How to Extend the Shelf Life of Coffee Beans? How to Properly Store Freshly Purchased Coffee Beans?

Dear friends, Happy Chinese New Year's Eve~

We believe that many of you have stocked up on plenty of coffee beans for the long holiday, just to be able to enjoy the delicious taste of coffee during the New Year period. However, often some friends feel troubled about storing these beans because they've purchased too many. After all, once the best flavor period passes, the coffee's flavor will significantly diminish. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share with you today the best storage methods for coffee beans~

What is the Degassing Period? What is the Flavor Period?

During the roasting process, coffee beans produce a lot of carbon dioxide. After roasting ends, most of this carbon dioxide remains hidden within the coffee beans, and they all affect extraction! However, they are continuously expelled from the beans over time. Therefore, the period from when coffee beans finish roasting until their carbon dioxide content drops to a level that doesn't affect extraction is what we call the "degassing period"!

It's not just carbon dioxide that gets expelled from the beans; aromatic substances are the same! Both are gradually expelled and oxidized over time. Therefore, during the period when most aromatic compounds haven't been expelled yet, we call it the "flavor period." This is when the coffee's aroma is at its richest! Generally, coffee beans have an optimal flavor period of about 45 days, provided they are stored properly~

The Three Major Enemies of Coffee Beans

When we store coffee beans, whether in bags or cans, we need to avoid the following three factors, as they directly diminish the freshness of coffee beans!

1. Oxygen

Oxygen is the most significant factor affecting coffee beans. Contact with large amounts of oxygen will accelerate the oxidation of coffee beans. While other factors gradually consume the freshness of coffee beans like "slow simmering," oxygen only requires opening the bag and letting the coffee beans be exposed for a period to make you experience what "completely gone, tasteless" means (referring to flavor)!

Of course, it's difficult for us to completely isolate oxygen, but what we can do is reduce the time fresh oxygen comes into contact with coffee beans. For example, after we open the bag to take out the coffee beans we need, immediately sealing the opening can reduce the time the beans inside the bag/can are exposed to fresh oxygen~

2. Humid Environment

A humid environment means the storage space for coffee beans is filled with excessive moisture. When dry coffee beans come into contact with too much moisture, they become damp! Damp coffee beans can easily lead to negative situations such as spoilage and mold. Especially for dark roasted beans, which tend to develop oils, it's difficult to tell if they've become damp. One careless moment could lead to brewing and drinking them. Therefore, it's best to keep coffee beans in a dry environment!

3. High Temperature

The storage environment needs not only to be dry but also to stay away from any place that can generate heat! These places include all heat-generating appliances and light sources with heat (especially sunlight).

Under prolonged "baking" at high temperatures, the aromatic compounds in coffee beans will evaporate at a multiplied rate. The original flavor period of dozens of days will dramatically shrink under the influence of high temperatures. Therefore, a cool and dry environment is the best storage place for coffee beans! By the way, although many coffee bean packaging bags use aluminum foil material for heat insulation, they still struggle to block continuous high temperatures! FrontStreet Coffee wants to say: Never place coffee beans in sunlight just because the packaging bag is opaque~

In summary, as long as we avoid these three "enemies" when storing coffee beans, we can keep them rich in aromatic compounds for a longer time! If conditions permit, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing vacuum-sealable bean containers, which can better isolate oxygen and extend the freshness of coffee beans~ Alternatively, sealing the degassing valve holes on bean bags with tape can also slow down the oxidation rate of coffee beans~!

About Freezing Preservation~

Friends often consider freezing coffee beans to extend their flavor period, but as FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in the experimental article published last year, freezing coffee beans not only requires high standards for both the coffee bean packaging and the freezing environment but also requires certain adjustments to brewing parameters and methods! Without understanding these factors, it does more harm than good, so we suggest friends avoid freezing if possible. Fresh coffee beans are the most delicious~~

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FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473