Coffee isn't a food essential, but if a major tragedy struck, I wouldn't want to be without it (and my family wouldn't want to cope with me going through coffee withdrawal!).
So I've made a point of keeping a huge supply of coffee on hand. Fortunately, long-term coffee storage is simple.
Here's what you need to know about storing coffee for more than 25 years.
Does Coffee Go Bad?
Contrary to popular belief, coffee can spoil. Coffee, like other beans, has natural oils. When these oils are exposed to air, they begin to oxidize and eventually become rancid. Even if the coffee is stored away from oxygen, the substances released during the roasting process might cause the coffee beans to go rancid.
Fortunately, coffee beans normally take a long time to go rancid. This is why many individuals, including coffee manufacturers, believe that using outdated coffee is safe. However, long before the coffee gets rotten, it will lose its flavor and aroma as a result of "gassing off." This stale coffee is still safe to drink, but it isn't nearly as pleasurable.
Coffee Shelf Life
Before we get into storage conditions, it's crucial to realize that certain types of coffee inherently last longer than others.
Coffee Beans, Ground
Unopened and in the pantry: 5 months past the best-by date. 3-5 months after the best-by date
Grinding coffee beans increases their surface area. This means that more of the coffee will be exposed to air, causing it to gas and oxidize more quickly. The coffee should be safe to consume for several years after its "best by" date, although it may have lost a lot of flavor by then.
Whole-Roasted Coffee Beans
Unopened, in pantry, 12-24 months past best-by date6-12 months past best-by date in the Pantry
Whole coffee beans have a far longer shelf life than ground coffee. However, because the roasting process involves heat, it induces a chemical reaction that causes the natural oils to degrade. Roasted whole beans, like ground coffee, will ultimately go bad.
Unopened and in the pantry: 10+ years past the best-by date. 1-10 years or more past the best-by date, opened in Pantry
Freeze drying or spray drying is used to produce instant coffee. The technique removes all moisture from the coffee, resulting in a product that is extremely shelf-stable. Without any particular storage, unopened instant coffee can survive for years or decades. When you open instant coffee, it can last for years, but there is a major risk.
When instant coffee is opened, it begins to collect moisture from the air. In humid climates (such as Florida), coffee can become quite moist and go bad rapidly. If you wish to retain instant coffee for an extended period of time, either keep it in its original packaging or repackage it in an airtight container. Ideally, you should package it on a day with minimal humidity.
5+ years past its best-by date, unopened, in the pantry. Opened in the Pantry: 12+ months past best-by date
Because green coffee beans have not been roasted, their natural oils remain more stable. As a result, green coffee beans have a lengthy shelf life and are ideal for long-term storage.
You should store them the same way you would other dry beans: in a food storage container, preferably without oxygen, and away from heat and light.
How to Store Coffee for a Long Time
If you wish to store coffee for an extended period of time, you must protect it from oxygen, light, moisture, and heat. Here are some of the best ways to store coffee so that it will last for years, if not decades.
Use a freezer.
Coffee has very little moisture. As a result, you won't have to worry about it becoming freezer burned. It will stay in the freezer for years.
However, there is one potential disadvantage to freezing coffee: it might absorb odors from other products. If you store your coffee next to leftover steaks, for example, the coffee may develop a strange odor.
To avoid this, store coffee in sealed, non-permeable bags that will not allow gases to pass through. Some coffee already arrives in these bags (metal-looking bags) and can be frozen right away. Allow the coffee beans to come to room temperature after removing them from the freezer.Otherwise, they will absorb dampness and begin to deteriorate.
Airtight Containers
After opening a bag of coffee, store it in airtight containers. Because there will still be oxygen in the container, this is not the best solution for coffee. It will, however, help to slow down the oxidation and gassing-off processes. If you have a sufficient quantity of coffee beans, you could even store them in buckets with colored lids.
Vacuum Sealing
Vacuum-sealed packaging is used for high-quality coffee. This packaging helps to prevent oxidation. You can also vacuum seal bulk coffee beans or open containers of coffee to keep them fresher for longer.
It is important to note that coffee beans and grounds include air. Only the air around the coffee will be removed by vacuum sealing. Home vacuum sealer bags are also semi-porous, allowing coffee odors to escape over time. While this method is preferable to storing coffee in opened packages, the coffee will still grow stale after a few years.
Nitrogen-Flushed Coffee
Nitrogen flushing is a technique used to remove oxygen from coffee packing. This procedure is used by high-quality coffee brands. It is done shortly after roasting the coffee to ensure that it is stored at its freshest.
Because coffee beans "gas off" after roasting (air from within the beans flows outwards), nitrogen-flushed bags would explode if left for an extended period of time. Manufacturers will install a one-way valve on the bags to allow the gases to escape. Vacuum-sealed coffee, on the other hand, is typically packaged after the beans have had a chance to gas off; no valve is necessary, but the beans aren't as fresh when packaged.
Simply choosing nitrogen-flushed coffee (look for the one-way valve on the bag) will provide you with a fresher, longer-lasting product.
Oxygen Absorbers
Iron packets serve as oxygen absorbers. The iron binds to the oxygen molecules. When you place oxygen absorber packets in an airtight container with coffee, the packets absorb almost all of the oxygen and keep the coffee fresh. More information about oxygen absorbers for food preservation can be found here.
Mylar Bags with Oxygen Absorbers
Coffee is best stored in sealed Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers for lengthy periods of time. Mylar is a metallic-looking material that is gas-resistant. When an oxygen absorber is placed in a bag and sealed, the coffee is shielded from oxygen, humidity, and light. Instant coffee can be stored in this manner for more than 25 years.
If you wish to store coffee beans in Mylar, there is one key requirement: they must be unroasted green coffee beans. This is because the roasting process causes the natural oils in the coffee to break down. Green coffee beans, on the other hand, do not decay and can be stored in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers for up to 20 years.