Nothing tastes better than a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. The caffeinated brew — served hot or iced — with its subtle notes and distinct profile is an experience unmatched by any other beverage. That said, one of the key components to the perfect cup of coffee is the freshness of the coffee beans.
While the term “freshness” in general refers to how recent a food or beverage was made, there’s a little more complexity involved with coffee beans. For coffee, “freshness” is more commonly associated with whether or not the beans have been exposed to the four elements which cause the quality of the beans to deteriorate: air, moisture, heat, and light.
As such, the number one way to store fresh coffee beans is to store them in an opaque, airtight container. This can often be achieved using the bag that the beans already come in. All of Omni Bev’s coffee beans, for instance, come in airtight, resealable bags, allowing you to take the amount of beans you need for your morning brew and save the rest without losing any freshness.
However, for coffee bean bags that are a bit more flimsy, made with paper, or cannot be easily resealed, opting for an opaque container with an airtight lid is always the best option. This will ensure that the beans are not exposed to the deterioration-causing elements for too long at a time.
One common misconception about storing fresh coffee beans is that you can do so in the freezer. This advice is generally given when the beans have been unopened, and therefore have not been exposed to any of the elements. That said, even in this case, you would still have to allow the beans to thaw to room temperature before brewing.
That said, once the bag has been opened and the beans have been exposed to oxygen and moisture, the ability to freeze the beans without losing any of their freshness is lost. This is due in part to the fact that coffee beans are porous in nature — if there is anything else in your freezer that has strong aromatics, like frozen meats, garlic, and onions, the beans will likely absorb that flavor. Likewise, the risk of freezer burn increases if the beans have been exposed to moisture specifically.
The most important thing with the freshness of coffee beans, however, is the quality of the beans themselves. Freshly harvested and recently roasted beans, like the Arabica and Robusta beans Omni Bev sources from the highlands of Da Lat, Vietnam, are high in quality because they have been processed with care, ensuring that little to no flavor is lost. By storing high quality beans in an airtight, opaque container, you can ensure that your morning brew will be as fresh as ever time and time again.
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