5lb Bag Of Coffee Beans, Storage

[ARNK]

I was just wondering. I grind my beans on the daily for a French press, so I'll go through the bag fairly quickly. Any tips for a coffee novice on storing the beans. They come in a resealable bag, is that good enough over say a month at room temp?

 

[Kudzu]

Hello, ARNK! Welcome to Coffee Forums.

You are likely to get answers from one extreme to the other. I confess to being somewhat fanatical, so many may consider my method extreme. Weigh what I say with that in mind.

I believe a 5-pound bag of coffee beans open for a month will suffer significant degradation from oxidation. I buy a 2-pound bag of freshly roasted beans each week. Since that amount provides 10 daily portions (90 grams each) for me, when I open the bag, I separate out three individual daily portions, vacuum pack them, and put them in the freezer. I use up the remainder of the bag that week. Every several weeks, I use up some of what is in the freezer, so that none of the frozen beans get over about 60 days old. My system is not perfect, but it is the best I have tried.

If I had to buy 5-Pound bags of beans, I would probably break it down into weekly portions, vacuum pack them, and freeze them immediately on opening the bag.

It just depends on how fanatical you choose to be!

 

[ARNK]

Hello, ARNK! Welcome to Coffee Forums.

You are likely to get answers from one extreme to the other. I confess to being somewhat fanatical, so many may consider my method extreme. Weigh what I say with that in mind.

Hey thanks Kudzu. That to me is hardcore. So you have vacuum pack equipment obviously, are you talking about vacuum packing the whole beans or the grounds?

 

[Kudzu]

...So you have vacuum pack equipment obviously, are you talking about vacuum packing the whole beans or the grounds?

The vacuum packing is really not a big deal. I use a little hand-held Waring Pro pistol device. That device uses reusable bags. I put a day's quantity of whole beans in a sandwich baggy, just to keep the reusable vacuum bag clean, and put that in a one-quart vacuum bag, seal it and pull the air out. Usually, I am doing three bags at the time and they all go into a one-gallon freezer bag. The whole process is much quicker and simpler than this explanation!

Maybe someone with a better palate than mine would find fault with my coffee after it has been frozen, but I am not sure I can discern any difference in it at all as long I use it within 60 to 90 days.

https://www.amazon.com/Waring-PVS10...TF8&qid=1476874326&sr=1-5&keywords=waring+pro

 

[PinkRose]

The vacuum packing is really not a big deal. I use a little hand-held Waring Pro pistol device. That device uses reusable bags. I put a day's quantity of whole beans in a sandwich baggy, just to keep the reusable vacuum bag clean, and put that in a one-quart vacuum bag, seal it and pull the air out. Usually, I am doing three bags at the time and they all go into a one-gallon freezer bag. The whole process is much quicker and simpler than this explanation!

Maybe someone with a better palate than mine would find fault with my coffee after it has been frozen, but I am not sure I can discern any difference in it at all as long I use it within 60 to 90 days.

https://www.amazon.com/Waring-PVS10...TF8&qid=1476874326&sr=1-5&keywords=waring+pro

I'm curious.....When you do that, does it look like the vacuum sealer is pulling the air out of the sandwich bags that have the beans in it too, or does the air stay in those sandwich bags?

I often receive a 5 pound bag of my favorite roasted coffee as a gift from my son (birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas, etc.), which is a very welcomed gift.

I divide it up by putting a day's worth of coffee beans into sandwich bags and close it with a twist-tie as tight as I can. Then I put the bags into a Freezer bag and put that Freezer bag into a larger freezer bag before putting it in the freezer. So far, it seems to be working. I quickly open the frozen bag and only take out enough packs for a few days at a time. Then I reseal it and pop it back in the freezer. I really can't tell the difference in the coffee when I brew it (frozen vs. unfrozen).

Rose

 

[Musicphan]

If your going to store any coffee in the freezer... do not open/close the bag repetitively... over time what can happen is moisture gets trapped (when warm) on the beans and then when you pop them back in the freezer it freezes that moisture on the beans. Anything you freeze needs to be as air tight as possible. Best to simply use an air-tight container at room temperature for the beans you are going to use up within a week or two time period. In the past I used my food saver and vaccume packed a pound / 1.5 lb bags... worked fine. With espresso you could tell the loss in quality... simply lacked the crema of fresh coffee.

 

[Kudzu]

I'm curious.....When you do that, does it look like the vacuum sealer is pulling the air out of the sandwich bags that have the beans in it too, or does the air stay in those sandwich bags?

Rose, you do pay attention to the details!

When I first started saving my fresh beans this way, a time or two I noticed that the inner baggie had sealed itself and trapped a little air. Just to be on the safe side, I began snipping a little v-shaped notch in the top of the bag that goes through the sealing strip and slightly into the baggie, so it cannot accidentally seal when I am pulling the air out of the vacuum bag.

For those sane and rational folks that are reading this and shaking their heads, I know I am over-thinking this and taking it several steps too far. That is just me. To parahrase a sign I saw in a pizza shop, "Coffee is not a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that!"

 

[caseydilworth]

Coffee is not a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that! - well said...HAHAHAAA

 

[PinkRose]

For those sane and rational folks that are reading this and shaking their heads, I know I am over-thinking this and taking it several steps too far. That is just me. To paraphrase a sign I saw in a pizza shop, "Coffee is not a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that!"

Nope....I don't think you're taking it a few steps too far. You found a very good "workaround" for something that many people on this Forum would never do (put their roasted coffee in the freezer).

Rose

 

[Kudzu]

Nope....I don't think you're taking it a few steps too far. You found a very good "workaround" for something that many people on this Forum would never do (put their roasted coffee in the freezer)

Actually, I am freezing the vacuum packed daily portions of beans. I know the aversion many have to freezing roasted coffee beans. My personal experience is that done correctly and for less than, say, 60 to 90 days, the small effort is justified and the result excellent. YMMV, of course.

 

[PinkRose]

YMMV, of course.

My inquiring mind needed to know so, I had to stop and do a quick search.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

I'm hoping that most people wouldn't need to freeze the coffee for more than 90 days.