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I have to buy coffee roasted powder in 100gms packet. I use 1 tablespoon on coffee per day.

I do keep the coffee in an airtight container and then in an opaque cover.

How should I protect remaining coffee from damage from air when I use some coffee from the container and the container starts half emptying?

Aquarius_Girl
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  • I think this is also a duplicate of http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/36751/what-is-the-best-way-to-store-ground-coffee?rq=1, but not sure if the distinction of "daily use" makes it a different question, maybe the other one is more about long term storage? Coffee drinkers, do you see this as a dupe or not? – rumtscho Oct 27 '14 at 13:50
  • @rumtscho that is absolutely not related in any way. I am taking about protecting remaining coffee as i use it from the same containor daily. – Aquarius_Girl Oct 27 '14 at 13:52
  • Why is this not related? What prevents you from keeping your daily-use-container in the freezer? – rumtscho Oct 27 '14 at 14:00
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    @rumtscho are you serious? Coffee will degrade fast if i keep on putting in and taking out the daily use coffee container in freezer. !! – Aquarius_Girl Oct 27 '14 at 14:48
  • Sorry, I don't understand your logic. The freezer is the best way to preserve the freshness of your coffee (although it doesn't stop the degradation, it slows it down). Why do you think that it will degrade fast if you put it in the freezer? – rumtscho Oct 27 '14 at 14:58
  • @rumtscho read this: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/36751/what-is-the-best-way-to-store-ground-coffee?rq=1#comment52129_36752 – Aquarius_Girl Oct 27 '14 at 15:03
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    OK, that clears it up. It seems that the "daily use" is indeed an important distinction to make. – rumtscho Oct 27 '14 at 16:03
  • @TheIndependentAquarius Having done it a bit in the past, I have to say that Robert's point about exposure to "frost and condensation" is probably not that significant unless you live somewhere very humid. Coffee itself is dry, and if you take it out cold in a dry environment, almost no condensation will form when you open the container -- and what there is will form on the upper, empty part of the container and not in the coffee lower down. Certainly it is worth trying. – goldilocks Oct 27 '14 at 18:09
  • I have myself proved accidentally that Robert Is correct. In summers the day time temperature here is usually 47 c . I tried putting coffee in and out of freezer daily and it took 4 days for it to turn into crap. I threw it then. @goldilocks – Aquarius_Girl Oct 28 '14 at 00:55
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    Wow! There are barely any places on earth where 47 C (117 F) might count as "usual" -- but in future you might want to include such extraordinary facts such as this in your post ("I am living in the absolute hottest place in the world and I want to keep my coffee fresh"); surely a relevant fact which would get you more helpful help. In any case, again, it's not the HEAT, it's the HUMIDITY. – goldilocks Oct 28 '14 at 01:04
  • Obligatory not-super-helpful-not-an-answer: grind it every day; you'll be able to preserve it longer that way. – Cascabel Oct 29 '14 at 00:24
  • Ground coffee doesn't degrade significantly in days if kept in a normal airtight container. Use a zip lock bag and the freeze if worried. Can you actually taste any difference? – TFD Jan 06 '15 at 02:35

3 Answers3

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In all truthfulness, the fact that you buy coffee grounds instead of whole coffee beans is the biggest culprit.

Here's a list of things to consider:

  • By whole beans
  • Grind immediately before use, not the night before, not an hour before, but immediately before brewing.
  • Keep in air tight container, and store in a dark place. Do not put them in the freezer, as they are subject to freezer burn, and long exposure to cool temperatures can effect the flavor.
  • By from a roaster. Roasters roast daily, and you'll likely get a batch that's no older than 2-3 days, often times you'll get beans roasted that day or the day before.

You can see how fresh your beans are when you initially add hot water to the grounds. Fresh beans will produce lots of foam, as they still have lots of CO2 left in them from the roasting process.

Some things to note when grinding beans at home are the type of grinder you use. Blade grinders will not provide a consistent grind, the grounds will be a varying sizes, and this affects extraction more than you'd think. For the record, no coffeeshop(not even the dinner down the street) use a blade grinder. Make sure to have a Burr Grinder, or a Hand Mill grinder. These will provide you with a consistent grind.

A few burr grinders that I've known to work well:

  • Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton
    • The first burr grinder that I owned. I used to brew single cups and didn't want to spend the $100+ to get an automatic burr grinder. It works really well, but I got sick of grinding coffee by hand every morning for 2 years.
  • Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
    • Pretty standard automatic burr grinder. Its in the lower price range, but it works well.
  • Baratza Encore
    • This one gets lots of hype in the coffee community, mostly because its relatively cheap, and it has a wide range of grind settings.
  • Baratza Virtuoso
    • A set up from the Encore model.

It depends on what you're willing to spend for a grinder. If you really want to get into coffee I'd start with the Baratza Encore. If you just want a automatic grinder the Capresso Infinity might be for you. If all the other options are too expensive the Hario Coffee Mill works great.

tsturzl
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  • Thanks much for your helpful suggestion. Could you suggest a grinder for about 2 cups of coffee – Aquarius_Girl Jan 06 '15 at 03:00
  • I listed a couple grinders above. The Hario might be best for you if you're only doing 2 cups, but take a look at the other models as well. I use the Capresso Infinity at home if I'm just doing a single cup, and also if I'm doing a 6-cup pot. I used to use the Hario for this, but now it makes a great travel grinder. – tsturzl Jan 06 '15 at 18:41
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In my experience, you're going to get a lot of degradation with pre-ground coffee regardless of the steps you take to protect it.

As mentioned in other posts (ex: What is the best way to store ground coffee?) you're looking to do the following:

  1. Prevent the coffee as much as possible from contact with air.
  2. Avoid moisture absorption (from air).
  3. Avoid temperature swings, especially near the freezing point (the cells inside coffee beans will crystalize and de-crystalize, releasing flavor and aroma before you brew)

I'd reccomend one of the following:

  1. Repack the coffee into many small containers and place some in the freezer for use at the end of the week (assuming your freezer temperature remains relatively consistent)
  2. Purchase a jar which removes air such as the EVAK
Community
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alex-e-leon
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An electric coffee grinder is small, inexpensive and easy to use. I would recommend getting one and buying whole beans instead. Get a large bag of whole beans, and store it in the freezer, then just extract the amount of beans required and grind right before brewing. The frozen beans should stay fresh much longer than your pre-ground coffee, and adds the bonus of the fantastic smell of freshly ground coffee every morning.

Jørgen R
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