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How To Prevent Coffee From Hardening: Your Definitive Guide

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Nearly every household in America has at least one coffee machine. It’s such a popular drink, and for many coffee fanatics, it’s an essential part of the morning routine. And nothing eats a pot of coffee brewed from fresh, fragrant beans. The powerful, deep flavor can be perfect on its own or with milk and sugar. But nothing ruins your morning like opening your coffee can and finding the beans to be clumpy, stale, hard, or even moldy. If you want to make sure that your coffee is always fresh and soft, it helps to learn about what makes it hard, and how to store it.

When your coffee goes hard, or becomes stale or smelly, it can be easy to blame the brand, the grinder, or your storage container. But coffee is a perishable, just like any other food. So if you want to make it last as long as possible, you want to store it properly. Coffee is susceptible to moisture, heat, and air, so you want to store it to minimize exposure to these three elements.

The Effect of Moisture

Moisture can have a number of effects on your coffee beans. The biggest risk is that it’s a part of what causes mold. So if you live in a moist environment, or somehow get your coffee grinds wet, you’ll want to make sure to take the necessary precautions. Taking out the wet clumps, or getting the right container will ensure that your coffee stays dry. Because of this, you’ll want to avoid freezing your beans, since your refrigerator is a moist environment.

Moisture is also a key factor of what causes coffee to harden. Water will cause your grinds to clump, but when they dry out, the remaining coffee will get hard. If this happens to your coffee, you’ll want to get more beans. This is a sign of stale coffee that won’t have that bold, toasty flavor.

Heat, Bacteria and Mold Growth

Heat, just like moisture, it necessary for bacteria and mold growth. So if you live in a hot area, or happen to keep your coffee container near your stove, your beans will go bad and get hard more quickly. If your storage environment is both hot and humid, then you have to be extra careful, since that can cause your grinds to quickly get moldy or stale.

If you keep you beans near a heat source that puts your beans well above room temperature, this also ruins your beans. Coffee goes stale when the aromatics and oils seep out of the grinds, and heat can speed up that process. So make sure that you’re keeping you beans away from any heat sources, in a cool environment.

Why Too Much Air Is Bad

Coffee gets its flavor from the aromatics and oils inside the beans. Ideally, you want to minimize the amount of air that comes in contact with your coffee, since air will slowly carry away those particles. If you keep your coffee in an open container, it’s quickly going to lose its flavor. So keep your beans in a sealed, airtight container, only opening it to brew a cup of java.

How Long Does Coffee Stay Fresh

It’s hard to pin an exact expiration date on your coffee beans. All of the different factors like the grind size, roast profile, and storage environment will have a huge impact on how long your cup of joe stays fresh. But we can at least look at how the different variables impact how long your beans will give you the perfect, toasty brew.

Whole bean

Like with all food, surface area is the biggest factor in determining shelf life. When you keep your beans whole, you minimize the surface area, ensuring that the beans will last as long as possible. Whole beans will keep the maximum freshness up to about 4 weeks after their roast date. But you’ll still get a pretty good brew for the following 2 or 3 weeks. After that, even whole beans will go stale. It can be tough to find fresh beans in the store, but some online services and craft roasters make it possible.

Ground

Grinding your coffee beans will maximize the surface area, making the beans go stale quickly. When you buy your beans pre-ground, they’ll have a shorter shelf life, so be sure to use them quickly. Ground beans expire in half the time whole beans do in ideal conditions. If you buy your beans whole and then grind them, you have about half the time left that you would have if the beans were whole. The grind size will also have an impact on your coffee’s shelf life. Finer grinds have more surface area, and so expire more quickly.

Other variables

Coffee that has been decaffeinated won’t have a different shelf life than regular coffee. But acidity can impact your shelf life. Acid prevents mold and bacteria from growing, so low acid coffee may go stale more quickly under poor conditions. Lighter roast coffee is more acidic, making it a little more resilient in bad storage conditions. The chemistry behind food preservation is complex, so even small details can have a pretty big impact on how long your beans stay fresh.

How To Keep Coffee Fresh

While coffee can go bad just like any other food, you can take precautions to make sure that your cup of joe is as potent and flavorful as possible. The proper storage container, bean purchases, and storage environment will help you keep your coffee tasting rich, bold, and dark for weeks. Make sure to grind your own beans, and even consider buying a coffee roaster. All of these methods will help you keep your cup of joe fresh for longer.

Wait to grind your beans

If you have a habit of buying your beans pre-ground, or you buy them whole bean to grind them all at once at home, your beans won’t stay fresh for as long. If you want to have your coffee last as long as possible, try grinding them for each individual time you brew coffee. Whether its a hand grinder for espresso or an electric burr grinder for drip coffee, you can maximize your coffee’s shelf life by waiting until you make it to grind it.

Buy smaller batches of coffee

The store may sell coffee by the pound, but you might not actually need that much. If you only have a single cup of joe every day, you’re definitely not going to use the coffee before it goes bad. Try to find coffee in batches of a half pound or less. You can also try going to coffee shops to buy your beans in any amount you want. Also consider using nespresso capsules and K-cups. These pre-portioned coffee capsules are easy to store, and come in a reasonable amount.

Store your beans in the dark

Light has a pretty sizeable impact on your coffee’s freshness. Sure, having a row of coffee containers with different roast profiles on your countertop looks great, but it can make your beans expire more quickly. Store your beans in an opaque container if you want to keep it on the counter, or store it in a dark place if you’re using a transparent container. You may not be able to use it as a decoration, but this is the best way to store your beans.

Invest in an airtight container

Airtight containers are a no-brainer when storing any dry good. While you may be using a jar, tupperware, or other plastic storage bin, it pays to get a glass or ceramic container with a plastic rim. And you absolutely want to make sure not to leave your beans in the bag or can that they came in. This can impact the flavor, and does not do a good job of keeping them dry and cool, so go with glass. This keeps any air from getting in, and is less likely to taint the flavor with paper or plastic particles.

Roast your own beans

Believe it or not, you can actually buy green coffee beans and your own coffee roaster and roast your own beans. Expiration is measured from the roast date. Green beans have a much longer shelf life, so you’ll get the maximum shelf life if you make your own roast. Plus, it can be a fun addition to your morning routine, and you’ll have more control over your coffee’s roast profile.

Making Sure Your Coffee Stays Fresh

Whether you’re downing a few pots of java per day or you just have a single cup every morning, you want to make sure that your coffee is as delicious and fresh as possible. Once you understand what makes coffee go hard, how long coffee stays fresh, and how to keep it from going stale, you’ll be able to maximize your morning brew. By taking these simple steps, you can wake up every morning, sure that your coffee will be packed with that delicious flavor, free of clumps and mildew.

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