bloocanary Senior Member Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 358 Location: boston Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: rancilio silvia Grinder: solis maestro Vac Pot: yama (imploded)
Posted Thu Aug 19, 2004, 10:20pm Subject: coffee storage and the freezer ... again
i've searched and read the posts on this topic, and have just a couple more things to ask. i'm planning on storing some of my beans in the future in small portions, double-ziploc'ed & frozen. however, i'm wondering *when* to do that.
if i opened a bag of beans and used some, then needed to store the rest for some time, it's clear (well, somewhat clear :-) to me i should freeze. but if i have a full bag of beans that i can't get to for awhile, professionally sealed with a one-way valve ... at what point should i break the seal and freeze? or should i always leave them sealed rather than freeze?
basically, how good is the packaging compared to freezing?
Posted Thu Aug 19, 2004, 11:11pm Subject: Re: coffee storage and the freezer ... again
I think that the concensus is that freezing freshly roasted beans preserves their freshness but that freezing beans that have aged awhile has an decreased effect on preserving their state. Where that leaves you with vacuum packed beans, I'm not sure. I can say that many do freeze their beans with apparently satisfactory results.
tom_b Senior Member Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Maui, Hawaii
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia/PID Grinder: Nuova Simonelli MCF Roaster: USPS/Popper
Posted Fri Aug 20, 2004, 12:32am Subject: Re: coffee storage and the freezer ... again
You can freeze early and often, throw an extra bag over any wimpy looking packaging. I don't thaw to grind either, I just throw a 1/4 cup of beans in the hopper and put the rest back in the freeze. And like the man said, you get diminishing returns depending on how many days past roast your beans get froze. Fresh roasted will make it ~ a long time, while my mail order showing up slowly via priority around a week past roast will only get an extra week, 3 total instead of 2 at room temp. But there is a difference between weeks 1, 2 and 3, and gradually you grow to prefer fresh all the time.. I usually only get a lb or 2 at a time, freeze 'em, but use up the beans by 2 weeks from roast. If I was finishing bags inside a week from roast I might skip the fridge.. tom:) 'wouldn't that be nice'
wimpy ... ok well, i'm talking about pretty solidly packaged stuff ... as you would get from most of the better known (on coffeegeek) roasters ... if i'm not planning on using them for a week or two, freeze or keep in bag?
Posted Fri Aug 20, 2004, 6:48am Subject: Re: coffee storage and the freezer ... again
Toss them in as is unopened but if you use some put the remainder in a resealable container before retuning them to the freezer. Moisture kills beans. My friend splits his order into small mason jars and then takes one jar out at a time. I divide my roast into 150 gram portions and seal them with a food saver. I pull 1 bag out of the freezer at a time. I like to give them a couple of days at room temp for espresso.
Posted Fri Aug 20, 2004, 6:54am Subject: Re: coffee storage and the freezer ... again
bloocanary Said:
wimpy ... ok well, i'm talking about pretty solidly packaged stuff ... as you would get from most of the better known (on coffeegeek) roasters ... if i'm not planning on using them for a week or two, freeze or keep in bag?
Regular freezing type people around here freeze beans in full jars, in double zip lock bags, or in vacuum containers.
The principle is to freeze beans as close to the roast date as possible. Freezing stale coffee won't freshen it up at all. So if you buy a larger amount than you can use quickly, as soon as you get it break it into portions you can use in a few days, and when you remove them from the freezer, don't open them until they have thawed (condensation).
If you roast you own, you have the added opportunity to freeze the beans before they begin degassing which will substantially extend their life. After they are removed from the freezer, they begin degassing.
General consensus among freezers is they will last at least 6 weeks in the freezer with no ill effects. The key is to smoosh out all the air you can, since air causes freezer burn.
Do not smoosh canning jars unless you like glass in your beans!
The THEY in the above paragraph is the frozen beans and not the coffee freezers themselves...
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