A local cafe bought a large number of toilet rolls and gave them out free, without even the need to purchase anything, to the elderly/needy when the shops were empty of them. I made sure to go in and buy a coffee everyday. They now cannot serve people to consume food/drinks at their tables and don't get much business due to the lock down of social gathering places in Australia. Support your local coffee shops or we may lose them.
@Rajiv Rai he doesnt said the toilet rolls support coffee industry the local cafe just supporting local communities especially the elderly who couldn't even get the chance to buy toilet rolls because of the panic
Yes my daily dose of a smug condescending twat. I don't think he thinks the poor viewers he sits above actually have fridges with huge freezers in them. Or have for 60 years.
@@xr6lad He clearly was being sarcastic, of course he knows that everyone has fucking freezers. EZ action is just going along with the joke. You are reading far too much into what he is saying just because he has a posh voice and a successful career. It's you thats being the smug twat.
I'd love to see you revisit this subject with one of your experiments, comparing freezer-kept coffee at different ages/levels of freshness, to work out a rough estimate for how long it can be stored in a typical -18 to -22C freezer, compared to simply keeping it in the cupboard in an airtight container.
Same here. I got a great setup IMO but I'm fighting staling every step of the way. I'm starting to consider just vacuum sealing individual portions because there's not much else to get the best out of those beans
I do vacuum pack about 1 week of espresso beans at a time. I reuse the same bag over and over until the bag is too short (from cutting off 3/4" off the top each time I open it) to use. It works good. Plus, there are vacuum bags with a ziploc top as well. I just haven't tried those yet. Great video, as usual.
Agree! I always wash vacuum seal bags and reuse them over and over until they are too small to use anymore. I don't see it as anymore wasteful than using ziploc type bags which are also washable and reusable.
Caso, and I would guess also other manufacturers, also has vacuum sealable containers out of glass and plastic, through which you could reduce waste to zero
I have been vacuum sealing and freezing beans for a while (I have an issue with buying an interesting coffee whenever I see it when I already have plenty of great coffee at home). I avoid the whole issue of waste by re-using the vacuum bags. If you open the bag by cutting just behind the current seal, you can re-use it and you'll only "waste" the tiny bit of bag between the old seal and the new seal.
I have been doing the exact same for about a year, and have found that the coffee no longer has much aroma, being unsure whether to warm the grounds for a given amount of time before brewing? What have you found works the best?
Old videos that I haven’t seen, and just pop up are the best. I’ve been storing my coffee in the freezer in an airtight container, for daily use, and grinding frozen beans. Thanks James
If you want to use a vacuum sealer and cut down on waste then you can reuse the majority of it by using a larger bag than you need then just cutting off the sealed part to open it, then you can reseal the same bag. Means you're using about 5-10mm of bag for each use rather than a whole bag.
I have a vacuum sealer and would there be any issue if you use the same vacuum bag again? For instance, buy a bigger bag and freeze the portion you want to save. Defrost that and use it and then put more beans and reuse the bag. That would cut down on waste. I’m thinking it would work for the same exact beans, but not sure if they were different. Also, for someone who is just getting into coffee and espresso, your videos have been fantastic. I have leaned so much. Thank you!!
Correct. I get 6-7 uses from my pint freezer bags by sealing the very edge and slicing off the minimum amount to open. I vacuum seal in one day packets. Otherwise the same as he recommends. Take a bag out every night for the next day's use. But get real, the carbon footprint used to transport your coffee to you, Is by far the worst environmental impact from coffee. Anyone who is truly concerned about the environment would grow their own coffee. :D
Amazing James, love your work! As a bartender and barrister who (along with my entire hospitality company) was laid off last week, watching these videos have been great. Best wishes from Melbourne, Australia! Stay Safe all
@@jameshoffmann Thanks guys! The hospitality industry has really rallied around everyone here which is great to see, we've gotten free food deliveries and homemade meals which has made all the difference. Hope its the same in your neck of the woods
This is the process I’ve been using for a while now and I can second that it works great for me: I get a kilo and freeze 3/4 of it in three separate bags. Each come out as fresh as the first!
That’s good to know! I’ve been reusing coffee bags with a one way valve as I wasn’t sure how much outgassing would be reduced in the freezer, but I guess it’s not really an issue!
