How to Store Coffee
A cup of coffee can help you reduce stress and gain renewed energy. People from all walks of life love to have a cup of coffee, for it is a delicious and strong liquor. Yet, many people find it challenging to figure out how to store coffee – be it whole bean or ground.
Well, storing roasted coffee for a long time isn’t a good idea. The sooner you brew and have it, the better it is likely to taste. However, storing it properly can keep its taste and flavor from deterioration for a while. That’s why it is worth learning the coffee storing formula. This article is going to put forth some ideas that will help you properly keep your coffee.
How Long Can You Store Coffee?
Before knowing how to store coffee, you must know whether you can store coffee for a long time or how long you can store your coffee.
One can store coffee for a year if it’s not already been roasted. Soon after the coffee has been roasted, it starts to lose its freshness. This doesn’t mean that you have to go for pre-roasted coffee. It will take much more time and effort, which is only worth it for commercial purposes.
As you want to have a cup of coffee in the evening while sitting at home, you won’t like to roast coffee beans first; then grind them and brew them. This is a long way to go.
Instead, you buy roasted coffee beans. This way, you can avoid the hassle of roasting coffee. If you want even more convenience, you just buy ground coffee. No hassle, just preparing the coffee and sipping the tasty beverage.
However, If you buy roasted whole beans, you can store them for a month. On the other hand, Ground coffee can be stored for two weeks after being roasted because it has got more surface area than the whole beans.
Although you can buy coffee in different forms, the way of storing coffee remains the same.
How to Store Coffee: Simply Described
Storing coffee means keeping it away from its enemies. Air, moisture, odor, heat, and light are considered enemies of coffee.
Coffee beans leave carbon dioxide after roasting. It takes 24 to 48 hours to end the process. So, one shouldn’t have a cup of coffee prepared from freshly roasted beans.
Anyway, when you buy coffee beans or ground coffee, you will find them in valve-sealed packages. The one-way valve is preferred because it lets carbon dioxide release while oxygen doesn’t find a way to go in.
To this point, this is up to manufacturers to package it properly. Of course, you will check if it’s appropriately packaged or not.
However, the moment after opening up the package, you can no longer leave it in the opened packet. You have to store the coffee where excessive light and other deteriorative agents don’t reach.
Keeping Away from Air
There are containers in the market specially designed for storing coffee. They have got one-way valves that allow carbon dioxide to escape while keeping oxygen out. However, if you don’t want to invest in a coffee container, you still have another option.
Kitchen containers are not any less than a coffee container as long as you keep them tightly closed. The point is, you have to prevent air from entering the box. If these containers perform well enough, then you don’t have to invest in a specialized one.
However, there will always be a chance of your coffee goes in contact with air unless you close your container correctly.
Find a Place
As we mentioned earlier, heat, light, and odor can deteriorate the taste of the coffee. Anyway, finding a cool and dry place is essential for you to keep your coffee away from these agents.
- Don’t store your coffee near the stove in your kitchen. Your coffee may lose its taste because of overheat.
- Don’t put it near a window where your coffee could come under direct sunlight. This could also deteriorate your coffee beans or ground.
- Avoid any place where fish or other aromatic thing is stored. If your coffee gets exposed to different odors, it may absorb some of it, resulting in the coffee getting contaminated.
Instead, store coffee in a cabinet where any of those deteriorative agents is not present.
Could Refrigerator Be a Place for Coffee?
Moisture is one of the enemies of coffee. It can ruin the freshness and taste of the coffee. Since a refrigerator keeps foods moisturized and cool, there is a possibility of getting your coffee moisturized; something you don’t want. Although you may solve this problem using an air-tight container, you shouldn’t keep your coffee in a refrigerator for a long time.
Another problem with storing coffee in a refrigerator is that your coffee could get contaminated by other aromatic foods such as fish and meats. Remember, coffee can absorb odor from other items. So, when you store coffee in a freezer or refrigerator, keep other aromatic foods away from coffee.
By the way, once you thaw the refrigerated coffee, never put it again in the freeze. You don’t want to have a cup of coffee that tastes bad or not as good as a regular cup of coffee.
Conclusion
Needless to say, that coffee is an energetic and tasty liquor. It helps you stay up at night when you need to work for a few more hours. These attributes made coffee a popular beverage across the globe. As coffee lovers, we must know how to prepare and store it.
Now that you know how to store coffee, go and buy some coffee beans. Drink as much as you love and store the rest.
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