As soon as coffee is ground, it loses freshness quickly. Day by day, you'll notice the brews made from pre-ground coffee become less flavorful until, one day, you're met with a stale, foul-tasting brew that's unbearable.
Storing coffee correctly will increase its lifespan, ensuring your morning brews taste better for longer. In this read, you'll learn how long ground coffee lasts, how to tell when it's fresh, how to preserve its flavor for longer, and the best ways to store it.
How Long Do Coffee Grounds Stay Fresh?
Although coffee grounds may not necessarily be unsafe to use after months of storage, they do go stale quickly.
Once roasted coffee beans are ground, their freshness begins to decline rapidly due to oxidation from exposure to air.
When stored in an airtight container and kept in a cool, dark place, they will retain their freshness for around one week. After a week, the oils that harbor the coffee’s complex flavors and aromas will start to degrade. You'll notice your brews start to taste more stale by the day, until after around two weeks, the coffee becomes unbearably bland and stale.
Ground coffee retains its freshness longer when stored in the freezer. Freshly ground coffee will keep in the freezer for one to two months before its flavor and aromas begin to perish.
Store Your Beans, Not Your Grounds
If you grind coffee yourself, it's far better to grind only what you need. Coffee keeps much better when stored in its raw form. Whole beans keep much better than ground coffee because there's less surface area exposed to the air. The process of grinding coffee speeds up oxidation, which causes the oils responsible for the coffee's flavor and aroma to degrade more quickly.
Compared to ground coffee which keeps for one to two weeks before going stale, whole beans retain peak freshness for one month. They also lose flavor and aroma at a much slower rate after a month, with whole beans remaining usable for several months before going completely stale.
If you have the option, avoid storing ground coffee entirely and keep your roasted coffee beans whole during storage. Whole coffee beans are best kept in airtight containers in a cool, dark cupboard.
How to Store Ground Coffee to Preserve Its Flavor: 4 Tips
Although it's better to store coffee beans whole, if you must grind them before storage or purchase pre-ground coffee, there are a few tips you should follow. Proper storage will ensure your ground coffee retains as much of its flavor and aroma as possible.
Here are four tips that will preserve your ground coffee's flavor during storage:
1. Store in an Airtight Container
If you want to store coffee short-term — for one to two weeks — it should be stored in an airtight container. A glass mason jar with a clasp-sealed lid is perfect for storing ground coffee.
When you use the grounds to make coffee, make sure to use a dry scoop and seal the jar tightly after each use. Avoid contaminating the grounds with a dirty or moist scoop — this will speed up the rate at which they degrade.
Grounds stored in an airtight container at room temperature will taste good for one week. After the first week, the flavor and aroma of the coffee will start to fade. You'll notice the grounds begin to turn stale during week two of storage, gradually getting worse as time goes on.
2. Keep in a Cool, Dry, Dark Place
When storing coffee grounds short-term, it's essential that they're stored in a cool, dark place.
Heat and light will speed up the grounds' rate of deterioration. Place the grounds in an airtight container in a cool cupboard away from direct sunlight. Avoid storing the grounds in the fridge — this can introduce moisture to the grounds, which will reduce their shelf life dramatically.
3. Store Coffee Grounds in the Freezer (Best for Long-Term Storage)
If you want to preserve the characteristics of your coffee grounds for more than one to two weeks, consider storing them in the freezer. Freshly ground coffee will last in the freezer for around two months before losing its flavor and aroma.
To store coffee grounds in the freezer, place them in a freezer-safe bag. Press the air out and seal. Ground coffees are prone to freezer burn, to help prevent this, consider double-bagging it.
4. Buy Smaller Bags of Coffee
If you purchase pre-ground coffee rather than grinding whole beans yourself, consider buying smaller bags. As soon as a bag of pre-ground coffee is opened and exposed to air, it will begin to go stale. Avoid buying large bags of ground coffee unless you're certain that you'll use it within a week or two.
When ground coffee is packaged during production, it's vacuum-sealed when fresh. Unopened coffee grounds can last in the pantry for six to 12 months. Instead of buying two-pound bags of coffee, consider purchasing several half-pound bags. Open one at a time and use the coffee as quickly as possible.
How to Tell if Your Coffee Grounds Are Fresh?
To tell if your coffee grounds are fresh, you can rely on several sensory cues. The appearance, smell, and taste of the coffee can be used to identify its freshness.
Here are five ways to tell if your ground coffee is still fresh:
1. Aroma
Fresh coffee grounds will have a pungent, pleasant aroma. You'll be able to pick out subtle aromatic notes from complex nutty, chocolatey scents to floral and fruity notes.
Stale coffee grounds smell dull and flat. If your coffee lacks fragrance or smells overly musky, it's most likely stale.
