If you're a coffee enthusiast, odds are you've spent time researching how to make the best cup of coffee (especially now that many of us are quarantined at home). But, what about the pre-coffee process? You might have heard about refrigerating or freezing your coffee beans in the name of freshness, but is that actually a helpful idea?
To see if we should be making room in our freezers, we reached out to dietitians for expert answers on coffee storage.
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"The freezer is not the best place to store your coffee beans," Isabel Maples, a nutritionist and registered dietitian with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells Hunker. "The reason is that even a good freezer container can allow in some moisture, just like you see when food gets freezer burn." When this moisture is absorbed, it can unfortunately change the taste of your coffee.
However, if you do end up with a ton of coffee beans you won't be using anytime soon, Amy C. Keating, a registered dietitian, nutritionist, and the program leader at Consumer Reports, tells Hunker, "The freezer would, in that case, be a better choice than the fridge. Be sure to seal the beans in an airtight container or Ziploc bags."
As for the best way to store your beans, Keating says, "I would recommend buying beans in small quantities, a pound or package at a time. That way you will likely use up the beans before worrying about loss of freshness." She advises that you keep the beans in a kitchen cabinet in their original foil bag, tightly rolling it down to form a seal. If your beans didn't come in a foil bag, an airtight container is ideal.
When it comes to freshness, though you don't need the freezer or fridge, Maples does recommend keeping your coffee beans away from light and heat. To maximize freshness, she explains that you can also buy beans from a local coffee shop that roasts on-site.
In other words, to keep your java tasting like java, keep your coffee beans away from the freezer at all costs.