One thing people don’t take into consideration, and as a coffee roaster I have cupped many coffees and actually did a test with freeer stored coffee that was stored for one month. Vs fresh coffee stored in a cover vault. The issue is that coffee has oils and we all know when we store items in a freezer that have oils in them the oils break down and separate from the solid mass. This in fact has a lot of the flavor the coffee has to offer.when we cupped the various freezer stored coffees vs the coffee vault stored coffees there was a difference in scoring. The acidity, the mouthfeel, and the flavor were definitely off on the coffee stored I. The freezer. The average person might not notice the difference especially if they add milk, cream, syrups, or sugar. The coffees stored in the coffee vault at room temp definitely scored higher and were more vibrant in the cup. So can you store coffee in freezer? Short answer yes! Does it affect the flavor and cup? Short answer is yes. But it’s really a personal preference to the consumer and how intently they are passionate about that flavor and coffee.
JAMES, YOU ARE A WONDERFUL HUMAN & DESERVE ALL THE BEST! I have watched your videos for quite some time now, and have been grateful for your level-headed, clear, inclusive information. And now, that you are doing giveaways for those who need it - BRAVO! Keep on keeping on; your work is appreciated!
What a proper lad. He knows there's people who can't afford coffee right now and offers to genuinely help with that. Good man. This is why I like you. You take coffee as serious as I do.
There was one good video where someone did shots of espresso everyday similar to what you're suggesting and had surprising results about the aging of coffee. Freezing does seem to pause the maturing or aging, but he also found coffees were best behaved and tasted more balanced I think when they were about 25-34 days after roast, longer than he had thought. Many people assume it's best within 1-2 weeks. I've had a coffee that was kinda boring but OK, which started getting good when I was pretty much done the bag, after about 3 weeks, that's not a usual case, but was interesting!
Quick Tip: You can (kinda) vacuum seal a ziploc bag by filling it with coffee, sticking a straw in it, closing the ziploc as much as you can (so the straw is still sticking out), sucking the air out through the straw, then quickly removing the straw and completely closing the ziploc.
I'd be wary of those - some research is likely necessary on the effect of reverse pressure on coffee - I've heard reports of those vacuum jars bringing oils to the surface of a bean (more quickly) due to the negative pressure inside them, speeding up staling.
Highjacking that comment to talk about vacuum bags like the ones shown in the video. Yes they're wasteful, but nearly not as much as one might think. Usually these bags come in rolls that you cut to size based on what you want to vacuum seal, just cut them 10 cm longer and when opening it you just have to cut off the dealed bit and you can use the rest.
@@KingofHassi for those asking themselves but then what's the difference bewteen that and a vacuum bag... Well a vacuum bag removes air from the bag and applies a light succion force to do that, but the negative pressure is barely noticeable. A propper vacuum sealing pump for creating a somewhat useful vacuum inside a mason jar will generate way more pressure, causing off-gassing which is... Well... Exactly what we don't want for coffee.
“-40 degrees, the magical temperature where it doesn’t matter what units your talking about” *Kelvins, Rankine, Delisle, Newton, Réaumur and Rømer have rage quit*
This is an interesting thing to explore. I’m still a student and therefore the only corona effect is that I now have plenty of time for thing such as this. I am now at the point where I realise, that I know so little and (even worse) that I have so little experience. I started watching your channel a bit more than a year ago and this journey has been a great pleasure. Thank you, James!
Realizing you know nothing and have no experience is a good place to start. It helps you open your mind and really absorb what is being taught to you. That's probably the worst part of school, particularly college, it gives you a false sense that you now have all the skills to get a job but in reality you have zero skills (if you just went to class) and a lot of useless knowledge (electives not pertaining to your degree).
Is there anywhere I can buy a “community bag” or something of the sort for you to donate? Meaning I buy a bag and you donate it! If I can help more people get coffee I would love to!
I use one of those Ikea ziplock bag (and reusing them), and then with a straw (from stainless steel don't cut me) suck all the air out and close the bag. You can get surprisingly good results from it!
I tried, but to be honest, simply hand-press the air out will do the job. When I suck the straw, most of the air I suck is actually from outside the bag. It looks slightly better only. But it's fun to try things out.
Almost exactly what I do but just push or roll the ziplock bag up. Manage to get around 2 weeks out of an open bag of beans with no notable change in flavour.
