Expiration and storage of your coffee

Coffee, like all food products, has an expiration date when we buy it.

What exactly does this date indicate?
Coffee has quite a long life, in fact considering the very long journey your beans take around the world to get to you, it is almost surprising.

Grains endure long transportation by land and sea, crossing many states, with increasingly different climates and environments.

Even once roasted, if stored and packaged properly, it has an average shelf life of two years, thus leaving you plenty of time to consume it. Of course this depends, as mentioned earlier, on the packaging and preservation techniques of the product, but we will elaborate on this in a moment.

The expiration date refers to the product still unopened inside its package.

Coffee, as mentioned above, is a food and as such is affected by atmospheric conditions such as heat and humidity and oxidizes in contact with air. As a result, once the package is opened, the grains or ground coffee should be consumed more quickly to achieve maximum flavor intensity in each of your cups.

Can it be consumed even after this date? Does it hurt?
Coffee can actually be consumed even after the fateful date without doing any harm to the body. The expiration date in fact refers to the aroma, as the only difference from a coffee that is still intact is the loss of much of the aroma. As a result, the cup drink will be less intense and aromatic, in some cases even rancid. So consuming it by the deadline is necessary if you want to indulge in impeccable-tasting coffee.

What is the best type of packaging?
Most of the packaging we find on the market, especially in large retail chains, is vacuum-packed. Is it therefore the most effective technique? Not really…

Coffee, after being roasted, releases gases, mainly carbon dioxide. This “breathing” of the grains continues even after time. For this reason, vacuum packing is not the most suitable packaging, because it is true that it does not allow oxygen to enter, and thus oxidize the beans or ground coffee you purchased, but it does not allow the substances produced by the coffee itself to escape.

If a roaster decides he or she wants to provide you with only a high-quality, well-preserved product, he or she will surely opt for a more modern technique: a sealed package with a controlled atmosphere of nitrogen and a one-way valve, as you can see in the image below.

This sounds very complex, but it is not at all.

It is a simple bag that contains coffee, which is filled with a nitrogen injection before being sealed. Food-grade nitrogen is an odorless and tasteless gaseous substance, which allows mince or grains to be stored at their best, for longer and ensuring greater aromatic freshness.

Finally, the pouch carries a small one-way valve, also called an “aroma saver.” This valve does not allow oxygen to enter, but allows the gases continuously produced by the coffee to leave, the degassing process can then continue.

We at Caffè Ernani know this well because our packaging is designed specifically for this purpose: to preserve all our blends and single-origins in the best possible way, so that you can enjoy an exceptional beverage, intense and rich in aroma, producing an automatic smile on your face, every time you take a sip.

It is in the pouch, then, that all the flavors of the freshly roasted bean are imprisoned, perfectly preserved on the way from the roaster to the bar or your kitchen. It is convenient to know that if you want to stock up on coffee at home or in your office, to be on the safe side you should opt for these types of packages.

How should I store it so that it is best preserved?
Okay, we have seen the best packaging. But once purchased and taken home, how should its contents be stored?

The best way to store your purchased coffee is to leave it unopened inside its original packaging until you want to consume it.

Once opened you will have to watch out for the 4 major enemies of the dark powder:

1. Air
2. Moisture
3. Heat
4. Light

Let’s now discover together all the little tricks you can adopt to keep your coffee always as fresh as it was just purchased.

In order in fact:

1. It is best to store the ground or grains in a tin or nontransparent glass jar, the two best materials for keeping the flavors intact, and to open it only and only at the time of use. Instead, leave it completely closed the rest of the time to minimize contact with oxygen. DISCOVER CAFFÈ ERNANI CAN >>
2. Coffee is hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs moisture, which can cause mold on the surface. So it is good to store it in a dry environment. It can thus be understood that the refrigerator, given the very high concentration of humidity, is certainly not the best place to store your jar.
3. Heat, along with light, makes coffee go rancid. In addition, at high temperatures, especially for grains, it can happen that the oils contained within the grains escape, creating a shiny and somewhat sticky patina on the surface, resulting in the loss of some of the aromatics in the cup and a more bitter taste.
4. Finally, to protect it from light, simply use a container that is not transparent or otherwise does not allow light rays to filter in and hit our beloved pixie dust. Rule perfectly followed by our fully opaque and yellow Ernani packaging and tin.

So in summary, coffee can have a very long life, but only if it is packaged and stored properly.

Check to see if the small package you buy has a small valve that allows your coffee to keep breathing.

Once you open the package, store the contents inside a non-transparent jar in a dry place away from heat sources, such as a pantry, and open it only at the time of use.

No longer will you have to be afraid to stock up on coffee so you won’t have to think about having it on hand at all times!