Green Bean storage

[FXAdam]

Do I need to take any special steps to store green beans? My understanding is that green beans are better because they don't lose flavor via evaporation of their oils etc while being stored. Can I just leave them in a ziploc or should I take some other steps?

Thanks.

 

[BoldJava]

Do I need to take any special steps to store green beans? ...Can I just leave them in a ziploc or should I take some other steps?

Thanks.

I store them in cotton bags, available from tons of sources. That bean is still 12-20% water and to me, it just seems logical to let it breathe during storage. As such, I shy away from ziplocks for green storage.

B|Java

 

[cawi]

Store them in something that breathes, cotton bag, burlap sack, paper bag... They are shipped in burlap sacks but I think brown paper bags work just as well. Also keep them out of direct sunlight as this will cause the beans to fade and it makes them dull and boring!

 

[S&Wgroundcoffee]

greens

They are stored and shipped in burlap bags, similar to potato bags of old. They are stored at room temperature in a dry climate preferably. That is the standard storage method.

 

[virginhill]

Green beans are much easier to store than roasted beans.

Store them in a breathable bag ( paper, burlap, cotton, etc...), not in sunlight and also in room tempurture. You may wonder why in a breathable bag? Well the beans still have moisture and need to be able to release the moisture, that allows the bean to stay fresh and not go bad. The direct sun light will dry the beans and there should be at least 10% moisture in your bean.

 

[bullard]

I store mine in cotton bags also. In the closet where it is dark and the temp stays about the same.:coffee1:

 

[alphawave7]

Plastic zipper bags for me..greens don't last long enough 'round here to worry too much about'em going bad.

 

[coffeeroastersclub]

They are stored and shipped in burlap bags, similar to potato bags of old. They are stored at room temperature in a dry climate preferably. That is the standard storage method.

+1 for Burlap

 

[Coffee Guy]

What is considered room temperture? To be on the safe side keep them stored in a cool temp and as most said here in a burlap bag. If you know of a local coffee roaster ask them for a bag or two. I give them away for free to lots of people in our community that use them for their flower beds, etc. I generally cut them up and use them for packing materials when shipping out our internet orders.

 

[andyberard]

Store your green beans in any container that has a closed lid. Plastic ware is fine.

 

[CCafe]

What is considered room temperture?

Room temperature is normally between 68F to the mid 80's. A lot of people like to state somewhere in the low 70's.

 

[alsterling]

Do I need to take any special steps to store green beans? My understanding is that green beans are better because they don't lose flavor via evaporation of their oils etc while being stored. Can I just leave them in a ziploc or should I take some other steps? Thanks.

So.... what a great opportunity to chat about bean storage.....

This question comes up often, and usually centers on roasted and ground bean storage, and in a smaller population for green. (there are, logically and by count, more finished-product consumers of coffee than home and commercial roasters.)

I can think of numerous things I've stored over the years that carry the packaging instructions that include, "...cool and dry place, temperature range betwen 68 F to 72 F." Having been in photography most of my life, that was the mandate for film. Today, in the digital world, I worry less about temp and humidity, but more neurotically, how I might accidently break those tiny, micro cards in two! (...it's that pocket storage thing, yet that's where they go most of the time!? Why don't I put them back in the protective plastic case?)

For home coffee enthusiasts, we usually rotate both our green and roasted inventory well within the limits of the beans. However, commercial storage of green can extend to one year, or longer. Even as a home roaster or roasted bean consumer, and whether you store in "breathable" containment, airtight, or oxygen-evacuated bags, the "cool dry location issue" is still of uppermost importance. And if you're to maintain control over the many variables in brewing your coffee, whether it's drip/pourover or espresso methods, being better educated in all phases of coffee certainly helps to reduce all of the variables in achieving that "G*d Shot", to which many 'spro brewers refer.

So, if this is a realtively new area to you, and to work toward your "Associates Degree in Coffee".....I'd highly recommend reading the following page from Sweet Maria's website: Storing Green Coffee

While the information seems more aimed at commercial transit and storage of green, SM does address home storage with, what I suggest, is that same basic instruction I got from Kodak, while I was storing my Kodachrome and Polaroid shipments in that cooler near the Laotian border back in 1968; "Cool and dry." Which by the way, was the same basic instruction we received for maintaining "our-own-selves" back then, when someone was about to freak out in what was usually a stressful situation.

 

[alsterling]

Room temperature is normally between 68F to the mid 80's. A lot of people like to state somewhere in the low 70's.

I'm one of the 68 to 72 types. "Boy, it's hot in here!"

 

[Coffee Guy]

Room temperature is normally between 68F to the mid 80's. A lot of people like to state somewhere in the low 70's.

Wow that's a bit warm to store greens. I prefer to keep it a little cooler let's say around 50-55 degrees maybe. Better for keeping the moisture in the greens.

 

[Fred44]

I read a study in Roast magazine a few years ago. They determined it was best to store them at 60%-75% relative humidity. Any less and it dries the beans, any more and they start to grow mold. This range was optimum to keep the bean moisture content at 11-13%. Also, greens should not be stored in Tupperware, they need to breath, burlap and cotton bags are your friends.

Source: Roast Magazine May/June 2008