Recently, Front Street noticed that a small number of coffee enthusiast friends have kept their coffee beans unopened for two months, believing that as long as they are unopened, the coffee beans will not spoil. In fact, it is true that the coffee will not spoil, but this will affect the flavor of the coffee beans. So in this article, Front Street will explain some relevant knowledge about coffee bean storage.
 

Is freshly ground coffee fresh?

First, Front Street has learned that many friends believe that coffee beans, like other beans, are fresh when freshly ground, but this is not actually the case. If you want to taste the aroma of coffee, it is not just about freshly grinding; it also needs to be freshly roasted coffee beans, because freshly roasted coffee beans are at their most aromatic. 

Therefore, whether in-store or online, Front Street provides freshly roasted products. Only if a customer requests grinding into powder will Front Street grind it. Because the aroma of coffee beans generally only lasts for one month, the optimal tasting period is also within one month. Once ground into coffee powder, the contact area between the coffee and air increases, causing the aroma to dissipate more quickly.

Are freshly roasted coffee beans the freshest?

So the reason Front Street emphasizes fresh roasting is that roasted coffee beans will, over time, basically have no aroma left after 50 days from roasting. Some friends may ask whether freshly roasted coffee has the best flavor. That is not the case either, because in the first two days after coffee beans are roasted, their aroma is not yet very stable, and you cannot yet taste their "true flavor."

Everyone knowsEach bag of coffee is printed with the corresponding roasting date.If you receive freshly roasted coffee beans,Front Street generally reminds youthat you can let them rest for 3-4 days before brewing, and then based onthe roasting date, estimate the best period for the coffee beans' flavor and consume them as soon as possible.

 
How long is the general shelf life of coffee beans?

As Front Street said above, the deliciousness of coffee comes from its aroma, mouthfeel, and flavor. Because coffee beans produce carbon dioxide after roasting, causing the beans to expand and become brittle and the gaps between particles to become larger, the aroma easily volatilizes into the air, and the oils in the beans also oxidize, producing off-flavors.

Therefore, Front Street recommends that single-origin coffee beans are best finished within one and a half months. This is also a conclusion Front Street has drawn through practice, and the optimal tasting period is also within one and a half months. After one and a half months, although the coffee beans still have some aroma, they no longer perform as well as in the first month. Moreover, according to experience in the coffee roasting industry, the freshness period of coffee beans is generally two to three months. The specific time is affected by many factors: green bean quality, roast level, storage environment, storage methods, and so on.
 

Will the shelf life of unopened coffee beans be extended?

Because there is still air circulation inside the packaging of unopened coffee beans, the flavor will still be lost. Vacuum packaging also cannot achieve 100% vacuum. Even if placed in the refrigerator, coffee beans will be affected by moisture condensation. Therefore, the tasting period of coffee is indeed limited. Even if unopened, Front Street recommends drinking it within one and a half months.

Of course, what Front Street refers to here is the optimal tasting period for single-origin coffee beans. As for the shelf life of coffee beans, the relevant food regulations in our country stipulate that the shelf life of coffee products is one year, which means coffee will not spoil just because the aroma is lost. Therefore, if coffee is only used as a beverage to refresh and wake up, it can also be consumed within one year.

 
The freshness period of coffee powder

There is one more point Front Street must emphasize: when grinding coffee beans into powder, it is best to extract it immediately, because after coffee beans are ground into powder, they are extremely fine particles, and the contact area with air increases many times over. The rate of flavor loss is therefore very fast, and in humid environments it may even absorb moisture from the air, bringing off-flavors.

How to properly store coffee beans?

So how should opened coffee beans be stored properly? After all, if opened coffee beans are not placed properly, their flavor will also be affected. Front Street will now share some tips for storing coffee beans.

 
1. [One-way degassing valve]

A sealed jar can isolate external air, but most use transparent materials, so it is still easily affected by light. Also, every time it is opened and closed, air enters, and the oxygen in it will still react with the beans inside. Therefore, Front Street recommends not storing too many coffee beans at once if using a sealed jar.

3. [Vacuum canister]

A vacuum canister can isolate external air, but most also use transparent materials, so it is still easily affected by light. Also, every time it is opened and closed, air enters, and then the air is pumped out, turning the interior into a low-oxygen state. At the same time, it also creates a low-pressure state. The pressure inside the beans remains unchanged, so the pressure difference between inside and outside increases, approaching one atmosphere. This causes the small molecules and easily volatile aromatic substances inside the beans to be lost more quickly.

So Front Street still recommends storing fresh coffee directly in the one-way degassing valve bag it arrived in, placed at room temperature, sealed, and away from sunlight. Of course, the best way is to buy according to the amount of coffee you need each time and finish it while the beans are still fresh.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.