How to store beans for pour-over coffee

Coffee beans begin oxidising slowly the moment roasting finishes, and how they are stored often affects the cup more than the difference in quality between the beans you bought. When people find their coffee has gone flat, storage is usually the culprit rather than stale beans.

The four enemies

Light, air, moisture and heat are what degrade beans fastest. A clear jar on a sunny windowsill looks lovely and is the quickest way to strip the aroma out of what is inside it. A poorly sealed zip bag is barely better, leaving the beans in continuous contact with the oxygen and humidity of the room.

Choosing a container

An opaque, airtight canister with a one-way valve is the accepted best option: it lets the carbon dioxide that freshly roasted beans give off escape, while keeping outside air out. Failing that, decant into opaque sealed bags and press as much air out of each one as you can before closing it.

Whether to freeze

Beans you will finish within a week or two need nothing more than an airtight container somewhere cool and dark. Moving them in and out of the fridge repeatedly is actively harmful, as the temperature swing condenses moisture on the surface of the beans. If you have bought more than you can drink soon, divide them into small portions and freeze those — and once a portion comes out, use it rather than refreezing it.