Coffee storage?

ArcticFox

Where do you keep your beans?

Fridge, freezer, airtight box, under the matress?
Should you treat whole beans the same as ground?

I keep mine in an airtight box in the fridge, but I have no idea if this is the best storage method.

Advice appreciated

Thanks

Gran Hermano

I place the opened bag in an airtight jar in the cupboard. A bag is rarely open for more than half a week.
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/3814/1-Litre-Preserving-Jars are the jars I've used for years now.

Whilst I'll occasionally freeze an unopened bag of beans, I would never refreeze or refrigerate a bag especially if open as you're asking for trouble with condensation.

mandarin

Pretty much the same as Gran Hermano (1 question - why keep the beans in a bag in the container? Why not just dump the beans into the container and bin the bag?)
Jars are very cheap at Ikea - http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/40065867.
Coffee should never be kept in the fridge, even though this is recommended on the back of many coffee packets.

ArcticFox

Wow...that's interesting. I will grab an airtight jar and keep (both beans and ground) in the press from now on.

Thanks

Gran Hermano

mandarin wrote: »

Pretty much the same as Gran Hermano (1 question - why keep the beans in a bag in the container? Why not just dump the beans into the container and bin the bag?)
Jars are very cheap at Ikea - http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/40065867.
Coffee should never be kept in the fridge, even though this is recommended on the back of many coffee packets.

Mandarin, its recommended to keep them in the dark and out of sunlight.

mandarin

Yeah, I know about the sunlight but thought yours were already protected by being in the cupboard:)

Gran Hermano

Sticking the open bag in a jar also means I know which beans are in which jar.

naasrd

I've just started to keep some in my Gaggia grinder, they're never there more than a few hours, maybe over night at the longest. Not noticing any real difference yet. As I'm new to all this I'm the experimentging stage of things. Just switched machines the other day and went through a bag of beans yesterday trying to get the grind, dose and tamp right. An interesting thing I noticed was the difference in pucks; the shots that came out bitter (too coarse?) left pucks dark and oily where as the good shots left pucks that were matt and slightly lighter.

Mr Magnolia

naasrd wrote: »

I've just started to keep some in my Gaggia grinder, they're never there more than a few hours, maybe over night at the longest. Not noticing any real difference yet. As I'm new to all this I'm the experimentging stage of things. Just switched machines the other day and went through a bag of beans yesterday trying to get the grind, dose and tamp right. An interesting thing I noticed was the difference in pucks; the shots that came out bitter (too coarse?) left pucks dark and oily where as the good shots left pucks that were matt and slightly lighter.

Are you sure you're dosing a consistent volume? Would be worth weighing until you're used to what you're dosing.

naasrd

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Are you sure you're dosing a consistent volume? Would be worth weighing until you're used to what you're dosing.

I forgot to try that. I was figuring that I was grinding too fine and then tamping too hard. Weight wise, would say a table spoon of fine ground equal the same measure of a coarser grind in terms of dose?

Mr Magnolia

You need to keep as many variables as consistent as possible. Pick a weight, say 17gms and stick to it, pick a tamp pressure and try and keep it consistent and plumb. Make sure you run the extraction for a consistent length of time between 25 and 30 seconds. Then make sure you're ectracting the same volume of espresso each time, about 2oz. If you do all the above the only other main variable is your grind.

17grams, 25 seconds and 2oz of coffee. If it pours too quickly; grind finer. Too slow; grind coarser.