Whilst green coffee beans last much longer than roasted beans, is it true they don’t go bad?
Roasting not only changes the aroma, flavour and appearance of green coffee beans, it alters the shelf life of the beans. Once roasted, regular coffee beans should be used as quickly as possible to maintain their fresh roast flavour. As the roasted beans age, they become stale, bitter or dull to the taste.
Green coffee beans, however, have a much longer shelf life than roasted coffee beans, due to their porosity and density. The key to long-lasting green coffee beans is good storage. The beans easily absorb flavours and aromas but when stored correctly, your green coffee beans can last up to 12 months (even longer if you use multi-layer or hermetic packaging).
So how do you get most time out of your green coffee beans?
- Keep your beans somewhere dry, or with low humidity. The amount of moisture in the air can not only impact the flavour of your beans, it can also attract mold and other harmful bacteria. Check your beans regularly for signs of mold and fungus, and dispose of any contaminated beans.
- Similarly to keeping your beans dry, you also want to keep your beans cool. Your pantry is probably the best place to keep your beans to keep them away from unwanted heat and moisture, but be careful not to dry your beans out!
- Storing your beans in an airtight jar or container is typically best, as they prevent unwanted moisture getting to your beans. Coffee beans used to be shipped in burlap bags, but there is a risk of them getting too humid or too dry. If you want to freeze your beans, we recommend freezing them in small batches for short periods of time, as there can be some drying effects of extreme cold, so make sure they are air tight before freezing.
Brightside Coffee stock freshly arrived green beans from the most recent harvest, meaning the beans you buy from us will be as seasonal as you can get, with the longest shelf life.
Our green coffee beans are shipped to you in food-safe vacuum sealed bags, so they will stay fresh in their packaging for years, if unopened. To find out more about our green coffee beans, click here.