How do you store coffee greens?

#1: Post by **Sal** » September 25th, 2023, 1:11 pm

For those who purchase coffee greens in bulk, how do you store them, and for how long? I used to buy just enough greens in small bags such that storage was not an issue. With small "sampler" bags, I always roasted the entire bag within a few months after purchase. But small bags of greens are hard to come by and not very cost-effective. More recently, I started buying in bulk, especially after I started roasting coffee for family/friends and colleagues. Sometimes I get a bit carried away and buy too much greens that I can't consume within a reasonable time frame.

I currently have 163 pounds of greens in stock. The oldest one is from 2017, but this one is an experimental "Aged Sumatra Danao Toba 2011 Vintage" I purchased in 2017 from Sweet Maria's which was already 6 years aged. I am keeping the last few pounds of these greens to see how long I can keep "aging" it with or without a change in flavor in a cup. For another experiment, I started "Home Aging" coffee greens as described in this thread: Home Aged Coffee?

I noticed coffee greens come in different packaging depending on where you buy from. Most often they are in resealable plastic bags of sorts. But some places, noticeably Burman and Sweet Maria's, punch the bags to place venting holes intentionally, so they are not air-tight. Some come in valved bags as if they are roasted coffees, and others send them in craft paper bags, cloth bags, or jute bags. I started repackaging them into smaller portions (a half pound to 2 pounds per bag) in appropriate sized Ecotact Multilayered Hermetic Sampler Bags and keep them in an airtight food-grade vault in a cellar. Ideally, I wish I could keep them in a freezer until I need to open it, but just don't have that much space in the freezer.

For storage up to ~6mo without any repackaging, I have not noticed any change in the coffee quality, but I never did systematic experiments to compare greens stored in different conditions and lengths. Recently, in a discussion of rehydrating coffee greens, the use of a moisture meter was suggested. Thinking of trying the rehydrating greens myself, I ordered a moisture meter recently. So the latest batches of re-packaged greens are recorded with the moisture content data. They range from anywhere from 10% to 12% as measured by an AgraTronix moisture meter. I also set up the aging experiments on the same greens to compare the greens stored in "cloth" bags and exposed to ambient moisture in the cellar (usually around 70% relative humidity) and greens in a heat-sealed Ecotact bag stored in a vault. No data yet, but will be an interesting experiment. But it takes at least a year or longer to see any meaningful result.

#2: Post by **JohnB.** » September 25th, 2023, 1:18 pm

I vacuum seal and freeze all my greens. Longest they've been in the freezer before roasting is 10-11 years. The greens still smelled like the day I received them when I opened the bags.

September 25th, 2023, 1:30 pm

I understand that is what commercial roasters like Passenger are doing to their stocks to preserve the quality of the greens for a longer period. They do a daily "freezer run" and Freezer Friday archival release.

Yeah, that seems to be an ideal storage method, but I just don't have space for 163 lbs of coffee in our freezer. 10 years is a long time. That is impressive. But, I am afraid keeping the inventory record becomes so much work.

#4: Post by **JohnB.** » September 25th, 2023, 1:47 pm

Might be time to whittle down the inventory unless you go through a lot of coffee.

September 25th, 2023, 2:28 pm

Yep, I should Unsubscribe from the email list for Sweet Maria's, Burman, CBC, Royal Coffee, Genuine Origin, Hacea, etc., etc...

At least currently ~40 lbs of greens are now tied to the home aging experiments. I will go through the rest (~120lb) in a year, that is if I don't purchase any more greens for the next 365 days. LOL

September 25th, 2023, 2:31 pm

JohnB. wrote:I vacuum seal and freeze all my greens. Longest they've been in the freezer before roasting is 10-11 years. The greens still smelled like the day I received them when I opened the bags.

Yep, me too for anyhting that's to be stored longer than six months. It's pretty much the SOP for home roasters. Amo g the pros, George Howell also freezes exceptional greens, like Passenger. No idea how may othes do so.

September 25th, 2023, 7:36 pm

And if you want to be uber over-the-top, use mylar vacuum bags too.

https://vacuumsealersunlimited.com/prod ... r-cabelas/

#8: Post by **TomC** » September 25th, 2023, 9:30 pm

That's what George does with his Mamuto AA. And likely many others.

September 25th, 2023, 9:32 pm

another_jim wrote:Yep, me too for anyhting that's to be stored longer than six months. It's pretty much the SOP for home roasters. Amo g the pros, George Howell also freezes exceptional greens, like Passenger. No idea how may othes do so.

Yep I only get greens I can get through in 6 months. I am recycling the higher end bags like Ecotat for storage as well. I put those bags in my food safe containers with twist off lids which keep the lights out.

#10: Post by **Milligan** » September 26th, 2023, 8:52 am

You could get a cheap chest/deep freezer. I've found significant degradation in less than a year if not frozen even in HVAC controlled environment in a plastic bag.