Would love a video comparing frozen vs room temperature stored coffee. Buy two bags of the same coffee with the same roast date. Leave one in the cupboard and one in the freezer. After week, take the freezer coffee out and let it thaw. Pull some shots/make some coffee with a blind test & see which one tastes better.
This just has to be done. My theory is the thawed beans will be oilier and more acidic (bitter). The structure of the bean has changed, perhaps at the cellular level.
James -- Vacuum packing. There is a simple pump to vacuum seal mason jars. Foodsaver jar sealer + Ziploc Vacuum kit/pump. Not expensive. Infinitely reusable. Vacuum seal mason jars.
There's a nice trick to get pretty close to vacuum. You take a reusable bag and dip it in water, with a small opening. As you introduce the bag the water will displace the air in the bag. Nice video! Really informative. Stay safe and healthy guys ✌️
perhaps a compromise would be to use your fingers to hold the beans below the water line (while your hands are still outside the bag but also below the waterline)? maybe some air would remain between your fingers and the beans and it might be hard to close the bag, but maybe worth testing?
Hey James, just wanted to say thanks again for the coffee giveaway! Pretty much all the local roasters I normally purchase from have also shut down, coupled with umemployment, makes it a godsend. Looking forward to its arrival :)
@@jameshoffmann never had a problem with your instructions so far, it is always very clear! Maybe I should have taken a closer look at the thumbnail, didn't realise those were beans as well.
You're advise is excellent. I use a vacuum sealer and purchase 2 lb. bags of coffee. I store about 12 oz. in a counter top container and freeze the remainder in an over sized bag. When I have to remove coffee from the freezer, I defrost it and then open the bag at the top and fill the container. I re-freeze the remainder in the large bag. When it's empty I re-fill and freeze the next purchase. I can easily re-use the bag 10 to 15 times to cut down waste.
I live near Edmonton, the northernmost major city in Canada, and here even a single day reaching momentarily as low as -40 °C is very rare... most years it doesn't happen even once.
Thank you, James, for your generosity in giving coffee to those who may not be able to acquire it themselves these days. You are a good person! I'm fortunate enough to be able to subscribe to regular deliveries of coffee from a roaster I love (used to be local, but I moved), and I do, indeed, freeze the amounts beyond what I can use in about a week, and it's been working swimmingly. In these days of self-isolation being able to enjoy a great cup of coffee with whatever else you're doing to maintain your sanity is a small joy that is a true luxury! Thanks for the ongoing videos, and for contributing to that extra joy we can add to our days!
I always get my beans in 250g bags with a ziplock and airvent, instantly put that in a freezer and do exactly what you did not recommend: take it out when i need it, quickly weigh the coffee and put it back in the freezer; I try to get as much air as possible out of course. I haven't had any ice crystals on my coffee ever, the taste is still very much to my liking and there is still a bloom after several months even. I just love having multiple, different kind of beans to switch up whenever :)
If it tastes good and you’re happy then you’re ok. Also, if it’s a small bag then the number of in and outs is going to be relatively small and you’re probably using it before it suffers. With a kilo bag that wouldn’t be the case
How long do you keep it in the freezer? Is the taste as good as fresh beans? What about the crema, if you make espresso? As local roasters are closed due to actuality, I had to order online, but you have to buy 2kg minimum, so I guess I'll have to freeze it, because for sure after a few weeks it will degrade if stored on a shelf
Mr James Hoffmann. Firstly - I love the content. I'm a avid coffee nerd. Secondly - My question is; What are your thoughts on freezing ground coffee? My grinder broke and I can't get one currently due to Covid-19. I still want to support local roasters as best as I can. So I was think, pre-ground, used in a French press. Now I know pre-ground isn't the best thing. But .... very little options right now.
Cristiano Same here, I want to know. I bought some pre-ground coffee as a gift for a friend (they don’t have a grinder) and then couldn’t give it to them because of this virus business. I’m worried it will go stale.
For ground coffee. I would suggest vacuum sealing or at least an airtight container as seen in the video (the smaller the better). Drop a oxigen absorber bag (not silica) to maintain freshness. Some thing like this www.amazon.com/Oxy-Sorb-Oxygen-Absorbers-Storage-100-Pack/dp/B0028AG8RO
I roast 3-4 lbs of my favorite coffee every week or two then place them in a re-usable vacuum cylinder and use the vacuum sealer to extract the air and freeze it. I did experiment with the taste between the frozen and fresh beans and found very little difference if any at all. All in all vacuum sealing and freezing is a very good option. Great video Mr. Hoffman. My local roastery, Jittery Joe's, is having a tough time but getting there folks to come to work in the roastery seems to be one of the issues at hand and they cannot even ship beans out. Hope this all ends soon. Stay safe.
