We all love coffee, right? You wouldn't be here with us if you didn't. We like to see roast dates and we buy our coffee whole bean. There is a good reason for this, coffee beans are perishable, they go stale over time and start to lose their flavour.
Without going too far into the science of it all, it's oxidation. Oxygen, on this occasion, isn't your friend! So in order to keep our coffee at its best, the key is to remove oxygen from the mix and while we’re at it, heat, light and moisture can do one too.
If you’re storing your beans correctly, there's no reason not to buy your coffee by the kilo, it's better value for you and fewer deliveries and packaging can only be better for our planet too. Win-win.
SO WHAT SHOULD I USE?
To put it simply, an airtight, or better still, vacuum container, that is opaque and stored somewhere cool and dark. Simple really. In true coffee industry fashion, there are quite a few options, to fit most budgets too.
SEALED CONTAINERS
We’re talking Kilner-style jars here, or confectionery jars, usually made of glass with a simple rubber gasket or seal at the opening. These are absolutely fine and an upgrade on the packaging coffee comes in. They're also generally the cheapest option too, just keep them out of the sun and you’ll be grand.
AIR DISPLACEMENT CANISTERS
So these are like your Airscape canisters. This is an upgrade on your simple airtight jar if you ask me. They are very similar to a sealed container, however the lid, with its seal, can be pushed down into the container down to the level of the beans. As you push down you’re displacing the air from the container, leaving even less of it to interfere with the precious cargo inside.
VACUUM CANISTERS
One last commonplace option is a vacuum canister, something like a Fellow Atmos. Again similarly, they’re airtight, only this time there is some mechanism for removing the air from the container once it's shut. Some have a pump or a button, the Atmos you twist back and forth until it shows the green indicator. Easy. What you might find with fresh beans is that the vacuum will ease after a few days. Don’t worry, this is completely normal, coffee beans do off-gas. When their roasted CO2 is formed and some of it is trapped inside the bean, as it rests, some of it will escape into the container, this won't cause you or your beans a problem - however, if you're worried, just go ahead and vacuum the container again.
SO THAT’S ABOUT IT?
We’ll yes and no. It kinda depends on how long you want to keep your coffee. From time to time there are weird and wonderful micro lots or small batch co-fermented goodies that just aren't around for long. Sometimes it's nice to keep these around a bit longer and just enjoy them little and often. But aren’t they going to stale I hear you cry?! Not if you freeze them, they won't. It's not quite so simple though there's a caveat or two. First of all, you’re going to want to seal the beans in an airtight container, with as little space as possible left. Vacuum seal bags are great for this, or small 50ml centrifuge tubes (little plastic dudes with an airtight lid, you’ll get about 18-22g beans into them). Secondly, lets freeze them in batches or doses. What you don't want is to be getting your frozen beans in and out of the freezer, introducing moisture - see coffee beans are hygroscopic, meaning they’ll suck up all that moisture and ultimately spoil.
So there we are, now we know - there are many options at many price points and while some of the premium offerings are incredibly tempting, just do the best you can, keep those beans fresh and enjoy your coffee at its peak, for longer.
