Bean Storage...

[AngryScientist]

I may have asked this before, but i've still got no clue:

I understand that the best coffee/espresso is made with freshly roasted beans. Problem is that I am the only coffee drinker in the house, and really only make the good stuff on the weekends. bottom line is that i buy a batch of good, freshly roasted beans from the local joint that roasts them in house, but no way i can work through them quickly.

what's the best way to store beans?

how long post roasting are they reasonably good to use, knowing that quality of coffee will go down along some curve with respect to time?

thoughts about this?

[WheelNut]

10-14 days is what I have typically heard. This article on home-barista.com corroborates this: https://www.home-barista.com/store-c...n-freezer.html
My personal experience from keeping a stash of beans at work tells me that after about 3 weeks roasted coffee really starts to get flat.
You could look into roasting your own beans if your nearest roaster isn't nearby. Green beans supposedly last up to a year I think. You can roast them in a hot air popcorn popper, on the stove in a pan, on the stove in a popcorn popper, etc. There are lots of inexpensive options to roast in.

[sailor]

I am in a similar situation and use a stainless airscape container. It is not a vacuum, but you push all the air out so it is just beans with minimal air. I find a get a good 3-4 week of tasty beans in this as opposed to <1 week in a bag.

Amazon.com: Coffee Storage Canister - Airtight Container Preserves Food Freshness - AirScape Steel - 32 fl. oz - Black: French Presses: Kitchen & Dining

[mzilliox]

for espresso, roasted coffee is generally best from day 4 after roast to day 14. you can push 20 days then the coffee will really start to fall off. espresso is more finicky than other methods.

Im not sure if im missing something here, but just buy less or drink more. i buy my coffee 3/4 lbs at a time so it stays fresh, but 3/4 lbs only last me 5 days or so. life is too short to drink crap coffee. so buy less more often.

and i store mine in a glass jar that seals.

[rwsaunders]

I use these old illy cans to store ground coffee, as they have a plastic insert in the lid and they screw on pretty tight. They hold about 8.8 oz (250g) of ground coffee...not sure about the amount when converted to beanage.

[Octave]

Until I got my wife on the coffee-horse I was in a similar situation. Here's what I learned

- Single best option is to home-roast. Lots of information on here and elsewhere, but I understand that's not totally feasible or interesting to some people so I'll leave it at that.

- Single worst option is to keep everything in freezer and take it out every time you use it - this forces condensation, which gets your beans wet and ruins everything.

- If you are a meticulous and obsessive person, you can do what I did for a long time both to solve the problem you describe and make my mornings easier: get a handful of small containers (I used Falcon tubes from my lab) and weigh a day's worth of coffee in each. Stick them all in the freezer, nicely sealed to prevent gas exchange. Et voila, each day you grab a tube, dump the beans into your grinder and get on with it. No condensation worries, less evaporation and oil-degradation since it's in the freezer, and pre-dosed coffee for groggy mornings.

- As mentioned above, the working range for espresso is faaarrrr shorter. Honestly as a home roaster I found that the 4-14 day rule was pretty accurate, but even 14 was pushing it. I stop pulling shots at about 11-12 days depending on the oil content of the roasted bean. For a pour-over? Up to three weeks is hardly a notable difference.

Bottom line - the freezer is both your friend and your enemy. Pre-dosing strikes out the enemy part of that equation.

[froze]

I use these old illy cans to store ground coffee, as they have a plastic insert in the lid and they screw on pretty tight. They hold about 8.8 oz (250g) of ground coffee...not sure about the amount when converted to beanage.

I do the same thing and found no problems keeping the grounds fresh for at least 2 weeks, I usually use a full can within 2 weeks.

[SlowPokePete]

...and really only make the good stuff on the weekends.

thoughts about this?

Hit it daily, enjoy the goods, go through it quicker.

That's what I would do...

SPP

[ericpmoss]

I divide my beans into many small batches, put them in small jars and deep-freeze those I can't use at peak. They stay very usable for months because they get exposed to air once after getting cold. If you can find shot glasses (test tubes?) and plastic press-on lids, you can pre-measure each dose by volume or weight. As mentioned above, the better the match between container size and dose size, the better.

[tanghy]

store them air tight in bags or cans. in a cool dry dark place. light & oxygen are fresh roasted beans worst enemies

[kytyree]

Amazon.com: Airscape Coffee and Food Storage Canister, 64 oz - Patented Airtight Lid Preserves Food Freshness - Stainless Steel - Mocha Brown: French Presses: Kitchen & Dining

I have several of these, I've been satisfied with the results. How long they might actually work I'm not sure but I feel like they work well enough for me to use the beans that they'll hold.