Hi James, Yason from Indonesia A more a weeks ago, I tried to experiment these topic w/ 4 variable coffee : 1. Vacuum coffee 2. Vacuum silica gel coffee 3. Vacuum frozen coffee 4. Vacuum silica gel frozen coffee Roasted (16.3.20) Gayo Honey dose 12gr (same 67 pieces beans) then cupping w/ range of 5 days. So me and my team will cupping together at (21, 26, 31 March & 5 April) The cupping (21.3.20) just legit and exciting, sample no 4 (vacuum silica frozen) have best score and optimum flavor. The taste of Gayo Honey have more pronounce flavor despite another one. Are you agree vacuum frozen and silica can make flavor single origin more pronounce? Thanks
Something worth sharing, maybe: When I was a kid my mom would buy probably some of the worst, pre-ground, nabob or similar, giant canister of coffee, and keep it in the freezer. I was too young to drink coffee, but I loved the smell when I would open the canister, even though it was feint (considering how cold it was). She taught me how to make it, and something about opening that semi frozen canister and making coffee for my parents is a really nostalgic memory.
I've been experimenting with grinding my beans directly from the freezer - skipping the defrosting stage. In my experience, I'm finding that my grind is more consistent (using a Baratza Encore), and my cups are either brighter or absent of bitterness. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience?
This video came at the perfect time, just got a KG from Darkwoods. 1. To support them, my local roasters& 2. To support me during “highly vulnerable” social distancing... got two old coffee bags saved to separate out portions. Thanks James for the tips. I love your content and I hope you are well. 😃
Short, sharp and informative- thanks for the great content. Been wanting to have this clarified for a while. What would be the maximum time limit you’d leave them in the freezer given they do degrade? Maybe a month or two?
Good question - depends on a few factors but I’d be drinking three plus month old coffee if I had the coffee well packaged and the freezer running nice and cold.
James I just came across this video and your offer to give some people help who needed coffee but could not afford too buy . James your a good man .The world could use a lot more people like you . I thank God I'm ok in life God bless you Sir
This is the perfect video for me. Just got into buying actual fresh beans versus the supermarket ones. You can actually smell the beans when you open the bag and I didn't want them to go stale.
First: James, thank you so much! I don‘t need your videos, the more I enjoy them and I feel good about supporting you, who supports a lot of people. Simply thank you. As an addition to your suggestions: when you put your bag or whatever sealable container you use in the freezer before you fill coffee in, there will cold and dry air inside which should not harm your coffee beans. Greetings from Germany and stay healthy, Thorsten.
I do not need coffee thankfully, just found a place to buy that's open in my new city yesterday thankfully. But I'm a big fan of the channel already, James, and just wanted to say that I think you giving coffee to those that need done these days is just awesome. Good on you, and thanks for all three great content!
Hello James, thanks for the great content! I wanted to ask you about storing ground coffee (for the moka pot) in the fridge. I know many people in Italy that do that, does that actually help preserve the coffee?
James thanks for continuing the production of such enjoyable and informative content in these difficult times. My local roaster (in Sydney Australia) have had to shut the cafe but are still roasting and were delivering their excellent beans themselves today when my order arrived, happy I get to continue to enjoy their coffee and will support via online orders till they're open again!
Hey James! I heard that actually grinding cool coffee gives more consistent grounds than warmer ones (warm coffee is harder to cut when warm, similar to wax) and this was shown from some baristas at championships as well were frozen coffee was used. Did you try making coffee from freezed vs. defrosted vs non-frozen beans (sensory, crema, TDS..)? Would be an interesting experiment for sure! :)
That offer to give coffee to those in need was sweet as can be. We are JUST starting a little roasting business and have been learning a lot from your videos, and that is the kind of attutide that makes a business about people, not money. Cheers!
Decades ago I always keep Maxwell House grinds in the can in the freeze. Never had condensation problems. Since they were grounds and not beans, I would use directly from the freezer to the machine. The smell of hot water hitting frozen grinds is stronger and delightful. Coffee and cigarettes were stored in the freezer.
