——A guide to coffee bean preservation methods
After selecting the coffee beans, the next task is to store the coffee beans. Do you know that coffee beans are the freshest within a few hours of roasting? Which packaging is the best to preserves the freshness of coffee beans? coffee beans can be kept in the refrigerator? Next we will tell you the secret of coffee bean packaging and storage.
Coffee Bean Packaging and Preservation: Coffee with Fresh Beans
Like most food, the fresher it is, the more authentic it is. The same goes for coffee beans, the fresher they are, the better the flavor. It’s hard to buy high-quality coffee beans, and you don’t want to drink coffee with a greatly reduced flavor because of poor storage. Coffee beans are very sensitive to the external environment, and the best tasting period is not long. How to properly store coffee beans is a very important topic for those who pursue high-quality coffee.
First, let’s take a look at the properties of coffee beans. After the oil of fresh roasted coffee beans is roasted, the surface will have a shiny luster (except for light roasted coffee beans and special beans that have been washed with water to remove caffeine), and the beans will continue to undergo some reactions and release carbon dioxide. . Fresh coffee beans emit 5-12 liters of carbon dioxide per kilogram. This exhaust phenomenon is one of the keys to distinguishing whether the coffee is fresh.
Through this process of continuous change, coffee will begin to get better after 48 hours of roasting. It is recommended that the best tasting period of coffee is 48 hours after roasting, preferably no more than two weeks.
Elements that affect the freshness of coffee beans
Buying freshly roasted coffee beans once every three days is obviously impractical for busy modern people. By storing coffee beans in the right way, you can avoid the hassle of purchasing and still drink coffee that retains its original flavor.
Roasted coffee beans are most afraid of the following elements: oxygen (air), moisture, light, heat, and odors. Oxygen causes the coffee tofu to go bad and deteriorate, the moisture will wash off the aroma oil on the surface of the coffee, and other elements will interfere with the reaction inside the coffee beans, and finally affect the flavor of the coffee.
From this you should be able to infer that the best place to store coffee beans is a place that is free from oxygen (air), dry, dark and odorless. And among them, isolating oxygen is the most difficult.
Vacuum packaging does not mean fresh
Maybe you think: “What’s so difficult about keeping the air out? Vacuum packaging is fine. Otherwise, put it in an airtight coffee jar, and oxygen won’t get in.” Vacuum packaging or fully airtight packaging may be very difficult for other ingredients. Good, but we have to tell you that neither package is suitable for fresh coffee beans.
As we said earlier, coffee beans will continue to release a lot of carbon dioxide after roasting. If the coffee beans in the vacuum package are fresh, the bag should burst open. Therefore, the general practice of manufacturers is to let the roasted coffee beans stand for a period of time, and then put them into vacuum packaging after the beans are no longer exhausted. This way, you don’t have to worry about popping, but the beans don’t have the freshest flavor. It is okay to use vacuum packaging for coffee powder, but we all know that coffee powder itself is not the freshest state of coffee.
Sealed packaging is also not a good method. Sealed packaging will only prevent air from entering, and the air contained in the original packaging cannot escape. There is 21% oxygen in the air, which is equivalent to locking the oxygen and coffee beans together and cannot achieve the best preservative effect.
The Best Device for Preserving Coffee: One-Way Vent Valve
The correct solution is coming. The device that can achieve the best effect of preserving the freshness of coffee beans on the market is the one-way valve, which was invented by Fres-co Company in Pennsylvania, USA in 1980.
why? To review simple high school physics here, light gas moves faster, so in a space with only one outlet and no gas going in, light gas tends to escape, and heavy gas tends to stay. This is what Graham’s Law tells us.
Imagine a bag packed with fresh coffee beans with some remaining space filled with air that is 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen. Carbon dioxide is heavier than both of these gases, and after coffee beans produce carbon dioxide, it squeezes out oxygen and nitrogen. At this time, if there is a one-way vent valve, the gas can only go out, but not in, and the oxygen in the bag will become less and less over time, which is what we want.
The less oxygen, the better the coffee
Oxygen is the culprit in the deterioration of coffee beans, which is one of the principles that must be considered when selecting and evaluating various coffee bean storage products. Some people choose to poke a small hole in the bag of coffee beans, which is indeed better than a complete seal, but the amount and speed of oxygen escaping are limited, and the hole is a two-way pipe, and the oxygen outside will also run into the bag. Reducing the air content in the package is of course also an option, but only the one-way vent valve can reduce the oxygen content in the coffee bean bag.
In addition, it should be reminded that the packaging with one-way ventilation valve must be sealed to be effective, otherwise oxygen can still enter the bag. Before sealing, you can gently squeeze out as much air as possible to reduce the air space in the bag and the amount of oxygen that can reach the coffee beans.
How to store coffee beans Q&A
Of course, the one-way vent valve is only the beginning of saving coffee beans. Below we have compiled some questions you may have, hoping to help you enjoy the freshest coffee every day.
●What if I buy too many coffee beans?
It is generally recommended that the best tasting period of coffee beans is two weeks, but if you buy more than two weeks, the best way is to use it in the freezer. We recommend using resealable freezer bags (with as little air as possible) and storing them in small packs, no more than two weeks’ worth of each. Take out the coffee beans an hour before using, and wait for the ice to cool to room temperature before opening. There is less condensation on the surface of coffee beans. Don’t forget that moisture will also seriously affect the flavor of coffee beans. Do not put back the coffee beans that have been taken out of the freezer to avoid moisture affecting the flavor of coffee during the thawing and freezing process.
With good storage, coffee beans can stay fresh for up to two weeks in the freezer. It can be left for up to two months, but it is not recommended.
●Can coffee beans be stored in the refrigerator?
Coffee beans cannot be stored in the refrigerator, only the freezer can keep them fresh. The first is that the temperature is not low enough, and the second is that the coffee beans themselves have the effect of removing odors, which will absorb the smell of other foods in the refrigerator into the beans, and the final brewed coffee may have the smell of your refrigerator. No storage box can resist odors, and even coffee grounds are not recommended in the refrigerator freezer.
●Advice on the preservation of ground coffee
The best way to store ground coffee is to brew it into coffee and drink it, because the standard storage time for ground coffee is one hour. Freshly ground and brewed coffee retains the best flavor.
If there is really no way, then we recommend keeping the ground coffee in an airtight container (porcelain is best). Ground coffee is very susceptible to moisture and must be kept dry, and try not to leave it for more than two weeks.
●What are the general principles of coffee bean preservation?
Buy good quality fresh beans, pack them tightly in dark containers with one-way vents, and store them in a dry, cool place away from sunlight and steam. 48 hours after the coffee beans are roasted, the flavor gradually improves, and the freshest coffee is kept at room temperature for two weeks.
●Why does storing coffee beans have so many eyebrows, sounds like a hassle
Simple, because good quality coffee is worth your trouble. Coffee is a very daily drink, but there is also a wealth of knowledge to study. This is the interesting part of coffee. Feel it with your heart and taste the most complete and pure flavor of coffee together.
Post time: Jun-10-2022
