What Do Fresh Beans Look Like?
Keeping your beans fresh is absolutely crucial. Spotting whether your beans are fresh is relatively straightforward. Look for a glossy appearance and look for oil residue either on your hands or in the bag. Another indicator is that fresh beans emit gasses. If the bag is heat sealed and does not have a valve it means the beans have stopped off gassing.
But once you get the beans home how do you keep them fresh?
Keeping Them Fresh
- Keep them in an airtight container
- Keep them out of direct sunlight and avoid heat
- Avoid steam, so don’t store beans next to your cooker
- Avoid moisture
- Don’t store them too long, do use them as quickly as possible. Ground coffee in particular will not stay fresh for long, experts in fact say that you shouldn’t store it longer than an hour but that isn’t very practical! Certainly don’t keep it longer than one week.
- Do not store coffee in the fridge! It isn’t cold enough to keep the coffee fresh and it will absorb all the aromas in your fridge which isn’t good when you brew it!
- Always buy beans and grind yourself, this will maximise the freshness. If you have to buy ground coffee then store it in a vacuum sealed container and at room temperature.
Storing Coffee In The Freezer
If you absolutely have to store coffee then opt for the freezer. Try to freeze in the original packaging in a resealable container to avoid freezer burn. Do not freeze for longer than 2 weeks, some say that you can freeze whole beans for as long as 2 months but we wouldn’t recommend that you do.
In summary however the best way to drink the freshest coffee possible is to buy fresh beans, grind at home as you require, store the beans carefully and don’t over purchase. Buy as you need and then you should have the freshest coffee available.