On the vacuum packing point (depending on the form sealing on the bag and quality of co2 valve the roastery is using), you can remove a majority of the air through the valve with a hoover and get a very good vacuum seal without spending money on a machine to do it into some specially designed pouch.
Any thoughts on how long after roast is ok to freeze? I’ve always thought it was better to wait a week for degassing and then freeze. I use reusable vacuum seal bags and they definitely degas a bit in the freezer.
Such an amazing thing to give coffee away to people who need it♥️. As an essential personnel my work has remained open and I still have income. But for those who don’t, that service is such a blessing!
Thanks James! I do have one question, and maybe it was addressed here and I missed it (in the 3 times I watched this) -- but if I have beans that were roasted a day ago, would I be better off freezing them ASAP? Or should I wait until they hit the recommended window from the roaster? For example, I have a 5lbs bag of coffee, roasted yesterday with a recommended for use within 10-15 days of the roast date. Would I be best off freezing it right away, or closer to when it hits 10 days?
Years ago I read an experiment that said the BEST BET is to freeze freshly roasted to retain freshness. That's what I've been doing ever since. I get beans roasted as close to today as possible, portion them in ½ pint wide mouth mason jars (I find 12 ounces goes into four jars). I have a 'brake bleeder' hand pump and a special 'cap' which I use to empty out the air in the jars. I freeze three and keep the fourth out in a dark place which I pump the air out of after I use a portion to make my coffee a few times a week.
Freshly roasted beans should always be allowed ~5 days at room temperature for degassing. If you seal freshly roasted beans in any container without a means of releasing pressure it would explode from the CO2 that comes off the beans.
So James let's say I buy 6 weeks worth of coffee at one time and they are all medium to dark roast coffees. What is my best storage option? Freezing is my best storage option until I'm ready to use? I can keep it in the original bag coffee came in and then put coffee inside of a seal tight canister or inside of a freezer ziploc bag? Taking coffee out of original bag and putting it in a seal tight canister is the next best option? Worst option is just leaving coffee in original bag at room temperature? Thank you!
I don't buy quite so much coffee at one time, but i buy my beans 2 pounds at a time mostly and I bought a vacuum sealed jar for storing coffee and put 1 pound in that when i get the beans, and the other pound in the freezer in its original package. Then I just use the ones in my jar, and when i run out of my beans in the vacuum jar, i pour the beans from the freezer into my jar. It's a quite a decent system. I'd imagine if you had more coffee, then just portion them out in one pound portions and freeze them but always keep 1 pound in a vacuum sealed jar for daily use.
This was really sweet to watch, thanks. When you mention vacuum sealing, I thought of the vacuum sealable jars that they have. It's the best of both worlds, removing air from the container with coffee, and it's reusable.
Excellent Video! I've been doing this for years. It does make a huge difference. It kinda goes like this: Receive fresh coffee (this tastes best over the 1st week). The next week is freezer coffee. This coffee is nearly as good as the 1st week. At the end of this jar, I can't wait for the 1st coffee from the next freezer coffee. Simply put, the 1st few days after freezing are def better than the last few days. It's all still good espresso, just not as good and much better than if I just left it in the bag for a month. Sidenote: I only drink one espresso per day (~15 grams) so it takes a while to go through a bag. -Cheers
The issue (raised in the video) is that the beans get exposed to moisture laden warm air and condensation forms on the beans, both in the bag and in the grinder. Room temp beans don't have this problem.
Love this! Thanks for supporting coffee drinkers in need. I’ll be supporting local roasters that are now doing delivery and curbside. And hopefully they can keep more people on payroll. Cheers from Minnesota, US.
I subscribed even though I don't drink a lot of coffee - mostly because you seem like a super kind person and I love that you do sponsored giveaways. I don't need them, but I love that you support the coffee addicts who can't afford to buy decent coffee.
