How to Store Coffee Beans So They Stay Fresh

Coffee starts to change the day it is roasted. You cannot stop that, but where and how you keep your beans decides whether your last cup from a bag tastes as good as the first. Here is what coffee researchers and the coffee industry's own bodies recommend.

What makes coffee beans go stale?

The National Coffee Association names four things to protect coffee from: "air, moisture, heat, and light". (National Coffee Association) Of the four, air matters most. A review published by the Specialty Coffee Association found oxygen to be the main cause of staling, and cites research showing that cutting the oxygen in a container to 0.5% could make coffee last 20 times longer. (SCA literature review)

Roasted coffee also holds carbon dioxide. The SCA explains that coffee gives off CO2 quickly for about the first 20 days after roasting, and that "once CO2 escapes, oxygen-rich air rushes in to take its place, and the coffee starts developing off-flavors." (SCA)

How should I store coffee beans at home?

• Use an opaque, airtight container. Clear jars look nice on a counter but let light in.
• Keep it somewhere cool and dark, such as a cupboard away from the stove, the dishwasher and sunny windows.
• Buy whole beans and grind just before brewing.
• Buy what you will use in one or two weeks, which is exactly what the NCA advises.

How long do coffee beans stay fresh?

The SCA's rule of thumb is that whole-bean coffee can reasonably be considered fresh for about three weeks after roasting, and ground coffee for about an hour after grinding. (SCA) The NCA's shelf-life guide gives these ranges: (NCA)

This is why we roast to order and keep very little roasted stock: your bag is roasted close to the day it ships, so the clock starts with you. Read more about why fresh roasted coffee matters.

Why does ground coffee go stale faster?

Grinding breaks each bean into thousands of pieces, so far more of the coffee touches the air. The SCA puts it plainly: the CO2 that whole beans lose over weeks is lost in minutes once coffee is ground. The SCA review also found that warmth speeds up staling about twice as much for ground coffee as for whole beans. If you buy ground coffee, buy smaller amounts more often.

Should I keep coffee in the fridge or the freezer?

The fridge buys you little: the NCA's table gives whole beans 2 weeks refrigerated, against 1 to 3 weeks in a cupboard, and coffee absorbs moisture, smells and flavours from the air around it. The NCA notes that views on freezing differ. If you do freeze coffee, it advises a truly airtight container, taking out no more than a week's worth at a time, and putting the rest back before condensation forms. (NCA)

One more reason freezing can work in your favour: a study in Scientific Reports found that grinding coffee beans cold gives a more even grind. (Uman et al., 2016)

Can I buy coffee in bulk and freeze it?

Yes, if you portion it. When a 5 lb bag arrives, split it into airtight containers that each hold about a week of coffee. Keep one in the cupboard and put the rest in the freezer. Take out one container at a time and let it reach room temperature before you open it, so moisture does not settle on the beans.

If you would rather not freeze anything, a coffee subscription does the same job the NCA recommends: smaller, fresh batches that arrive on a schedule you choose. Subscriptions save 20% on the first order and 10% on every order after that.

Why do coffee bags have a small valve?

Freshly roasted coffee keeps releasing CO2, which would make a sealed bag swell or burst. A one-way valve lets that gas out and stops air getting in. Goglio, the company that makes these valves, describes them as opening when the pressure inside the bag is higher than outside and making sure oxygen does not enter. (Goglio) Squeeze the air out and reseal the bag every time you use it.

Storing coffee well is half the job; brewing it well is the other half. Try our V60 pour-over recipe or our AeroPress recipe with your next bag.