The preservation of coffee is essential not to affect the aromas of coffee. Leaving it in the open air is synonymous with oxidation and when you like coffee, you quickly understand that mastering its preservation is important.

Faced with this problem, I did some research to understand how to keep his coffee well. I will try to explain what to do and what not to do.

For example, some very attentive people on some websites recommend keeping coffee in the freezer. That’s a bad idea. To do so, you may lose a lot of the aromas of coffee, because it is sensitive to thermal shocks. This is why it is advisable to heat the cup before a coffee is poured.

Coffee Storage Time

There is a difference in storage time between the grain coffee and the ground coffee. A coffee in grain, in good conditions, can be stored for about 5 weeks without loss of aromas too large.

For the conservation of ground coffee, the question is a little more complex in my opinion. Some will say that once ground, the coffee should be used within the hour. Others will say that in good conditions it can keep twice as long as the coffee in grain.

Things to avoid

There are a few simple things to avoid to keep your coffee well.

1. Avoid buying too much coffee. If you buy a stock of coffee for the next 3 or 4 months, in the long run it will start to spoil.
2. Do not store your coffee in the fridge or freezer. Three important problems occur when coffee is kept cold: moisture (condensation in contact with hot air), heat shock and residual odor/aromas of other foods stored in the refrigerator. Moreover the cold tends to damage the oils of the coffee.
3. Do not use a box whose oxygen will not be expelled. As the coffee is consumed, the box will fill with oxygen and oxidize your coffee.

What are the enemies of coffee?

Coffee to four big enemies:

• The oxygen
• The Light
• The humidity
• The Heat

To guard against its big enemies, the easiest way is to take a suitable, waterproof and opaque container and then keep it in a room where it is about 20 °c. The container can make a difference, because actually, if you empty half of the box, it will fill with oxygen and oxidize the coffee.

Coffee Conservation Methods

The idea is not to advertise for a particular brand. The idea is to show the different methods existing to keep your coffee.

Roasters’s Bags

One of the most effective and cheapest ways to keep your coffee is simply to use the bags in which grain coffees are sold.

The latter can be sealed tightly with a “zip” closure system and have a valve to extract the oxygen from the bag. In addition they are opaque and will protect the coffee from the light.

A storage in this type of bag will be, much more effective than a box sylpheed.

“Valve” boxes

I bought a box, stainless steel that has a kind of valve inside that allows to expel the oxygen by sliding it inside until touching the preserved product. These are boxes that cost 20 to $30 and I manage to keep the coffee in grain for 1 month with (i.e. my consumption in the month).

The CO2 boxes

Same principles as boxes equipped with a vacuum pump except that this time an oxygen will be replaced with CO2. The CO2 is inert and will not oxidize the oxygen.

The last two systems presented are effective, but more expensive.

In conclusion

In conclusion it is not difficult to keep your coffee properly. This does not require crazy equipment. You just have to take some habits.