Freezer Error

I babble about coffee incessantly.  Although some may find it annoying or monotonous, sorry; I have no intention of changing.  One of the side effects of all my drivel has been that people have come to think I am somewhat knowledgeable on the subject of coffee.  To that end - I'd say I know a few things, but have far more to learn than I keep between my ears.

Experience has taught me there are a fair number of misconceptions about coffee.  One that I see most often is storing coffee in the freezer.  There's a right way and wrong way to use your freezer for coffee storage, and most folks are doing it wrong.

The error occurs when you take coffee in and out of the freezer repeatedly - like for daily use.  This is a problem because coffee is porous...which is fine and dandy if you like flavored coffee.  Although I don't care for flavored coffee - the porous nature of the bean means it easily absorbs the flavored syrups and oils.  However, it also means it'll absorb other things...like the flavor of seafood or the moisture that your freezer produces. This moisture will steadily deteriorate the oils in coffee and make it taste freezer burned. Wrecking the oils wrecks the flavor.

So what's the right way to use the freezer?  If you buy a quantity of beans that's more than you will consume in a month or two, you are at risk of the flavor profiles in the coffee beginning to change from the coffee getting old and stale...this is the oils deteriorating.  To avoid this, seal the coffee in an airtight bag - getting as much air as possible out of the bag.  Then put it in the freezer and leave it alone (I double bag mine using the thick freezer bags).  When you're ready to use it - remove it and store it at room temperature.

Once out of the freezer, keep the beans in a dark place and sealed in an airtight container or bag.  I like containers with crock style lids - which I find regularly in thrift stores for a buck or two. I store containers inside a kitchen cabinet.  Furthermore, keep the beans whole until you're ready to brew.  The flavor profiles of coffee can begin to change within an hour of grinding, so avoid grinding in advance.  And for the love of all that is good - avoid the shared big commercial grinder at the stores...who knows what was ground in there before you put your coffee in?  Even a cheap $15 blade grinder used right before you brew is far superior to using the in-store grinder.

So keep it sealed, use it as close to the roast date as is possible, and never, never, ever keep it the refrigerator.  That's the worst.  Life's too short to drink cheap coffee...but good coffee is too expensive to not treat it right and get the most out of it.