Bossman wrote:Its very very obvious which items I vacuum pack and which items I don't in my freezers. Not talking just about coffee but meat, veggies, etc. If you put a steak in the freezer in just a ziploc bag in just a few weeks it will become covered in frost and within a couple of months it will start to freezer burn.

That's a false analogy. Meat and vegetables are different than coffee in a number of ways, in particular the water content. Freezer burn is a dehydration process. Roasted coffee is already of a very low moisture content.

I have experimented with bread that was vacuum sealed versus stored in freezer bags. The difference was very minor and mostly a function of how much the freezer bag expanded in the freezer. We keep bread in the freezer for 3-6 months and it seems a freezer bag is good enough for that. For a year or more I'd probably want to vacuum seal it.

With coffee I always wrap it with rubber bands to keep the ziplocks from "inhaling" too much. I'm sure there is still some amount of oxygen exchange but I suspect it's small enough to be of little consequence.

But like I said, it's me that I'm trying to convince mainly.

And our freezer is opened daily, sometimes multiple times. I open it at least once every morning to get some coffee.

jpender wrote:That's a false analogy. Meat and vegetables are different than coffee in a number of ways, in particular the water content. Freezer burn is a dehydration process. Roasted coffee is already of a very low moisture content.

The bottom line is air is the enemy of keeping coffee fresh, whether its at room temp or in the freezer. Removing the air IS going to keep it fresher, period. This is not an opinion, its a scientific proven fact. It may be true that you don't notice a difference, but there is going to be a difference. If you don't want to vacuum seal I would highly suggest trying canning jars.

There is no argument that oxygen is involved in the deterioration of roasted coffee. The rate of deterioration is also a function of temperature, water activity, and light. The question is a matter of degree. A closed canning jar contains oxygen, possibly more than in a tightly wrapped ziplock bag. Even my sealed vacuum bags contain oxygen.

It seems like a simple enough thing to test. Same beans, same freezer, same time, blind tastings. Just slightly different packaging.

If you're concerned about oxygen, you can put a anti-oxidant packet in the package. It is just a little envelope full of finely powdered iron. It rapidly absorbs oxygen from a closed container, leaving essentially a nitrogen atmosphere. Prepper type places sell them for food preservation (and ammo too).

An oxygen absorber is an interesting idea. But it might be solving a problem that doesn't exist.