Hi James, I have a completely unrelated question: Sometimes when I order a bag of coffee beans, instead of being a vacuum packed bag, the bag is puffed out. It's still properly sealed and air tight, but full of "air". Is this likely to be a fault in the bagging process or have the beans off-gassed something? Thanks ☕
First of all: thanks for clarifying the whole freezing thing. There are quite some opinions about it. And secondly: I've put it to practice right away. My local roaster (Dellf, the Netherlands) is facing quite a hard time now, since a huge part of her income is from selling beans to cafés. Since they're all closed and her own shop can't be open either, she decided to start home delivery for local customers. All by bike of course, since we're Dutch and it does help the environment. So I orderd way more than I needed and started freezing it in airtight ziplock bags :-) I'll let you know if the coffee tastes horrible in a few months :-P
I went from instant to grinding my own because it seemed like there was very little value in ground coffee bought from the store to begin with. Consider buying a manual burr grinder, you can get one affordable. Don't spend less than 40 unless it's on sale, something closer to 100 is even better.
I have a method that eliminates all the faff and waste from those single use vacuum bags, but still does a good job of sealing stuff away from air. Its a bit silly, but I swear it really works. Using a straw, you suck most of the air out of a freezer bag. Put the straw in the bag, close the seal all the way up to the straw, then suck hard, pull the straw out, and very quickly fully seal the bag.
This is the perfect information I need now. I just got 4 packs of 250g coffee at once because of the social distancing. Now I don’t need to worry about my coffee beans anymore. Pro tips: If you have expensive green tea, you can also seal and store them in the freezer. As a matter of fact, tea wholesaler do this at their store too.
In a cupboard away from heat and water, in an airtight container, or if the bag is resealable, just keep it in that.. Coffee absorbs flavours so it can pick up unpleasant notes from other food in a fridge, and it can easily get damp from the moisture inside a fridge which isn't good for beans.
After your last video I bought two bags of coffee from Coffee by Design in Portland, Maine!! Thank goodness you posted this, I was about to chuck both bags in the freezer once they arrived!! Thanks :)
The giveaway is a great gesture! I require some more coffee and normally go to a supermarket for beans (student). I want to buy some locally however (Sussex) after your points about local businesses. Any advice for a first time buyer of 'more' expensive/local beans?
Hi ! We are in a very similar situation. I'm a student too, and bought my first bag of beans to a local roadster last month. I've just been, knowing what flavor I was looking for (I enjoy red berries) They asked me what type of coffee machine I have,didn't tried to oversell me, and gave me exactly what i wanted. Just go and be a good human. They won't bite :)
If you normally buy coffee in a supermarket, you are probably not ready for specialty coffee. I suggest buying the "house blend", which is usually kind of generic in taste and also the cheapest (still expensive). Also, you might want to start by saying you are looking for a low/no acidity coffee (unless you have been there before and you like sour coffee).
another student here! I go to a small cafe nearby where i am in london, operated and owned by 2 of the nicest guys. i got into specialty coffee fairly recently, and chatting to them about different roasts + tasting notes helped because they really know their stuff. i'd say drop a message over instagram to some local cafes (and for sure visit them after the covid-19 situation) to ask about what they recommend! i agree that house blends are a good place to start another way to experiment before buying a bag of beans is to try a cafe's filter coffee (v60, etc) and they'll usually point out to you which beans they're using. if you enjoy the cuppa, then you can go ahead and invest in the bag :-)
Thank you for continuing to make excellent videos about coffee! The little daily rituals of life like coffee are bringing even more calm and comfort in these times. Your videos are a welcome escape to look forward to as well! Cheers and stay safe!
How about keeping beans in the fridge? I live in an upstairs apartment where it can get quite hot, so rather than keeping in the cupboard, could I use the fridge?
I have been doing this for more than a year without issue. I'm pretty sure it's better than leaving them out in tropical weather with high humidity and room temperatures of up to 35C.
I keep ground coffee in an airtight tin in the fridge and use it as required over about a week. Most modern advice is to not do thst but I have never seen evidence to justify not doing so. Because colder air falls, the air will stay in the the tin when opened, so little chance for moisture to get in.
I can see why this video is in huge need right now, because while most part of the world in lockdown state and people is busy stocking toilet paper, but I as a coffee lover have bought lot green beans and roasted beans just before lockdown.
I'm fortunate enough to not have to worry about coffee at the moment. But I just wanted to say how awesome I think your giveaway is! It's incredibly generous of you! Thank you for supporting people even with things like coffee, it reminds everyone that we are all in this together and that people are out there that care! Keep it up!
