Keeping Your Coffee Fresh - The Freezer Myth

In a previous post I had written "...and the freezer method of keeping coffee fresh is little more than a mythical hope."  This is a bold statement since it offends the sensibilities of my beloved grandmother and most everyone else that I know.  However, it is true so please allow me to explain.

Stepping through the process of our coffee...

Coffee begins to stale the moment that it is roasted and comes into contact with the air.  This is why whole beans stay fresher longer than the pre-ground stuff - less area of the bean comes into contact with the air.  Big coffee producers know this and spend oodles of money to make sure that their roasted beans are packaged as soon as possible after roasting.  Since coffee "de-gasses" for a while after roast the beans are packaged in special bags that have one-way valves that allow the gas out from the inside and not allow the air in from the outside.

So now we have our favorite 12-ounce package of premium roasted coffee that we picked up in the store for $10 (that is $13.33 a pound) we bring it home and throw it into the freezer to keep it fresh.  Then over the next few weeks we remove the package everyday to scoop out a couple of table-spoons into our pot and then wrap the bag back up and put it back into the freezer to keep our coffee fresh.

Here's where the science becomes mythical.  

Every time that the package is opened to get some of the coffee out we are at the same time allowing the moist air in.  Then we wrap it up and put it back in the freezer.  So while the freezer is busy keeping our coffee fresh the moist air has been invited into our bag every day that it is opened and the exposed coffee begins oxidizing again.  It is a Catch-22.  How in the world are we expected to get our coffee out of the bag without opening it and exposing it to the air?  Unless we are Houdini we can't.

The myth is further propagated because we assume that the coffee that we buy at the store is fresh to begin with - but if you know anything about 'stock rotation' then you know that the freshest stuff is not in the front of the line on the grocery shelf.  In my estimation, coffee begins to go off after just 14 days.  Not Cinderella off but more like how spices on the spice rack lose that certain something over time.

My solution to the staling problem is two-fold.  

First, I only roast as much coffee as I (or an enthusiast) will consume in a 14-day period of time.  This causes some people to not become one of my enthusiasts but I am protective of having people drink the coffee that I roast.  I would rather not sell than sell something that will sit on a shelf (or in a freezer) for weeks and than have the the enthusiast notice that Anchor Bay Roasts is "not really all that special".

And second, I bag each pot of coffee individually by weight.  This means that you only ever open a bag of coffee that you are going to use in that sitting and all the rest of the coffee is free from exposure to the air thus keeping it fresh.  The freezer is not necessary because it is in its stored in its own bag enveloped by it own natural gasses and it will be consumed sooner rather than later.  This packing process is more expensive in supplies and labor but it really is the better solution.

Some will disagree...

Yes, there are some people who will disagree with me and that is OK.  I admit that I am a bit of a snob where coffee is concerned and a little zealous in the pursuit of fresh coffee.  I like Single Malts while others are happy with Canadian Club, I like Dom. Romane Conti 1997 and others like Mad Dog, and I like a Rare to Medium-Rare Fillet Mignon while others like Well-Done Hot Dogs...

Yes, good taste really is in the taste-buds of the consumer.