I got tired of constantly running out of beans before the next delivery so I ordered 4.5 lbs from paradise...somehow I thought it would be 1 big bag, but it was 6 12 oz sealed bags. I was planning on vacusealing and freezing for storage. Question is whether I should vacuseal the bags or are then ok to put in the freezer as is???
I have heard of people simply taping over the one way valve and freezing as-is. I guess you could put some of the bags in a bigger one and vacu-seal that.
The good thing about several small bags is that you won't be thawing and re freezing a big bag every time you want some fresh beans out of the freezer.
There was a nifty study on freezing coffee beans done by michael sivitz that I'll try to dig up. Its probably worth a read!
I don't recommend freezing coffee for home use. Most home freezers are not capable of freezing the beans fast enough to keep ice crystals form forming inside the bean, also we feel that in a home environment there are too many things stored in a typical freezer that may taint the taste of the coffee. The best thing to do is to just buy what you can use in two weeks.
I've never had any ice crystal problem. Of course the average home will not have a commercial grade freezer capable of -40°C/-40°F temps. A chest freezer, not a fridge top freezer with a fan & cycling with a freeze/defrost cycle & you'll be fine for short (more than long enough for me anyway! {;-) ) term storage. A chest freezer is capable of 0°C/-18°F & is fine.
Do a search here & read what I & others have to say about freezer storage up to 4 - 6 weeks max. Also check out the Home Barista.com forums for additional info. When I store/freeze coffee, I store in 100 gram mason jars & unthaw the jar to room temp. I've done this with Intelligentsia B.C. & Kido 2 day delivery when the coffee is still de-gassing. Upon unthawing & opening the top screw lid, there's still the 'PoP' of Co2 being released & this can happen for an additional day or 2.
The coffee is indistinguishable from Intelly 4 days post roast untouched, up to approx 4 weeks!
The ice crystals inside the bean theory is a new one for me also. How much moisture is inside a roasted coffee bean? You can't have ice without moisture.
Moisture in the roasted coffee is an outside contamination issue. Whether a fridge or anywhere else, you have to keep the coffee sealed. Ice crystals are something that gets lobbed into the discussion but is a red herring. If ice were to form in the coffee, it would be because of some serious moisture contamination and in a fridge or freezer, that means some real nasty flavors got in also.
When we age an espresso, we keep it in the basement where we store our green coffees. Same parameters though in storage of green coffee. Cool temps, keep moisture out, and keep oxidation out of the equation.
If ice were to form in the coffee, it would be because of some serious moisture contamination and in a fridge or freezer, that means some real nasty flavors got in also.
Not necessarily, as I see it. Apart from external moisture, coffee does have some internal moisture within the bean. This moisture can form ice crystals when it freezes, depending on its immediate chemical environment within the bean and the external temperature.
With other foods, the formation of ice crystals from within the product can have a detrimental effect on it when used. For example, when meat or fish freezes the ice crystals break apart the cellular structure, and cause the previously contained moisture to exude upon thawing; this leads to the recommendation to not re-freeze meat and the lesser appeal of frozen fish. Similarly, depending on how ice crystals form in ice cream can seriously affect the mouth feel and hence the experience of the product.
I can imagine that internal ice crystals could affect the physical structure of the coffee bean, but whether this changes the final product or not separate from intrusive moisture is not clear. Maybe it affects unfrozen shelf life? Maybe changes the aromatics by breaking them down somehow? I don't think this question can be answered without empirical data.
I do know that some of the newer, more advanced green coffee storage and transport systems use freezing of vacuum-sealed bags to maintain freshness for more than a year, but the more fragile roasted bean is potentially a different story. Does anyone have any real-world data to give more insight?
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