When you’ve just bought a brand new bag of your favorite coffee beans or grounds, you’ll want to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible. The way to do this is to ensure you’re storing your coffee beans or grounds properly.
There’s a lot of speculation going around about the best place to store your coffee. Many people think using your fridge or freezer is the best way to store coffee beans or grounds, but plenty of others argue that keeping them on your counter or in the pantry is better.
It can be challenging to know where to store your coffee to maximize freshness with conflicting information floating around the internet. Does freezing coffee keep it fresher for longer?
Freezing Coffee Does Not Keep it Fresher for Longer
The quick answer is that freezing coffee does not keep it fresher for longer. Storing your coffee beans or grounds in the freezer is a storage option for them, but doing this is no better for the coffee than storing it in the pantry.
Is it Bad to Freeze Your Coffee?
While freezing your coffee is not going to make it stay fresher for longer, there’s nothing specifically bad about storing your coffee in the freezer.
The biggest reason people say you shouldn’t store your coffee in the freezer has to do with how often you’re opening the freezer. One of the biggest enemies of coffee beans and grounds is light. Whenever you open your freezer door, you’re letting light potentially reach the coffee.
As long as you go about storing your coffee in the freezer properly, there’s nothing terrible about it, and you’ll still have a delicious cup of coffee when you make it with the coffee from the freezer.
How to Store Your Coffee in the Freezer
If you’re set on storing your coffee beans in the freezer, you’ll want to do it correctly to preserve the integrity of the coffee. When you’re going to freeze your coffee beans, you can follow these steps to ensure they stay fresh and you’re not compromising the beans.
1. Find the Best Containers to Store Coffee Beans
You don’t want to just toss your coffee beans into the freezer without putting them in a quality container. Even though putting coffee beans in the freezer will limit the amount of light that reaches the coffee, you’ll still want to find a container or containers that are opaque.
In addition to opaque containers, you’ll want airtight containers just as you would if storing your coffee in a pantry. You don’t have to worry about heat affecting the coffee beans while it’s in the freezer, but you don’t want moisture from the freezer affecting the beans either.
To sum it up, you’ll need opaque, airtight containers to store your coffee beans in, even in the freezer.
2. Portion Your Coffee Beans Into More Manageable Sizes
If you make coffee every morning, portioning your coffee into smaller containers will be easier for you.
You won’t have as many coffee beans to thaw when you’re ready to make coffee, and this will keep the rest of the coffee fresher than if you constantly take the larger container out of the freezer.
3. Place in The Best Spot in the Freezer
If you were able to find airtight and opaque containers, you could place the container in the freezer almost anywhere.
You still may want to consider putting your container or containers with the coffee beans towards the back of the freezer to avoid any warmer temperatures reaching the coffee while the door is open.
If you were unable to find opaque containers, but you have airtight ones, you’ll want to place the coffee beans behind other items in the freezer so light cannot reach the beans as easily when you open the freezer door.
If you couldn’t find a container that is airtight, you’ll want to place the container away from other things in the freezer that could leak moisture into the coffee beans.
4. Thaw The Beans When You’re Ready to Have Coffee
When you’re ready to make coffee, you can pull a container of coffee beans out of the freezer. Keep in mind that you’ll need to let the coffee beans thaw before you can brew coffee.
When thawing the coffee beans, you’ll need to leave them away from heat, light, and moisture. The pantry is a great option to leave the coffee beans overnight since it may take a few hours to thaw completely.
How Long Can I Store Coffee Beans in The Freezer?
You can keep whole coffee beans in your freezer for up to one month. Leaving them in for any longer may affect the flavor of the coffee, and you may end up with a weaker cup of coffee than you’re used to.
Now, if you’re storing coffee beans in your freezer, if you’re not taking any coffee beans out during this time, they’re good for a month. But, if you’re taking the container out, taking some coffee beans, and then replacing the rest back in the freezer, their shelf life will shorten.
This is why you may want to portion out smaller containers of coffee beans if you plan on freezing your coffee.
Alternatives to Storing Coffee in the Freezer
If you aren’t sold on freezing your coffee beans, there are other ways you can store coffee beans to ensure they’re at their freshest possible when you’re ready for coffee.
Store Coffee Beans in the Pantry
Similar to storing your coffee beans in the freezer, you’re going to want to use the proper containers when storing them in the pantry.
Coffee beans can be affected by light, heat, moisture, and oxygen. So, storing them in a high-quality container that is opaque and airtight will help. If you are going to store your coffee beans in the pantry, be sure it’s away from any heat that comes from your stove or oven.
