fridge/freezing your coffee?

admin

Hey guys - interested to know if anyone has the final word on this much-discussed topic??

Just so you know, I did a bit of research on the whole freezing thing a couple of years ago, to try to get to the bottom of things... according to a PhD in a highly respected agricultural university in NZ, what freezing can do is cause small water bubbles to join up and when thawed, form slightly larger water bubbles - so slightly bigger, but fewer water bubbles [total amount of water is the same].

I checked with Ian Bersten [Australia's foremost coffee authority], and he referred me to a site which published research from Montpellier University in France [admittedly from 15 years ago] which had done a research paper said that freezing coffee had absolutely no effect.

So bottom line, there's a lot of old wives tales, but I'd be very interested if anyone actually knows - ie on a scientific basis?

As for the fridge, personally I don't find it a problem, as long as the container is airtight, and it gets pretty humid here in Sydney, but again, I've got no actual proof - guess the jury's still out - your thoughts most welcome!

-A

nzroaster

My theory has always been, or bean: If you buy coffee fresh, and only enough for a week, why is there a need to keep it "fresh". The natural aging process is your friend if you time it right. I buy (take home) coffee 4 days old and drink it over a week. It is kept in the bag it comes in, in the pantry, in humid, hot Qld. I've never had it taste stale this way. Its all a marketing ploy to get consumers to buy stale coffee!!!! Buy local, drink fresh!

One-a-day

I get mine fresh and keep it in the bag in the cupboard and grind as needed never tried the fridge, but I guess it's like any food stuff the cold prolongs/preserves freshness and slows decompisition. Maybe some one could ask Dr Karl for a bit of analysis on the freezing thawing properties of coffee?

DoubleRistretto

NZ - am not sure everyone has the benefit of buying beans from his own professional roastery!! dR :-/

nzroaster

NZ - am not sure everyone has the benefit of buying beans from his own professional roastery!! dR :-/

Pity, its great. But seriously, I think there are enough roasters scattered around the country that people would be able to buy coffee within a week of roasting therefore eliminating the need to "preserve" coffee.

Lovey

At my previous addres, I used to buy a big bag of coffee (1kg) and portion it up into airtight plastic jars and freeze them. We had very high temps, but very low humidity, but neither is really good for the coffee (except when roasting of course  ;D). I wasn' able to get to the roaster regularly, as it was a 720km round trip  , so the freezer became by coffee's best friend. When I wanted to use some coffee, I would leave the jar (sealed) in the pantry to defrost over a day. This kept the condensation out of the beans. I never found a difference in the taste between the frozen and the fresh. I will concede that my palate wasn't as developed as it is now though. This whole routine 'helped' me to start down the home roasting path, and the rest is history.

askthecoffeeguy

I've been storing my wife's decaf beans in an airtight container in the freezer, then leaving a few in the grinder hopper overnight, before grinding the next morning, and I haven't noticed any discernible change in the quality. Besides, even if the quality did drop off a bit, it is only decaf we're talking about here, after all... so it's a win-win situation! Pat

admin

Yes NZ, am sure most of us are aware of the 'buy little and buy often' ideal, but as dR has pointed out, there are not many of us who have access to a commercial roastery any day of the week, so really, your answer is a bit of a cop out. Given that most people get to buy their beans [on average] once every two weeks, what is the ideal way of storing, ie for those who can't pick up freshly roasted beans every four or five days? -A

askthecoffeeguy

I would have to say that storing your beans in an airtight container, in the freezer, and then only taking out what you can reasonably use in a day or two at the most, and allowing those beans to  come up to temperature, before grinding them, is probably the next best option to purchasing fresh. For anyone who lives in a metropolis area, there is most likely somewhere nearby that roasts on a regular basis, which means that purchasing fresh shouldn't be a problem for a lot of people. Also, in the age of the digital revolution, a fresh coffee purchase is only ever a click and a postage stamp away Or, for the more adventurous of you out there, you can set up your own 'corretto' coffee roasting facility at home, for as little as a $20 investment - and there are web resources dedicated to this exact subject! Be prepared for a few dud batches, though, before you hit upon something that you actually enjoy drinking! Cheers, Pat

raste3

Hey hey, If you can get your hands on a copy of roast magazine issue July/August 07, it has a very good artival on this subject. very well put together and looks at all types of coffee in pantry, fridge and freezer. They test in air tight containers, foil bags, paper bags etc and taste test. note it is an US mag so I don't know how you all feel about their taste! but a good read none the same. Rob

nzroaster

Yes NZ, am sure most of us are aware of the 'buy little and buy often' ideal, but as dR has pointed out, there are not many of us who have access to a commercial roastery any day of the week, so really, your answer is a bit of a cop out.

With fresh coffee just a click away these days, I think freezing it is a cop out!!!

admin

Well guys - I was away for 5 days and did what I've never got round to doing before - left some beans out [in an airtight container] and left some others, from the same batch, in an airtight container in the freezer. Result: the ones left out, which were already about a week old, smelt stale and awful, while the ones I rescued out of the freezer smelt great, and delivered some beautiful shots. I realise this is not a university-level research study, but case closed, as far as I'm concerned! -A

takeaim

I realise this is not a university-level research study, but case closed, as far as I'm concerned! -A

There can be many other variables: How old were the beans to start with? Were the beans that were left out stored near any heat sources, a heater, toaster etc? How did the frozen beans rate hours after thawing or the next day? At work (The Maling Room) we have a wine fridge to control the temperature of our roasted beans - they're not being cooled, just kept at a consistent temperature. Not so much of an issue at the moment but over summer it makes a huge difference.

askthecoffeeguy

my experience with freezing beans is that they're good for the first pour or so, as soon as the come up to temperature, but that ones the beans have been out of the freezer for awhile, the moisture tends to evaporate off, and with it the good oils from the bean tend to dissipate as well.  So my advice for what its worth would be that if for whatever reasons it proved necessary to freeze the beans, then to portion control them into to small amounts equivalent to daily usage or so, and then to use them on that basis But given the plethora of options available for ordering fresh beans, and given that there is plenty of information out there on how to set up your own home roasting equipment for around the $20 mark - there ought really to be no excuses for drinking a substandard product, which is a bit of an elitist approach, I know, but once you've tasted the good oil, so to speak, it's very hard to drink anything else Making time to roast your own is a different story, however, and I do admit to falling behind schedule from time to time I've taken to buying fresh from some local roasters, but was surprised recently to buy some beans from a roaster direct, which had a (presumably) two years post-roast use by date on them, and if this was actually the case (as it tended to taste in the cup) then the so-called fresh beans were already 8 months old when I bought them! Oh well... back to the drawing board... all the more reason to be roasting my own! Cheers, ACG

admin

Hi Andreas - they were 5 days old to begin with - then I seperated them and put [both in airtight containers] in separate places - ie one in the freezer, and the other on the bench, away from direct sunlight, etc What I need to say is that I'm not claiming this was a high-level research study - just an answer to all those who say that freezing is absolutely terrible, but when you ask them how they know this, it seems to be some grandmother's tale from back in Naples in 1933 [ie before freezers were even invented!] -A :o