The constantly circulating water vapor in refrigerators is the greatest enemy of coffee beans or powder. Moreover, refrigerators are filled with various odors. Unless you want to conduct a scientific experiment to see how long it takes to ruin a bag of good coffee beans, avoid refrigeration. By the way, grinding stale coffee beans into powder can be an effective dehumidifier and deodorizer.

Storage Guidelines

The greatest enemies of coffee beans are oxygen, moisture, light, and heat.

Unopened coffee beans should be stored in a dry, cool place.

After opening, they should be immediately placed in opaque, airtight ceramic containers, preferably with vacuum-sealing functionality, and stored in a dry, cool place.

Do not use plastic or metal containers to avoid letting coffee beans or powder absorb plastic or metallic tastes.

If containers are transparent, they must be placed in a storage cabinet without light exposure.

Ground coffee powder can only maintain its flavor for a few days, so it especially needs to be stored in opaque, airtight containers.

Green coffee beans can be stored for several years under proper storage conditions. However, once roasted, their shelf life is significantly shortened. The darker the roast, the more easily it oxidizes - this is a natural phenomenon. Even the best packaging and storage conditions can at most delay the rate of deterioration. Therefore, if you truly want to drink a good cup of coffee, we recommend purchasing only enough for consumption within two weeks to one month from the roasting date.

Tips for Preserving Ground Coffee

Since it's already ground, try not to let aromatic substances escape with carbon dioxide emissions.

One possible method is to seal it in an airtight container.

Then place it in the refrigerator to reduce the degassing rate with low temperature.

If concerned about moisture effects, divide it into several portions and store them in different airtight containers.

Take out one container when you want to drink.

Try to finish one container at a time to avoid frequent opening and closing of the refrigerator, which can introduce moisture.

Finally, try to finish it within a few days and don't wait too long.

Recommended Fresh-Ground Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted popular coffee beans - Yirgacheffe Coffee, Golden Mandheling Coffee, Brazil Coffee, and others - are fully guaranteed in terms of brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value. A half-pound (227g) package costs only about 70-90 yuan. Calculating at 15g per pour-over coffee, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each single-origin coffee costing only 5-6 yuan. Compared to cafés selling coffee for tens of yuan per cup, this represents exceptional value for money.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473