“Coffee could exist until the Earth is destroyed by a giant meteorite.” This is a funny joke when it comes to the shelve life of coffee. Because according to the USDA, coffee does not have an expiration date, only a best-before date. However, this does not mean that the shelve life of coffee is forever.
In fact, coffee has a certain shelve life – the time to produce cups of coffee with the most delicious and rich flavor. However, if you use coffee “beyond” its shelve life, the flavor will no longer be as good as the original. So how to extend coffee shelve life? Let’s learn the following 7 useful tips to ensure the freshness of coffee and enjoy great cups of coffee!
How long is Coffee’s Shelve Life?
Before learning how to extend coffee shelve life, we must understand its freshness time and whether it “expires.”
How long does coffee last?
In fact, coffee does not “expire” physically, but it will gradually spoil over time. This means that coffee will gradually lose its delicious flavor if you leave it for too long. Coffee does not have an expiration date, but it usually only has a “best by” or “best date”—this is when you should use coffee to ensure its flavor.
Factors affecting the freshness of coffee
So what will affect the freshness of coffee? Coffee is a “difficult girl” because you need to keep it away from the following factors if you do not want the coffee to spoil:
Oxygen: One of coffee’s main “enemies” is oxygen. If you let coffee come into contact with too much oxygen, it will lead to oxidation. The oxidation process will destroy the natural compounds and affect the flavor of the coffee.
Light: Similar to oxygen, sunlight also causes coffee to decompose the oil and acid layer, causing the coffee to lose its original flavor.
Humidity: Coffee also needs to be “stayed away” from places with high humidity, especially ground coffee. When coffee absorbs too much moisture, it will decompose chemically, causing mold and losing its delicious flavor.
Temperature: High temperature is also a factor that contributes to accelerating the decomposition process of coffee.
How to Extend Coffee shelve life? 8 Helpful Tips
Although coffee doesn’t expire and isn’t dangerous if left out too long, you should still use it within its shelve life. But coffee loses its freshness very quickly, so you’ll want to keep these 8 tips in mind if you want to extend the freshness of your coffee.
1. Use Fresh Coffee
The best advice is to use fresh coffee – that is, choose coffee with the best freshness. The first tip may sound a bit “funny” but it is actually the best.
The freshest and most delicious coffee beans are right after being roasted. Therefore, you should check the roasting date to make sure you choose fresh coffee. The closer the roasting date is, the better the coffee will taste and the longer it will last.
The tip is that you can choose local roasters to choose fresher coffee. Local roasters often roast in small quantities and ship faster, ensuring better freshness of the coffee.
2. Choose Coffee with Professional Packaging
You should also choose professionally packaged coffee because the packaging will also affect the freshness and shelve life of the coffee. Coffee packaged with a vacuum or one-way vent valve will retain its freshness better. These valves allow carbon dioxide (produced during the roasting process) to escape while preventing oxygen from entering, ensuring the flavor and deliciousness of the coffee.
You should not choose coffee packaged in an unsealed bag or a transparent bag because this will affect the quality.
3. Choose Whole Beans Over Grounds
Whole-bean coffee will stay fresh longer than ground coffee. When coffee is ground, the surface area exposed to oxygen in the air will be larger, making the coffee susceptible to oxidation and decomposition faster. Consequently, selecting whole-bean coffee is the third piece of advice on how to extend coffee shelve life.
Coffee will retain its best flavor when used immediately after grinding. Therefore, you should grind coffee when you need to use it. Grinding coffee right before brewing allows the natural oils and rich aroma of coffee to be retained. If you do not have a coffee grinder, this is a completely worthy investment.
4. Store Coffee Properly
Storing coffee properly is also an important factor to help you extend the shelve life of your coffee. As mentioned before, oxygen, humidity, sunlight, and temperature are factors that affect the freshness and shelve life of coffee. As a result, you should avoid those elements when storing coffee.
The advice is to store coffee in an airtight container to prevent oxygen, choose an opaque material such as ceramic or stainless steel to block light, and keep it in a dry place. Don’t forget to store coffee in a cool place to avoid high temperatures that accelerate the decomposition process.
5. Freeze Coffee for Long-Term Storage
The next tip on how to extend coffee shelve life is if you want to preserve coffee for a long time, put it in the freezer. Freezing coffee will help prolong its freshness, suitable for those who buy in large quantities or do not use coffee quickly. Coffee that is properly frozen can be preserved for up to 6 months.
However, you need to freeze coffee properly to avoid freezer burn or affect the flavor of the coffee. Here are some tips when freezing coffee:
- Divide coffee into small portions: You can divide coffee into small portions so that you can use it all after defrosting and avoid exposing the coffee to too much air.
- Vacuum: If possible, vacuum the coffee before freezing. Vacuuming will help completely remove the air in the packaging, limiting the oxidation of the coffee. If you cannot vacuum, you also need to use a sealed container.
- Do not refreeze: Coffee’s flavor and quality will be significantly impacted if it is refrozen after thawing.
- Defrost properly: You should leave frozen coffee in a sealed container at room temperature to defrost the coffee gradually. This will help reduce condensation and limit the coffee from being affected by humidity.
6. Keep It Away from the Fridge
You can freeze coffee for long-term storage, but you should never put coffee in the fridge. The freezer is a specialized type of refrigerator used for freezing, so it will completely remove moisture. Meanwhile, the refrigerator is a place with extremely high humidity. Humidity will spoil coffee faster.
When you open and close the refrigerator door, it will change the temperature suddenly, causing condensation and making the coffee more susceptible to moisture. Additionally, various food odors in the refrigerator might be absorbed by coffee. Surely you do not want to enjoy a cup of coffee that smells like pizza or onions, right?
7. Watch Expiration Dates
While coffee won’t spoil as quickly as other foods, it will still go bad over time. So keep track of the roasting date and expiration date. Coffee tastes best right after roasting, so you should use roasted coffee as soon as possible.
Whole bean coffee can stay fresh for about 3-4 weeks after roasting, while ground coffee can only stay fresh for about 2 weeks. If stored correctly, instant coffee can last for several months.
8. Don’t Buy Too Much Coffee
The final tip on how to extend coffee shelve life is to limit buying too much coffee. Coffee will gradually change its flavor when left for too long. So when you buy less coffee, you will be able to consume it faster, limiting the time it takes for the coffee to go stale.
Buying less coffee also allows you to try more types of coffee. Buying less coffee will help you have fresh coffee every day.
Wrap Up
In fact, coffee does not expire physically, but it still has a shelf life – the period of time during which the flavor is guaranteed to be delicious. Using coffee after the shelf life has passed will cause the coffee to lose its freshness and reduce its rich flavor.
Hopefully, our article has helped you know how to extend coffee shelve life. The 8 tips above will help you ensure the freshness and preserve the best flavor of your coffee.
