Hi all,

I'm a long time lurker, first time poster to HB.

shadowfax wrote:it would be interesting to store beans in a container that had a valve that could be vacuumed with a wine bottle pump. I wonder how coffee would act if you put them under extremely low pressure like that... could it accelerate out-gassing?

Some of us in the UK have been storing our fresh-roasted coffee in vacuum packaging for a while now. We use the Vacu-Seal system which stores the coffee in a vacuum packed bag. Our results are very positive (see these articles and their linked-to articles: http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/vacuum-packing-coffee and http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/vac...coffee-conclusions).

I'm not sure of the difference that might occur between a soft vacuum packed bag (such as we use), where pressure is still placed on the outside of the bean via the bag caused by outside air pressure, and a solid container that is vacuum sealed. However, my coffee has never tasted better. I am no longer in a rush to drink the coffee within the 3 to 7 day period that I did before storing the beans this way (I used to use airtight jars with one-way valves added to the lids).

Freshness seems to be maintained much longer, certainly for the period before the vacuum bag is opened for the first time, and also a little longer after this point. Crema production is still great. I personally do not think that vacuum storing has any negative effect on the coffee or the out-gassing process. Quite the contrary...

All the best,

Martin

Yes, this is what I had in mind. Thanks for the links. I bought the Reynold's brand Handi-Vac that has the seal one can use with the wine-cork pump, but it is essentially the same. When things sound easy, I always get a little nervous . Am I missing anything here?

shadowfax wrote:it would be interesting to store beans in a container that had a valve that could be vacuumed with a wine bottle pump. I wonder how coffee would act if you put them under extremely low pressure like that... could it accelerate out-gassing?

Wasn't there a product on one of the geek websites (techie geek, not coffee geek) that ran on batteries and ostensibly reestablished the vacuum seal after each use? This might lessen oxidation if the vacuum were really effective, but it seems to me that repeatedly exposing the beans to a vacuum and then to normal air pressure would, likely, have the effect you postulate. Perhaps what you need is a nitrogen (or other inert gas) pressurized canister that re-pressurizes the beans after each use...