Not far from the well-preserved Caleb Pusey Homestead is the warehouse of WineLife. Using Snapware containers whose lids have been outfitted with one-way valves (per DaveC), I am going to experiment informally, to see how long it is possible to keep beans near peak freshness after several bags have been opened, and with only two people drinking coffee twice a day.


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I tried this a few years ago. There are several problems but the foremost is the cost of the winelife. When I did it, it was over $9 per can and the worst problem is that the gas in the can is entirely gas; there's no liquid. This means that the $9 can doesn't last very long at all ...and getting it to properly flush the beans is practically impossible with such a small quantity -you're guaranteed to have lots of oxygen in contact with the beans using such an unsophisticated arrangement. So I gave up on it very quickly.

Patrick

timo888 wrote:Not far from the well-preserved Caleb Pusey Homestead is the warehouse of WineLife. Using Snapware containers whose lids have been outfitted with one-way valves (per DaveC), I am going to experiment informally, to see how long it is possible to keep beans near peak freshness after several bags have been opened, and with only two people drinking coffee twice a day.


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We like to have more than one roast going simultaneously (from different roasters, which is why I like Soho so much --like to compare and contrast). Having multiple bags open makes it harder to keep beans fresh. The gas seems to be working so far: the beans are fresh after two weeks, and there is still gas left in the can. Not sure how much gas remains because the can has felt empty since day one. Cost is a factor, true. I will have a better sense of the cost when the can runs out. But if we don't waste beans, it might pay for itself.

Create a number of valved Snapware containers.
Open your bags of espresso. I have three bags open.


Fill the containers, so that each of the three bags of espresso is half-empty afterwards.
Put the lids loosely on the containers, push the long tube of the gas can down into the center of the beans, and spritz for about four (4) seconds with the lid open a crack.
Shut the containers and set them aside. These containers are the coffee cache.

When preparing espresso, scoop beans from the half-empty bags as needed.
Afterwards (i.e. after each time the bag is opened and beans are scooped out), insert the plastic tube of the gas can into the bag above the beans, holding the top of the bag more or less shut.
Spritz for two (2) seconds. It doesn't take much. A 2-second spritz of gas covers the beans in the bottom half of the bag, and oxygen collects at the top of the bag, above the beans and the heavier-than-air gas.

Close the bag with just a couple of roll-downs, leaving plenty of room at the top, and bend the metal tabs over to seal the bag. Store the bag upright.

When the bag is empty move beans from the container cache into the bags, and repeat the container spritz procedure to keep the cache fresh.


Regards
Timo

The gas ran out yesterday. When used in the manner I sketched out above, with vented containers as a seldom-opened cache and bags that get opened each day, the gas does work well enough to be a cost-effective way of prolonging the freshness of more expensive prize-winning beans that you want to enjoy for a couple of weeks. But for beans in the $15 pound range, the gas + shipping is more expensive than the wasted coffee.

Regards
Timo