(proper) coffee best kept in the fridge, freezer or neither????

I used to never know, but then I spent some time cleaning houses of the the VEEERY rich (and perhaps a little famous) in Aspen, CO. They all kept their coffee in the freezer, opened or not. I figured that was the snooty thing to do, so that's what I do!

My cherished Puertorican espresso that I bring back with me on my yearly pilgrimages stays in the fridge. The rum on the other hand, stays in the "cabinet." Unless it's something along the lines of a Subzero brand freezer, I'm usually suspect of putting good stuff in it. My chest freezer is for rhubarb that I make into wine, fruit for pies, popsicles, hamburgers and deer parts...

-Frank

I keep my coffee in the freezer. Never knew a reason why. It was just what all my previous roommates did so I followed along.

Actually, once, one of the ladies I cleaned house for asked me to make her some coffee and I got yelled at for letting the coffee sit out (it was kept in the freezer) while I was filling up the water and all. She got mad because the moisture from the condensation would not keep the coffee as fresh. So maybe moisture is the problem and thus the reason for the freezer..... hmmmmmm.....

My mom does that, but she buys drip type coffee.  I only buy espresso and a package last no more than a week.  Anyways, I store it in an airtight tin can.

A few things to keep in mind...

1) Ground coffee will only stay fresh for about a month anyway, so it's best not to buy more than you can consume in a month. All the extra surface area allows the oils to evaporate faster than they would with a whole bean. I'm going to figure a guess that most of us do not buy whole, green coffee beans. That's the way to buy "great" coffee. Any thing beyond that is on it's way to becoming stale anyway.

2) When you roast the beans, they give off CO2 in contact with air (acutally, the 20.9% that is Oxygen), so air-tight containers are a plus. Even better is to put them into an airtight container with a one-way valve that lets the CO2 out and does't let the O2 in. So by not using pre-ground coffee, you extend the few weeks to a few months.

3) Freezing foods can extend their freshness, but it is important not to let the main container of food thaw out and then refreeze it. This goes for any food, not just coffee. The first time you thaw it out, you'll add some water from the condensation, and when it refreezes (remember, water is the only substance that expands below it's freezing point), the ice it makes produces tiny little prickly things that destroy the cellular structure of whatever you are freezing -> freezer burn.

4) Most consumer freezers don't do a really great job of limiting the moisture in the freezer, so if you don't use an airtight container, you can add enough moisture to freezer burn whatever you are storing. Plus, that moisture can carry the flavor of whatever else is in your freezer into anything else that is not airtight.

5) The truth is... How many of us buy green, unground coffee beans that we roast and grind ourselves? If not, don't sweat the lettuce...

So if you're that concerned about your $10 a pound green coffee beans from Mt. Kilimanjaro, buy a little Subzero just for your coffee and keep your coffee wrapped in 4 layers of plastic wrap in an airtight container. When you need to use some coffee, bring the temperature of your kitchen to 36 degrees Fahrenheit and 4% relative humidity, take out the coffee you want, put the rest back and return your kitchen to ambient temperature and RH. Then, roast, dry, grind and perc your coffee. HMMMM, yummy. Don't forget that the darker you roast it, the more caffeine you're killing too

Thus ends our weekly reading from the book of Cliff, chapter 14, verse 8 (Cliff Claven, that is).

Seriously, I like good coffe, but I drink it so infrequently, that I don't get too worked up about it.

-Frank (jacka$$ of all trades, master of none)

Edited by scuba-punk 2004-10-15 12:29 PM

I guess it's just a matter of being in the habit of taking good care of what you have, no matter what it is. Even though I don't drive a Ferrari, I still change the oil in the truck every 5000 miles. If we're here (on BT.com), we obviously like to take care of ourselves well, so why stop there? See ginger ninja... it wasn't a pointless thread

-Frank

hmmm i think that unless in an airtight container, moisture may get in the coffee, causing the coffee to expand a bit...hmmm it is a constant struggle, maybe we should start a study

get your fav. coffee put one in your freezer and one in a cool dark place and then see what is best

????

no, the thread about nothing was. Did you miss that? Would you like me to find it?

oh, as for your coffee question, I have no idea. We go thru it way too fast to worry about storing it.

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in a former life as a Starbucks employee we had to know the answer to this question. I don't remember the official response but the synopsis is
- use the air tight container
- if you're grounding your beans only do as much as you'll use or at worst a few days worth at a time
- Freezing is okay for storage but don't pull it in and out...listen to scuba punk he know's his food storage
and really as far as anything in life goes...if your coffee tastes the same after the first pot as it does after a month of any storage method why change it. If there is a noticble difference...then worry about it.

you never let me have any fun

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nooooo.....I let you catch up!