Some folks just drink coffee for the caffeine, to wake up in the morning, keep going in the afternoon, or work all night. However, most of us choose coffee that has the aroma and taste that we like. Unfortunately, taste and aroma of coffee to not last forever in the face of oxidation, namely exposure to oxygen in the air. How long do coffee taste and aroma last? It depends on if you are talking about green coffee beans, roasted whole bean coffee, or roasted and ground coffee. And it depends on the time since the coffee was packaged and also the time since the container was opened.
How Does Coffee Lose Its Freshness?
Over time and with exposure to oxygen in the air the natural compounds and oils in coffee break down. This results in loss of antioxidant properties as well as aroma and flavor. Coffee does not come with an expiration date as even stale, old coffee is safe to consume and retains its caffeine content. When coffee remains in the original package it is not exposed to air and thus does not undergo oxidation. When the container is opened that all changes. As a general rule, once you open a container of roasted and ground coffee you will want to brew all of that coffee within two weeks unless you do not mind drinking stale coffee.
How Long Does Roasted Coffee Retain Its Freshness?
Because most folks buy roasted coffee instead of roasting their own, we will start with how long roasted coffee retains its flavor and aroma. The roasted coffee that you purchase at the grocery store will retain the greatest majority of its freshness for up to a year after it was roasted and packaged. But it is totally possible that the bag of coffee you bought at the grocery store was on the shelf for a year before you bought it. That means you are buying stale coffee. But when your store has a fast turnover of its coffee, you can generally expect at least a few months of freshness left in the bag when you buy it.
Whole Bean Versus Ground Coffee and Retention of Freshness
Many people buy ground coffee because it is more convenient than having to grind beans every morning. Unfortunately, the air gets into every grain of ground coffee and the process of becoming state is immediate. When you have whole coffee beans only the outer surface of the coffee beans starts to oxidize and lose flavor and aroma. The interior of the coffee bean will keep its properties for weeks or even months. Think of this as preserving half of your coffee freshness for months instead of days when you buy whole bean roasted coffee and not ground roasted coffee beans.
How Long Do Green Coffee Beans Retain Freshness
If you want optimal freshness for your coffee, consider buying green coffee beans and roasting just enough each day for the coffee you plan to drink. Green coffee beans that are properly stored in a cool, dry location out of the sun can retain their freshness for up to three years! Once you roast your coffee beans and grind them the same rules apply as to coffee that you buy at your local grocery store. A problem with green coffee is that is may be older than you think it is. We wrote an article years ago about how the government of Brazil was paying coffee farmers to store their coffee and not flood the market and drive down prices during a bumper crop year. Some of that coffee did not go onto the market for as long as eight years! As we noted in our article, that ended up being motel and airplane coffee devoid of flavor and aroma but retaining its caffeine content.
Fresh Coffee from Colombia
If you want to avoid buying coffee that has been on the shelf in the grocery store for months or years or green coffee that was part of a government program to support prices, consider buying your green or roasted coffee from Colombia. Contact us at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org for help.