I was gifted several bags of great coffee beans, which I won't be able to use all at once. If I store them in the freezer, how long will they last without losing flavor?
I know some have noted that they can last months in the freezer, but I seem to notice a difference in taste after just a few weeks.
They will technically last a long time in the freezer - up to many months - but this is not the best way to store them as they lose flavor quickly (as little as 5-6 uses). Even though the beans will last, storing them in the freezer is not ideal. It affects flavor for a number of reasons. (See below)
If you haven't opened the bag, store the bag in the cupboard, away from sunlight, heat, and excess humidity.
The best way to store coffee beans after being opened is in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature (unless you have a resealable bag with a degassing valve designed for storing coffee). After being opened, the beans are considered fresh for 2-3 weeks, although if you are strict about the storage you may be able to get up to 5 out of them. (When I say fresh, I mean with minimal flavor change/loss)
Why the freezer is bad:
Freezing beans severely lowers the humidity in the bag or container. This causes the beans to become stale very quickly. In effect, you are slowly freeze drying them. Also using cold beans in a grinder can mess with grind due to the oil on the beans being in a more solid state, which in turn affects the brewing.
If you do decide to store them in the freezer, put them in an airtight container and when you go to use the beans let the container warm up to room temperature before opening. This way you do not mess with the overall humidity content of the container too much. Especially let them warm up to room temperature before grinding.
Sources:
I am a Barista in a cafe and a lover of coffee at home. I have tried both methods of coffee storage and have dealt with many customers who have tried both.
In my store we follow these regulations:
Obviously, the sooner you use everything the better, but we follow those guidelines.
According to Home Barista, freezing coffee is pretty controversial.
He has, however, performed blind tasting experiments and concludes (emphasis added):
Two months is safe: Freshly roasted coffee that is immediately frozen after roasting in a near airtight container in a very cold freezer, can be kept undisturbed in the freezer for at least 2 months and be expected to produce espressos that are not obviously inferior to those made from fresh coffee that has never been frozen.
The article is fascinating; I recommend looking through it, even if you don't read every detail of his experimental methodology.
In the air tight containers with the degassing valve in the freezer should last till you consume them. The degassing valve was designed by Fresco to keep freshly roasted coffee for up to Six Months and gave rise to StarBucks putting branches everywhere.
Barista Champions and international competitors run a very different game than the rest of us. Some don't even check-in the coffee in luggage when flying due to the colder temperatures in the luggage compartment. They also like to let the coffee breath for a couple of days after roasting to peak flavour.
For the rest of us mere mortals, unless you have a serious espresso machine and calibrate your machine and grinder hourly, you won't notice too much degradation and can enjoy it till the end. This is because your extraction won't be optimal anyway.
Even after a whole year the freezer, good coffee that were frozen fresh will taste good to most coffee enthusiast. Left outside, however, you will notice it much more.
Make sure you pull the bag out of the freezer and put in the hopper (grinder hopper) a couple of days before grinding.
In the end, you'll notice that there are more forces at play here and as a home barista you can't control them all. So just focus on enjoying the coffee.
Don't ever freeze beans. Quality will be compromised and flavours destroyed upon freezing. Better idea is to put freshly ground coffee into pre sized packages. Use as needed.
