How long does coffee last in the fridge? And, if it goes bad how long before it starts to go bad? These are hot topics on many forums and coffee blogs around the internet.
We will look at both and so can learn how to get the best out of stale coffee or bad coffee.
Coffee, whether naturally roasted or ground, if iced cold and stored properly can last months. That is almost as long as a year!
How long does instant coffee last in the fridge? It depends on the person.
If you pour the coffee into a Tupperware container that has been put in the freezer for an hour or so it will remain in good condition.
Some people have tried freezing the containers of instant coffee and it seems to last just as long, but I have never tried it.
Checking the liquid level in the container with a finger and looking for moisture may help give you an idea as to how long it will last in your storage.
The same can be said about coffee beans. They are best stored in a cool dark place. You don’t want them left out in the cold at all.
Storing them in the fridge will kill the freshness.
If you do leave them out they may retain a bit of moisture which can lead to mold or mildew developing. In fact, if you store them out they may start to turn stale quickly.
Now here is some good news. If you are concerned about coffee beans going stale then you have a few options.
If you roast your own coffee beans it won’t matter as long as you don’t leave the grounded coffee beans out in the cold.
If you don’t have the time to roast your own coffee beans you can buy ground coffee from a coffee shop or supermarket.
Just be aware that the quality of ground coffee varies quite a bit and you are probably better off buying supermarket coffee as opposed to home ground coffee.
You could also store coffee beans in the freezer for a few months but once again this would affect the taste.
My advice would be to either purchase them already roasted or try and buy unroasted ones, preferably locally roasted if possible.
To roast your own coffee beans you will need a coffee roaster.
Some people prefer to buy their coffee in the shops but if you don’t have access to one then you could use a regular saucepan. Put the roasted beans on a pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Once they are roasted place them in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius and let the beans steep for around 2 hours.
Once they are finished you can place them in the fridge to recover and keep in the original container.
How long does fresh coffee last? As long as it’s not refrigerated it should last up to a month.
How long does freshness last? Once the coffee beans are opened they may lose some of the freshness but generally, they retain about 70 percent of their original flavor.
So if you store them in the fridge for a month or longer they will still be very fresh.
If you store them in the freezer for more than two weeks there is a chance that some of the flavors will become less fresh but they will still retain most of their flavor.
How long does coffee last in the fridge? If you are in a rush and don’t want to wait that long you can try this helpful tip which will help preserve the freshness of ground coffee beans: fill a small plastic bag with the beans and seal it.
Once you have finished the ground coffee beans have been placed into the bag and put into a freezer for about three days. You will notice that the bag starts to slowly break down. This means that the bag has preserved the freshness of the beans.