Can You Freeze Coffee Beans?

With many perishable foods, it’s common practice to freeze those foods before they expire to ensure their freshness until you’re able to eat or use that item. But does that same logic apply when it comes to coffee beans? And if you are able to freeze your coffee beans, is that something you should be doing?

We know that whether or not to freeze coffee beans can be a little bit of a controversial topic. But Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters is here with information about both freezing and not freezing your coffee beans so you can decide the best option for storing your fresh coffee beans.

Learn more about your options and order fresh coffee beans from Kaldi today!

Freezing Coffee Beans

The short answer is yes, it is possible to freeze your coffee beans. Coffee beans have a shelf life and one way to help ensure the freshness of your beans is by freezing them.

If you’ve ordered a bag of bulk coffee beans and are worried about using all of those beans while they’re still fresh, you can throw some of them in the freezer. But before you do that, you need to make sure they are properly stored in air-tight containers that will keep out any ice and condensation from the freezer.

Additionally, you want to make sure that you’re not opening your coffee bean container while they are in the freezer or still frozen. If you want to take small amounts out at a time, store your coffee beans in separate freezer bags so you can remove one bag as you need it. Furthermore, to keep the condensation away from the beans as they defrost, let your frozen beans warm to room temperature before opening the bag.

Not Freezing Coffee Beans

At Kaldi, however, we recommend not freezing your coffee beans. While it’s possible to freeze them to help keep fresh beans from going bad, there are certain downsides to freezing your beans.

When you go to use those frozen coffee beans, the condensation from their time in the freezer will produce a bitter, rancid taste. This overrides the specific taste characteristics that are unique to that coffee, leaving you with a coffee that has a slight freezer-burn taste. Furthermore, the constant temperature fluctuations of taking your coffee beans in and out of the freezer can further destroy the taste of those beans, leaving you with a flavorless coffee.

So if freezing coffee beans comes at the risk of ruining the flavor of that coffee, what’s your best option for storing coffee beans to ensure their freshness?

Keep your fresh coffee beans safe by storing them at room temperature in an air-tight storage container. The right container will protect your beans from oxygen, heat, light, and moisture. If you have bulk coffee you need to store, portion it out among different air-tight containers so you’re not re-exposing all of your coffee beans to the light and oxygen every day.

Order Fresh Coffee Beans From Kaldi

Whether you or not you choose to freeze your beans, get the best flavor when you choose fresh coffee beans from Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters. We roast all of our coffee beans to order so you’re getting the freshest coffee beans possible!