Being an intense coffee lover, I am always in search of sources that offer pure and rich coffee grounds. But the method to store them appropriately still left me clueless. As a result, a lot of my purchase was used to get devastated. Because I was unaware of the prudent ways required to store ground coffee properly, that’s why I decided to have thorough research to store my love of life for long term usage.
So, to save the sufferers like me, I planned to pen down my entire inquisition. So, if you are the one who is in the same boat, then congratulations for reaching the whole page. Because it’ll help you prevent your beloved ground coffee from rotting anymore.
Contents
Ground Coffee storage locations:
Storing coffee grounds is not a useless exercise. Because this way lets you satisfy your coffee craving even at midnight.
The most suitable location:
Since air, heat, moisture, and light are the biggest foes of coffee grounds. So, exempt all these from the focal point. Instead, go for cold, dry, and dark place. Therefore, take an airtight jar, fill it with coffee grounds and place it in a cabinet or pantry. Make sure that the cabinet you put the pot in is not nearby an oven.
Moreover, the particular cabinet should be far from any other heating source, for instance, cooking range. Above all, the direct sunlight must not be accessible to your pantry.
Besides, the kitchen countertop is also an ideal destiny if any source of heat is unreachable. But be cautious while selecting the jar for the countertop. Because, for this platform, airtightness is not the only requirement for the jar. But opaqueness is also a must-have feature as light may spoil your precious ground coffee and keep fresh for long term.
Storing Ground Coffee for Long Term in the freezer:
First of all, let’s clarify the fact that coffee beans are hygroscopic. As a result of this natural formulation, they are more prone to surrounding moisture and smell absorption.
Although we recommend, you consume coffee beans once they are ground quickly. But if you choose to store for a reason, a freezer is a suitable option. However, even if the container is airtight, it sometimes lets in a smaller quantity of oxygen. It is thereby resulting in freezer burns. So, we propose vacuum sealing before dumping grounds in the freezer.
Most importantly, if you follow a few precautionary steps, freezing coffee grounds become reliable for long term storing.
Therefore, your first step is the selection of a storage box. Make sure, and it’s 100% airtight. Furthermore, store as much as the jar can accommodate.
Secondly, you need to quickly remove stock of two weeks after taking out the jar from the freezer. This step requires maximum efficiency to prevent condensation on the frozen beans because the fridge behaves as a barrier against moisture unless the grounds are within the freezer.
However, you can also freeze coffee grounds in smaller bags—each vacuum-sealed and containing stock for a maximum of two weeks. So, take out one bag as per requirement, enjoy it till it ends, and go for the other, subsequently.
Most importantly, freezing coffee grounds doesn’t affect the necessary brewing process in one way or the other. Instead, you get to go with the perfectly delicious flavor with the same divine richness because stored grounds didn’t lose a pinch of freshness in the process.
Storing in the refrigerator is another way to store ground coffee:
As we stated earlier that coffee grounds hold zero alliance with moisture. That’s why the refrigerator is not their worth living place. Because moisture is the most prominent resident of the refrigerator.
So, why long-term storing in a refrigerator is not a proposed idea is stated below:
The porous design of the grounds plays an important in this regard. It absorbs the surrounding flavors of different fruits and veggies and results in obnoxious grounds ready to throw in the garbage.
Hence, why opt for an exercise that can turn your grounds into a useless piece of trash. Because they also deserve a bit of pampering to serve you for a longer span.
Vacuum seal- Best way to store ground coffee Long term:
This is indeed the best and most effective way to store coffee grounds for long-term use. Though additional equipment that is a vacuum sealer is required, it doesn’t burden your pocket. Because a vacuum sealer is an inexpensive device to buy and, above all, commonly available in the market. Once you buy a vacuum sealer, you also pay for a roll of food saver bags that accompany the package. And sometimes canisters too. Because a few companies offer cartridges along with bag rolls.
So, if you intend to store coffee grounds in the freezer after sealing, then storage bags are quite useful. Whereas for storing in the pantry, go for vacuum sealing in the canisters.
If you follow the precautions appropriately, and vacuum seals the coffee grounds before freezing. The frozen grounds can successfully retain their freshness for two years.
However, if put in the freezer without vacuum sealing, then freshness won’t be there after 6 months maximum.
Similarly, vacuum-sealed canisters of coffee grounds when putting in the pantry can serve you ultimate freshness till 6 months.
On the other hand, if you don’t choose to vacuum seal. But try to store coffee grounds in an airtight jar casually. Then the life span of the freshness is one-month maximum.
Bottom line:
While considering the whole scenario, we suggest you freeze coffee grounds after vacuum sealing and it is the best answer to question how to store ground coffee long term? Because it’s the way that genuinely thrills with long-term storing. If you don’t seal, the moisture of the freezer will penetrate the grounds and hence, crystallize them. As a result, your grounds will get furnished with a combination of awful smells from the surrounding eatables.
Whatsoever, buying coffee for only 2-3 weeks is an excellent idea. Because, if you neither vacuum seal nor freeze the grounds. This time duration is enough to keep it fresh within an airtight storage box
Moreover, regarding the material of your storage compartment, you again need to be very learned. So, ceramic and glass containers are the most suitable options because they are not reactive materials. Hence they don’t interfere with the original coffee flavor. And since coffee grounds don’t maintain freshness in light. Therefore a solid ceramic jar is a preferable option rather than a glass container.
It is wiser to purchase whole beans and ground coffee at home as per your taste and then store ground coffee with any one of the methods discussed above.