Advice for Home Coffee Storage

Quite often I am asked questions about coffee storage at home or home brewing tips to ensure the best coffee experience. For this post let's talk shelf life of coffee beans. Somewhere along the way I heard the "Rule of 15" that has helped me out: 15 months after its harvested, 15 days after its roasted and 15 minutes after its ground, hence "the rule of 15". This is a standard but not perfect, all coffee is different. The general consensus for a fresh bean is 3 weeks after roast date and if you look at your coffee and don't see any roast dates I would recommend not purchasing that coffee because it is most likely months old. Now let's talk ground vs whole bean. Whole bean coffee is your best shot at maintaining freshness for your morning cup. The second you grind your coffee the rate of oxidization increases exponentially, decreasing your freshness from days to minutes; or as I have experienced from weeks to days. A home burr grinder is a worthy investment that if maintained, should last you 5-10 years and ensure a longer home bean shelf life. Lastly, home coffee storage is quite simple. I want to re-emphasize that you should not be shooting to keep your coffee for months at a time so if you are buying 2lbs because it will last you longer start thinking about smaller amounts you can purchase more frequently. That being said, just store your coffee in a temperate dry place. This could be where you store your rice or pasta. This could even be on your counter top in an opaque air tight container. No need to get too crazy but look for something airtight about the size of 1 pound of roast coffee that you can reuse. Our coffee bags are opaque and resealable so if you purchase from us you are good to go! The main thing here is that you are keeping the beans away from strong odors (usually found in the fridge or freezer) or varying temperatures (typically a sunny counter-top) so that when you grind them before brewing they will blow your mind with wonderful fragrance. Hope this helps with your home brewing!