Coffee bean storage facts for kids

Coffee beans are special seeds that come from coffee plants. Just like you store your snacks to keep them fresh, coffee beans also need to be stored carefully. This is called coffee bean storage. It's important to store them right from when they are picked until you make a delicious cup of coffee. Good storage helps keep the coffee tasting its best!

How do we store coffee beans?

Storing green coffee beans

After coffee cherries are picked, the seeds inside (which are the coffee beans) are taken out. They are then soaked and spread out in the sun to dry. This usually takes about a week. Workers gently rake the beans often to make sure they dry evenly.

Once dry, the beans get a thin, papery cover called parchment. This parchment helps the beans stay fresh for a much longer time. When the beans are ready, this parchment is removed. The beans are then sorted by size, weight, and how perfect they look.

The sorted green beans are put into large sacks. These sacks are often made of a material called sisal. They usually hold about 60 or 70 kilograms of beans. These special bags help the beans keep their moisture for a longer time.

Green coffee beans should not be stored for more than one year. If they are, they are called an "old crop." Old crop beans are drier and not as valuable as "current crop" beans.

Storing roasted coffee beans

Once coffee beans are roasted, they are either packed right away or ground up and then packed. The way they are packaged is very important for keeping them fresh.

Common packages include:

• Airtight plastic containers.
• Vacuum-sealed bags.
• Bags with a special pressure relief valve.

Airtight containers keep the beans very fresh and make them last longer. Bags with a valve let out extra carbon dioxide gas. This gas is actually good for the beans because it protects them from getting stale. But too much gas can make the package burst.

Some experts say it's best to let roasted beans release carbon dioxide for a few days before brewing. This helps the coffee taste its best. There's also an idea that storing fresh roasted beans in cans with nitrogen gas helps them age well. This method also helps the natural oils in the beans spread out.

Storing coffee at home

How you store coffee at home depends on if you bought green beans, whole roasted beans, or ground coffee.

Storing green beans at home

Green coffee beans store best in cool, airtight containers. They can easily stay fresh for a year this way without losing their flavor.

Storing roasted whole beans at home

Roasted whole beans should be kept in airtight containers away from light. The best containers are made of ceramic or dark glass. Plastic and metal containers might change the flavor of your coffee.

For the first week, you should open or vent the containers. This lets out the carbon dioxide gas that roasted beans produce. This gas can change the quality of the coffee if it builds up too much. Whole roasted beans stored this way will stay fresh for about two weeks.

Freezing roasted beans

Whether to freeze roasted beans is a debated topic. Some people believe freezing can keep the flavor for one to two months. If you freeze beans, it's best to keep them frozen until you are ready to brew them. This helps keep the flavor. Frozen beans can be ground just like unfrozen ones. But, if you freeze beans, thaw them, and then refreeze them, it will change the coffee's quality.

Storing coffee grounds at home

Coffee grounds should be stored in non-reactive, airtight containers. Good choices are ceramic or glass, similar to roasted beans. Coffee grounds go stale much faster than whole beans. This is because they have a much larger surface area exposed to the air. They usually go stale in days, not weeks. Freezing does not help make coffee grounds last longer.