How to Store Coffee Beans

Coffee is a perishable product. From the moment it is roasted, it begins losing flavor. The enemies are oxygen, moisture, heat, and light. Days 4 to 14 after roasting is peak freshness. Days 14 to 30: the cup tastes flatter. Days 30+: the aromatics are gone. You are drinking the ghost of coffee.

The Rules

Keep it sealed. Keep it dark. Keep it cool. Keep it dry. Do not freeze daily-use beans (condensation degrades quality faster than aging). Buy less, more often — the best storage method is not needing storage. Buy what you will use in 1 to 2 weeks.

Ground Coffee

Everything above applies to ground coffee but faster. Grinding exposes exponentially more surface area to oxygen. Ground coffee goes stale in days, not weeks. Grind immediately before brewing. Always. If you take one thing from this entire blog, take this: buy a grinder and grind fresh. The difference between pre-ground and fresh-ground coffee is the largest single quality improvement you can make at home. Find a local roaster to buy from weekly.

Keep reading: How to Choose a Coffee Grinder, Light Roast vs. Dark Roast, How to Make Espresso at Home.