Needless to say, we’re all pretty obsessed with coffee around here at Good Citizen. We always want coffee to taste its best, so that begs the question - What is the best way to preserve coffee?
No matter how you preserve your coffee, all methods have one thing in common: slowing the rate of oxygen expose. So how can you keep your coffee fresh? Join us as we chat with our National Sales Manager, Chelsea Kallman to discuss the 3 F's of how to store coffee and get the most out of your roast.
Freezing
Fresh coffee is still degassing and gives off a lot of carbon dioxide days after roasting. This means those coffee beans haven't had a chance to take in much of the oxygen around them.
Freezing suspends the coffee where it's at during this stage of the coffee's lifecycle. As long as it's the coffee is stored in a dry container, storing coffee in the freezer can help it stay fresh for months and months. Air tight containers also do a great job of locking in flavor.
Flushing
Another way we look to preserve coffee is through nitrogen flushing. Once the coffee is bagged at our facility, all the oxygen is removed from the packaging. This suspends the coffee until it interacts with moisture and air.
You can create a similar process at home if you have a vacuum sealer. This can also be a great way to divide up your larger bags of coffee to portion out and keep your roast fresh every day of the week.
Fermentation
On the flip side, we have started to ask ourselves, "What if we didn't drink fresh coffee all the time? What if we gave it a few weeks or even a few months? What if our coffee needs time to de-gas to get to its peak flavor?"
On average, we find espresso to taste better when it's aged for at least 2-3 weeks off a roast. We've even tasted some coffee that holds its flavor many months after it has been roasted.
What we're saying is to be inquisitive - try out new things, give your coffee a chance to de-gas and explore it at all ages. Plus if you're anything like are crew, chances are you're going to brew through it much faster than it will go stale.
Beyond the Brew is a place for all things education, inspiration, and transparency for biodiverse farming and sustainable coffee consumption through Good Citizen. If you have any questions or requests, please reach out to hello@goodcitizen.com