How do you store your coffee beans?

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ghostchili
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Joined: 12 years ago

#1: Post by ghostchili »

Hello everyone,
I'm just getting into making proper espresso and had a question. How do you properly store your beans after you've opened the sealed bag?

jonny
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#2: Post by jonny »

My philosophy is minimize air as best as I can and use the beans within 14 days. If the bag has a zipper, I just leave it in the bag. In the 14 day window, it won't hurt. If the bag is not resealable, I'll either divide it into pint sized mason jars which I'll go through in a few days each. Or just throw the whole bag into a [freezer type] ziplock with the air pushed out each time I open it. The non freezer bags have a strong plastic smell and the seal isn't as good. I don't freeze. I just keep on hand what I'll use usually within a week. I use a hopper on my grinder, so beans that I'll use within 2 days hang out in the hopper. No stale tastes here. Note: My beans are always very light and perhaps more resilient to aging than darker beans, but within that 14 day window in a container that has minimal air and a decent seal, I'm sure they will be good.

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iginfect
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#3: Post by iginfect »

I store my roasted beans in opaque ceramic jars of this type: http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Fi ... 002IT6X0C/ . Usually I home roast and the beans go in. If I buy roasted beans, I leave them in the bag, squish out remaining air after use and then place them in a jar. Probably overkill but I have the jars.

Marvin

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SpromoSapiens
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#4: Post by SpromoSapiens »

I store my home roast in a stack of three or four 1/2-pint masons in the cupboard above my espresso station. The jars are wrapped with tape to keep as much light out as possible, and to help differentiate (white = standard, yellow = decaf). Beans from other roasters are generally left in the bag they came in until it fits in a 1/2lb TightVac canister, which I got as swag at SCAA Expo. Only takes a day or two for a standard 12oz bag to fit. I've noticed that my masons rarely "pop" when i open them nowadays. I'm afraid maybe their gasket-lids are worn out. I'm not sweatin' it though.

Unfortunately I've gotten really lazy lately and have a bunch of different bags rolled up inside the TightVac at the moment, each with less than a double's worth in it but that I never have the heart to toss, and so my latest bag has sat essentially unprotected.

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Possepat
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#5: Post by Possepat »

I used the 1lb tightvac container to stuff my roaster bags into. I usually put 1/3 of the pound at a time in the hopper of my grinder which I will go through in a day or two. Nice to have a decent container but the stuff in the grinder doesn't keep me up at night with it's "getting stale".
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Soapbox
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#6: Post by Soapbox »

The best storage method is none at all. I never have enough roasted on-hand to go past a 10 day window, of which 2-3 days is used to degas the fresh roasted beans. Roasting once a week works best for me. Tupperware in between the roaster and the grinder hopper 3 days max.

ghostchili (original poster)
Posts: 59
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#7: Post by ghostchili (original poster) »

Has anyone tried something like this?
http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/coffee-bean-vac
I don't roast my own beans but try to buy locally "Milwaukee" fresh beans.

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Eastsideloco
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#8: Post by Eastsideloco »

I use liquid planet containers, which work well and look okay on the counter (we're tight on cabinet space):

http://www.liquidplanet.com/estore/prod ... ductid=760

Check out the Air Scape Diagram to see how the two "lids" complement one another.

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homeburrero
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#9: Post by homeburrero »

I buy locally from an excellent roaster and also mail order to try different roasts. When I get the bag home I transfer the whole bag to 8 oz ball canning jars (same as mason jars) with a label (roast date and freeze date on a 3M sticky inside the jar.) All but one go in the freezer.

I like the 8oz container because it fits my use rate - even with two different coffees out on the counter I go through it before it gets stale. I always pull a new jar from the freezer well before opening so that it's room temp when opened.

I do one thing that's maybe silly when I first transfer the beans to the jar -- I purge it with my wine preserver. I happen to have that around and it works for wine, so what the heck. I don't worry if my roast is really fresh and still outgassing when I jar it up. Even for freshly roasted, when I take a jar out of the freezer and it's warming up I hear the ping sound of the lid popping back up, which tells me that when frozen it was under a slight vacuum (gasses contract when cooled.)

For me, that SCG bean vac can is too big, and I doubt its effectiveness. I'm pretty convinced about freezing though after reading tests and opinions, mostly on this forum.
Pat
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yakster
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#10: Post by yakster »

I typically store my home-roasted coffee in 8 oz and 4 oz canning jars. The 8 oz jar holds approximately 100 grams and fits perfectly in my coffee case which I take to work. I started using the 4 oz jars when I got my Brazen as they hold about 50 grams which is what I dose for a 900 ml batch in the Brazen, which means I don't need to weigh out beans when I make my morning pot. Lately, I've been roasting 227 grams (half-pound) in the Behmor and putting the coffee up in one 8 oz and two 4 oz jars.

I'll use the metal two-piece lid if I'm going to freeze a jar for extended storage, otherwise I use the plastic lids which are not airtight and allow the beans to outgas if I plan to use them up in a week or so. I like these jars because I can easily clean them by hand-washing or dishwasher.

-Chris

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