Front Street recently discovered that a small number of coffee fans have stored their coffee beans unopened for two months. They believe that as long as they are unopened, the coffee beans will not deteriorate. In fact, it will not affect the deterioration of the coffee, but it will affect the flavor of the coffee beans. In this article, Front Street will popularize some relevant knowledge on coffee bean storage.
Is the ground coffee fresh?
First of all, Front Street learned that many friends think that coffee beans are the same as other beans. Freshly ground means freshness, but in fact this is not the case. If you want to drink the aroma of coffee, you must not only freshly grind it, but also freshly roasted coffee beans, because freshly roasted coffee beans have the best aroma.
Therefore, Front Street, whether in-store or online, provides freshly baked products. Unless a customer requests to grind them into powder, Front Street will grind them. Because the aroma of coffee beans generally only lasts for one month, the best tasting period is also within one month. When ground into coffee powder, the contact area between coffee and air increases, which will cause the aroma to disappear faster.
Are freshly roasted coffee beans the freshest?
Therefore, the reason why Front Street emphasizes fresh roasting is because roasted coffee beans will lose their aroma over time. After 50 days of roasting, there is basically no aroma. Some friends may ask whether freshly roasted coffee has the best flavor. This is not true because the aroma of the coffee beans is not very stable two days before they are roasted, and you cannot taste its "real flavor" yet.
Everybody knowsThe corresponding roasting date will be printed on each bag of coffee.If you get freshly roasted coffee beans,Front Street will usually remind you,You can leave the beans to grow for 3-4 days before brewing, and then use theRoasting time is used to calculate the best flavor of coffee beans and consume them as soon as possible.
What is the general shelf life of coffee beans?
As mentioned above, the delicious taste of coffee comes from its aroma, taste and flavor. After the coffee beans are roasted, carbon dioxide is produced, causing the coffee beans to expand and become brittle, and the gaps between the particles become larger. The aroma will easily evaporate into the air, and the oil in the beans will also oxidize, resulting in off-flavors.
Therefore, Front Street recommends that single-origin coffee beans should be tasted within one and a half months. This is also the conclusion reached by Front Street through practice. The best tasting period is also within one and a half months. Although the coffee beans still have a certain aroma after one and a half months, they are no longer as good as they were in the first month. And according to experience in the coffee roasting industry, the general shelf life of coffee beans is two to three months. The specific time will be affected by many factors: green bean quality, roasting degree, storage environment, storage methods, etc.
Will the shelf life of unopened coffee beans be extended?
The flavor of unopened coffee beans will also be lost because there is air circulation in the package, and vacuum packaging cannot achieve 100% vacuum. Even if it is placed in the refrigerator, the coffee beans will be affected by moisture condensation, so the tasting period of the coffee is indeed limited. Even if it is unopened, Front Street recommends that you drink it within one and a half months.
Of course, what Front Street refers to is the best tasting period of single-origin coffee beans. As for the shelf life of coffee beans, the shelf life of coffee products stipulated in China's relevant food laws is one year, which means that coffee will not deteriorate due to loss of aroma. Therefore, if you only use coffee as a refreshing beverage, you can drink it within one year.
Coffee powder shelf life
Another point I have to emphasize is that when grinding coffee beans into powder, it is best to extract them immediately, because after the coffee beans are ground into powder, they are very fine particles, and the contact area with the air is also multiplied. The flavor is lost very quickly, and even in humid environments, it will absorb moisture in the air, causing miscellaneous odors.
How to properly store coffee beans?
So how can you store opened coffee beans correctly? After all, the flavor of opened coffee beans will be affected if they are not placed properly. So Front Street will share some tips on storing coffee beans.
1.【One-way breathable valve】
As mentioned above, coffee beans contain compressed carbon dioxide gas after they are roasted. The gas will gradually escape from the inside of the beans, causing the beans to expand.
Therefore, Front Street has a one-way ventilation valve on each coffee bean bag. The gas inside can go out through the one-way ventilation valve, but the outside cannot come in. Take out all the beans each time, pinch the self-sealing mouth of the bag tightly, and squeeze out the gas inside the bag. Because carbon dioxide is denser than air, it will sink below. This squeeze can reduce the internal oxygen content a lot, which is beneficial to the storage of coffee beans.
2.【Sealed can】
Sealed jars can isolate outside air, but most of them are made of transparent materials, so they are still easily affected by light. Every time you open and close, air will enter, and the oxygen in it will still react with the beans inside. Therefore, Front Street recommends that if you use a sealed jar, do not store too many coffee beans at a time.
3.【Vacuum tank】
Vacuum tanks can isolate external air, but most of them are made of transparent materials, so they are still easily affected by light. Every time they are opened and closed, air will enter and then be pumped out to discharge the air inside, turning it into a low-oxygen state. At the same time, it also forms a low-pressure state. The pressure inside the beans remains unchanged, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside increases, approaching one atmospheric pressure. This will accelerate the loss of small molecules and volatile aroma substances inside the beans.
Therefore, Front Street still recommends that fresh coffee be stored directly in the one-way breathable valve bag that the coffee beans were received in, at room temperature, sealed, and away from sunlight. Of course, the best way is to buy the amount of coffee you need each time and drink it while the beans are still fresh.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
