How to Store Coffee Well and Why It’s So Important

If you’re a fan of Van Houtte® products, you probably know a bit about the origins of our coffee. For decades, we have been selecting high-quality beans, which are quality-checked by our Master Roaster. Thanks to an extremely precise roasting process, we can maximize the flavour of each bean before creating our unique blends.

Of course, each one of these steps takes a lot of time and attention to detail, as well as unparalleled know-how. 

We’re proud of all the care that goes into creating Van Houtte® coffee. And like every high-quality product, it’s really important to know how to take care of it. That’s why you should learn how to store coffee – to preserve its flavour nuances as long as possible! 

Don’t worry, properly storing coffee is an easy habit to pick up, and our flavour-preserving packaging does half the work for you!

Fresh coffee has three enemies: air, moisture and light. When coffee is exposed to air, the delicate aromas it developed during the roasting process are at risk of dissipating. 

Can you imagine the taste of our Costa Rica Signature Collection coffee without its subtle honey flavour? This is why it’s important to know how to keep coffee fresh by storing it in containers that will protect it.

It’s a well-known fact: metallic containers and glass jars are ideal to store food if you want to keep it fresh. In this regard, Van Houtte® metallic containers are especially useful because they were specifically designed to store coffee. 

You can also create your own personalized coffee tin container! Just keep in mind that it needs to be airtight and opaque. Not only will it protect your coffee from light and moisture, but a lovely container will also add some creativity to your coffee corner. You can even make special labels that correspond to the coffee inside.

Keurig® K-Cup® pods are guaranteed to keep your coffee fresh because they provide an airtight seal. 

Every pod is nitrogen-flushed and designed to protect the coffee grounds inside against oxygen, moisture and light.

Contrary to some schools of thought on how to store coffee, we suggest that you do not think of refrigeration or freezing as the best ways to preserve your Van Houtte coffee. Coffee doesn’t respond well to extreme temperatures or temperature changes, and the refrigerator may circulate food odours that could alter the coffee’s flavour.

If you want to know how to store coffee, you simply need to remember to keep it away from sunlight, in a closed container at room temperature. That way, you can leave it beside your coffee maker and add some personality to your coffee corner!

Some might advise against storing coffee in the refrigerator, to avoid temperature variations and moisture getting into the bag. However, Van Houtte® coffee bags have been specially designed to preserve coffee freshness and prevent condensation, thereby avoiding temperature changes. The Van Houtte® bag valve feature also helps prevent odour transfer.

However, your coffee will also be just fine placed on a shelf in your coffee corner next to your coffee maker, since room temperature is also acceptable.

Coffee is a preservative-free product, just like sugar or flour. When considering how to store coffee, it’s important to respect the “best before date” indicated on Van Houtte® products, since the coffee’s flavour is at risk of fading once the date has passed. The “best before date” is based on the date the coffee was roasted. Generally, coffee can be stored for up to one year after roasting. 

Once the bag of coffee has been opened, time is of the essence, especially for ground coffee. In fact, you’ll get the most out of your coffee’s flavour nuances if it’s consumed in the two weeks following the opening of the package. 

Taste aside, whole coffee beans are stronger than ground coffee. When coffee is ground, the coffee’s contact with oxygen is increased. As discussed earlier, when thinking about how to store coffee, air is the enemy! That’s why it’s so important to store ground coffee in airtight coffee containers. 

While keeping coffee beans fresh is easier than with ground coffee, both types still require the same kinds of precautions and preservation methods.

Now that you know how to store coffee, you can become a master at it, from light roast to dark roast and all the Van Houtte® coffee flavour profiles in between. Explore our range of coffee beans and ground coffee online or visit a retail location.