How Long Do Coffee Beans Last? 5 Tips To Keep Your Beans Fresh

It’s no secret that keeping your beans fresh and flavourful is essential for producing the best-tasting cups of coffee with your commercial coffee machines. But exactly how long do coffee beans last? And what do you do if you can’t finish a whole bag before they go stale?

If you’re looking to maximise the flavour of your coffee every time, you’re in luck; we’ve got 5 top tips to keep your beans as fresh as possible. Read on how to find out how long do coffee beans last and start enjoying delicious, freshly roasted coffee for longer today!

How long do coffee beans last?

Exactly how long do coffee beans last depends on their quality, how they are stored, whether you choose to grind them and many more factors. However, when stored properly, whole coffee beans can last for several months, if not a year or more.

How can I ensure that my roasted coffee beans stay fresh?

To maximise the shelf life of whole coffee beans, it is important to know how to store them correctly to protect the beans from degradation and ensure that they remain fresh and flavourful for as long as possible. Read on for our top 5 ways to get the most from your coffee beans!

1. Keep your freshly roasted coffee beans in their original packaging

It can be tempting to transfer your roasted coffee beans to separate canisters, whether out of fear of your beans expiring or simply as an aesthetic choice. However, the best way to store coffee beans is, in fact, to keep them in the package they arrived in.

Coffee bean packaging is intuitively designed with a valve to allow gas escape after roasting while preventing air from getting into your beans. Keeping your whole beans in their original packaging also offers the benefit of keeping out sunlight. Both air and sunlight cause your beans to age quickly; keeping them in their original packaging is the easiest and cheapest way to keep your beans fresh for longer.

If you do plan on transferring your beans to a canister, make sure it is well-sealed and safe from exposure to sunlight. Opening the container to brew your roasted coffee beans will naturally let out gases that may cause your beans to age and become stale. The best choice to keep your beans fresh is an opaque, airtight container at room temperature. This keeps out air, moisture, heat, and especially light, all of which can affect the taste of your beans.

2. Always keep your beans whole

Grinding fresh coffee beans in bulk will very quickly begin to affect the flavour of your coffee.

Coffee goes stale very quickly; coffee grounds are only fresh for around 30 minutes. If you want to keep your coffee fresh for the longest amount of time, it is best to store it in bean form.

Whole coffee beans last longer than ground coffee because they are less exposed to the air. When coffee beans are ground, their surface area increases, which makes them more susceptible to degradation from oxygen and other environmental factors.

Whole coffee beans, on the other hand, have a smaller surface area, so they are less affected by these factors and can last longer. Additionally, the oils in coffee beans can go rancid over time and grinding the beans releases these oils, which can accelerate the process of spoilage. As a result, whole coffee beans can stay fresh and retain their flavour for longer periods of time than ground coffee.

By grinding your beans just before using them, you can ensure that your brewed coffee always tastes great.

3. Don’t overbuy beans

Unless you have an incredibly high turnover, it’s best to buy roasted coffee beans in small batches.

Coffee beans start to lose their flavour and freshness soon after they are roasted. If you buy too many coffee beans at once, you may end up with beans that are not as fresh and flavourful as they could be.

Buying coffee beans in small batches ensures that you always have fresh, flavourful beans on hand. Additionally, buying smaller amounts of coffee beans allows you to try different types and blends of coffee, so you can find the ones that you like best.

4. Freeze your coffee

Although freezing coffee beans has been a subject of some controversy in recent years, it can, in fact, be one of the most effective ways of keeping your beans fresh.

Freezing beans locks in their flavours and keeps the coffee in much the same state that it would be fresh. Coffee likes a stable climate, which is exactly what you achieve by choosing to freeze coffee beans.

You can even benefit from grinding your roasted beans while they are frozen. Grinding beans when they are colder results in smaller, more equal-sized particles of ground coffee, thereby allowing for more flavour to be drawn out of using less coffee since better extraction takes place.

When freezing coffee beans, it is important to place them in an airtight container with no oxygen and with minimal air. A vacuum sealing system may be an option for this, although this necessitates plastic bags and a vacuum sealer and may be an expensive option. A popular choice is using a tube or container and packing your beans in tightly.

Coffee lasts much longer in the freezer than under almost any other conditions. In fact, some studies have shown that one day at room temperature ages your coffee more than over 200 days in the freezer.

5.  Don’t bin old beans; make cold brew

If you haven’t made your way through a big bag of roasted beans, don’t panic; instead, use them to make cold brew.

Many baristas opt for older coffee beans when making cold brew. The extended extraction process involved in making cold brew means that the age of the beans does not impact the flavour. In fact, using older beans is an excellent way to squeeze out the last oils and aromas from your beans while achieving a more delicate and less acidic cup of coffee.

Ensure your coffee is always fresh and delicious

Great coffee starts with great, freshly roasted beans, but a good cup can’t happen without a high-quality machine.

At Logic Vending, we have a wide selection of commercial coffee machines to choose from, so you can be sure to find the perfect one for your business. Whether you’re looking for an espresso machine, a bean-to-cup machine or something else entirely, we have you covered.

Our machines are designed to make the most of your beans and give you delicious cups of coffee every time. With our machines, you’ll be able to brew beautiful coffee that will make your customers happy and keep them coming back for more.

Check out our extensive selection of commercial coffee machines today!