There are many different suggested ways to store coffee beans in order to make the most of your bean to cup espresso machine and maintain coffee bean freshness. One of the suggested methods is to put your ground coffee or coffee beans in the freezer. So does storing coffee in your freezer actually work Let’s look at the pros and cons.

Freezing has been used for centuries as a way to extend the life of many foods. Most food types can be frozen Freezing even maintains many of the vitamins and nutritional value of a wide variety of foods. Unfortunately Coffee does not on the face of it have the characteristics of an item that would be suitable for freezing

Coffee Beans have four main enemies against freshness: air, heat, light and moisture.

But doesn’t Freezing protect Coffee beans from these elements?

Coffee beans have been roasted in order to enhance flavor. The beans are also porous.and unfortunately a freezer can contain many other foods which have odours. The porous beans can absorb the flavors of many other frozen foods. Flavoured coffees can be pleasant, but no one wants to drink seafood or garlic flavored coffee.

Coffee Beans can also absorb moisture. Moisture attacks the Beans and causes the taste and flavour to be lost The more often you take coffee out of the freezer and put it back in, the more moisture absorption takes place into the bean. The only time you should even consider freezing coffee is if you have too much for normal use, in this situation freeze it only the one time. The more you take it in and out of the freezer, the more damage you do.

Once frozen these oils in the beans begin to break down. The oils contribute to the flavour of the coffee. As the oils are broken down the coffee loses its flavour and the distinctive taste of the coffee is lost.

In summary freezing is not the manner to store Coffee beans. The best results and to ensure coffee retains its taste store coffee in a cool, dry and air tight container away from the light and any source of heat. Freezing coffee is possible, and is best if you only freeze it once. The resulting loss of flavour and quality from repetitive freezing makes it a method of storage to stay away from.

Your best bet is to purchase only enough beans or ground coffee to supply you for 1-2 weeks. That way you will enjoy Coffee from your Expresso Coffee Maker or Coffee machine at its freshiest and best.

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