2. Appearance
Freshly ground coffee has a shiny, oily appearance. They may also appear moist and clump together slightly. This comes from the natural oils within the beans. These oils hold much of the flavor characteristics of the coffee. As coffee ages, the oils evaporate.
Old coffee grounds lack these flavorful oils and will look dull and matt. Stale ground coffee often appears dry, powdery, and loose.
3. Taste
Coffee brewed from fresh grounds will taste vibrant, bold, and rich. It will have clear, distinct flavors and when consumed black, you should be able to pick out subtle nutty flavor notes and floral undertones.
On the other hand, coffee brewed from stale grounds will lack character and taste weak, bland, and dull. If the grounds are particularly old, The brew may taste sour, overly bitter, or musky.
4. Bloom Test
When brewing coffee, especially using submersion and pour-over brewing methods such as the French press and phin filter, the fresh grounds are “bloomed.”
Blooming is a process where the grounds are covered in a small amount of hot water before brewing to release carbon dioxide (CO2). This process prepares the coffee for a more efficient extraction.
Fresh coffee grounds will produce a strong, gassy bloom. They will visibly bubble and foam. Stale, old grounds won't produce a visual bloom because the gas has already escaped.
5. Packaging Date
If you're unsure of the freshness of the coffee you've purchased pre-ground, check the grind date on the packaging. Not all coffee brands display this (especially larger grocery store brands). However, smaller, artisanal coffee brands often stamp their ground coffee bags with the roast date, grind date, and bean source.
Coffee that is sold in vacuum-sealed bags lasts for six to 12 months as long as it's unopened. However, the coffee usually loses some of its flavor and aroma before this. If the coffee was ground longer than three months ago, it has probably started to lose some of its characteristics.
When buying premium coffee, it's important to check the roast and grind dates. If you must buy pre-ground coffee, find a bag with a roast and grind date as close to the date of purchase as possible.
FAQs: How to Store Coffee Grounds
Want to learn more about coffee, grounds, and making great-tasting brews?
Check out the Cafely Blog and read through the answers to the frequently asked questions below:
1. How Long Do Coffee Grounds Last?
Once coffee is ground, it loses its flavor and aroma quickly. If you grind fresh coffee beans and store the grounds in an airtight container at room temperature, you can expect the coffee to last for one to two weeks. However, you may notice its flavor deteriorating after just a couple of days.
2. Can You Store Pre-Made Coffee?
Yes. If you've made too much coffee, you can cool it and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week (if no milk or sugar is added). To reheat, slowly heat the brew in a stovetop pan or kettle.
3. How Long Do Coffee Grounds Last in the Freezer?
Coffee grounds will last in the freezer for one to two months and still make a great cup of Joe. Ground coffee will last much longer than this, but its flavor and aroma will deteriorate over time.
4. What’s the Best Coffee for Espresso?
The best coffee for espresso is 100% arabica. Freshly ground, dark roast arabica produces a smooth, bold brew with a fine crema. We recommend the Cafely DaLat (100% Arabica) for the perfect shot of espresso.
5. What’s the Best Coffee for Iced Coffee?
Both arabica and robusta beans make fantastic iced coffee. Whether you choose arabica, robusta, or a blend is up to you.
Arabica produces a smooth, sweet iced coffee. Robusta produces a bold, rich coffee. Blends offer the characteristics of both types. We recommend the Saigon OG Blend (Robusta x Arabica x Peaberry) for a balanced iced coffee with or without milk.
6. Are Coffee Grounds Good for Plants?
Spent coffee grounds can be beneficial to plants. They provide nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus — three essential nutrients for plants. However, plants that prefer alkaline soils may not benefit from the acidity of ground coffee.
7. Can You Store Coffee Grounds in the Refrigerator
No. You should not store coffee grounds in the fridge, even if they're in a sealed container. Storing grounds in the fridge can encourage moisture, which will quickly cause Flavor and aroma deterioration. Grounds are better stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.
8. Should You Store Coffee Grounds in the Bag They Came in?
If you have purchased pre-ground coffee and plan on using it in the next week or two, keeping it in the bag is perfectly fine if the bag is resealable. If the bag doesn't have an airtight seal, the grounds are better stored in an airtight container.
9. Can Light Affect The Freshness Of Coffee Grounds?
Yes. Light can affect the quality of coffee grounds. Exposing coffee to sunlight for extended periods can deteriorate flavor and aroma and cause oxidation. Store your ground coffee in an airtight container in a dark, cool place that's free of moisture.
10. Can You Mix Different Types Of Coffee Grounds In Storage?
It's best not to mix coffee grounds in storage. Although blends are popular, mixing different coffee grounds before Storage can ruin the flavor profiles of your coffee. If you have several different types of coffee, the grounds are best stored separately. For long-term storage, consider sealing in airtight bags in the freezer.
