When it comes to brewing a good coffee, freshness is such an important player. With varying factors such as beans, ground, roast dates and storage all playing a role it can sometimes feel a little confusing. Don’t worry, this is where we’ll help guide you through it all, and how to get the very best out of your coffee at home.
Beans vs Ground
For absolute best results, always store your coffee as whole beans and grind them as and when you need to brew. This will help ensure a fresher, tastier cup for sure.
Granted, not everyone has the need or space for a grinder in their lives, so sometimes pre-ground is the only option. The downside to pre-ground is that there is much more surface area of the coffee being exposed to air, meaning it oxidises faster, and as a result you lost some of that glorious aroma before you get the chance to brew them. This is where beans have the upper hand as it helps lock all that flavour in for longer.
Roast Dates & Freshness
Here’s something that surprises many coffee drinkers: coffee can actually be too fresh.
- Beans need rest! Coffee continues to release oxygen after roasting, so needs a little time to ‘de-gas’ before it’s at it’s best to drink. Usually 2-3 days after roasting it will start to settle, but where it’s at it’s very best is around 2–3 weeks from roasting. Brewed too early and your cup might taste muddled or overly “roasty”.
- Better clarity. Once rested, your beans will produce a brew with more clarity, balance and brightness.
- Darker vs lighter. Darker roasts de-gas more quickly, so they don’t need quite as much rest as lighter roasts.
- Shelf life. Whole beans don’t lose flavour intensity for around 2 months after roasting. Ground coffee, however, is best enjoyed within about a week, but can start to fade after even just 15 minutes (that’s why we grind just before shipping)!
Storing Your Coffee
How you store your coffee makes a world of difference.
- Short term (within 2 months): Keeping beans in our resealable bags is absolutely fine.
- Longer term or pre-ground: You’ll need a little extra protection to keep things tasting fresh.
Darkness is a coffee’s friend
Let it be know, coffee loves darkness. Fun fact, that when light is omitted to coffee for long periods of time a process know as photodegeneration occurs – a stimulus that significantly contributes to the deterioration of coffee.
Storing your coffee in a dry, dark place, or container that doesn’t omit light will help keep your coffee from going stale as quickly.
Freezing Coffee
It’s often a conversational topic with differences in opinion, but by freezing your coffee, it does actually massively reduce the speed at which it reacts with oxygen, so generally a good idea. You can can even grind from frozen too!
However, do not refrigerate coffee!
Fridges contain moisture and that can be a killer for your coffee and encourage all sorts of nastiness, so if anyone tells you to store you coffee in the fridge, you have our permission to cut them from your life and never speak to them again. They will kill your coffee.
Air-Tight Containers
Air-tight storage is the next best thing to freezing. Products like the Airscape coffee container has a one way valve to remove oxygen without letting air or light in, helping to keep your coffee tasting fresh for longer.
What happens when coffee goes stale.
It’s always a shame when this happens, but don’t fret. Stale beans don’t have to be wasted – there are a few tricks that can still bring out a tasty brew:
Lower the brew temperature.
- For filter coffee: reduce by 2–7°C.
- For espresso: reduce by 2–4°C.
Adjust your water ratio.
- For filter: use 15–30 g less water per cup.
- For espresso: use 5–10 g less water.
These tweaks reduce the extraction of stale flavours, leaving you with a smoother, more enjoyable cup.
The bottom line of it all is that whole beans rested after roasting and stored properly give you the freshest coffee possible. But even if things don’t go perfectly, there’s always a way to brew a cup worth savouring.