Very reassured. This is what I have always done, and felt was right. That said, places like on the HB forum can have so many different opinions, I never felt 100% confident. Thanks for putting this issue to rest for good for me. I always appreciate your great critical thinking and sharing your experience with others.
THIS! I'm new to the coffee world, and the only drinker in my home at the moment. I have been forming a sort of stepwise plan as to how I'll go about my coffee adventure as I've been watching your videos! After having the very first cup of coffee of my life that I have thoroughly enjoyed without running for cream and sweetener, I've bought my first bag of beans and had them ground for my french press. I was wondering on my drive home what I would do in the future when I buy whole beans to hand grind at home. I have a vacuum sealer, and it came with some really cool reusable zipper top vacuum bags- so I was thinking I could store whole beans in those bags, and now will be planning to freeze them after removing the air! Huzzah!! ☺
Thanks James. Much respect and appreciation for what you do, both how informative, useful, user friendly your information is and how you combine social messaging with your work. I have watched many of your videos and have learnt much and greatly benefitted in preparing coffee that friends and family like.
All the local coffee shops in my area are closed to the public but are still open selling ground coffee or whole beans and delivering/ready for pick up. I think this is amazing!
When you began to mention a person that was in favor of freezing coffee beans, I hoped at that point it was Mr. Mike Sivits you would be talking about. And lo and behold he was the person you were speaking of! I live in the town in Oregon which he roasted coffee, and built roaster parts. It was my understanding he in fact held at least one patent. I was just so sad when he retired. For years I bought his roasted beans. Yes he did freeze them. I knew I was enjoying coffee from him that was very hard to come across. Flavor notes and an ability to bring out each coffees characteristics of it's origin were something to behold. I was told by another food scientist the success in freezing, is also paramount in the precise timing, cool down of the roasted beans etc.. I sure do miss those days when Mr. Sivits roasted and froze those coffee beans! Fortunately, for us in this same town some local roasters have continued on using Sivit's Roasters. No one here freezes any longer though. I agree with this video, that it doesn't work to just throw any bag of beans in the freezer. Freezing beans in a much more scientific and involved process than that. I have had good luck at times freezing beans 30 to 60 minutes after the roast and or cool down. I put them in a mason jar, as was Mike's preferred method for storage of Coffee beans
Hi James. Great video, as always! totally agree with you with the wastage with vacuum bags, but if you really want to do it, I suggest using a slightly longer bag, let the vacuum machine work a little bit, cancel midway and clip it with one of those longer Ikea bag sealers. Works pretty well for me and you can reuse the bag multiple times. Have a great day and stay safe!
A couple of yrs ago I froze a lb of roasted whole bean Columbia huila Supremo, vacuum sealed, for 3 months. After defrosting the coffee I ground it all and gave samples to friends that I use as tasters. Four of my tasters normally drank Columbia Huila and the fifth would pretty much drink anything I gave him. HIs favorite was an Ethiopian Natural. The four Columbia drinkers found no fault with the taste of the coffee. The fifth said the coffee was ok but did I have any Ethiopian? I''ve been hobby roasting for 20 yrs using using a half lb Swiss Mar electric drum roaster the fist 17 yrs and a Coffee Crafters Artisian 2.5 lb fluidized roaster for the last 3 yrs.
The vacuum sealer that I have pulls the air out of canning jars with standard Mason/Ball lids. Things so stored in the fridge or freezer will keep several times longer than without vacuum sealing. Reusable glass jars address your concerns about waste and the heavy glass won't allow off tastes and odors to permeate the material like plastic can.
A local cafe bought a large number of toilet rolls and gave them out free, without even the need to purchase anything, to the elderly/needy when the shops were empty of them.
I made sure to go in and buy a coffee everyday.
They now cannot serve people to consume food/drinks at their tables and don't get much business due to the lock down of social gathering places in Australia.
Support your local coffee shops or we may lose them.
Thank you for supporting local!
Is it Melbourne??
Wtf is toilet paper gunna do?
@@CatnamedMittens toilet paper is going to be the next post apocalyptic currency
@Rajiv Rai he doesnt said the toilet rolls support coffee industry the local cafe just supporting local communities especially the elderly who couldn't even get the chance to buy toilet rolls because of the panic
James: If you’ve ever owned a freezer
Me: looking around cave
LoL!!!
Yes my daily dose of a smug condescending twat. I don't think he thinks the poor viewers he sits above actually have fridges with huge freezers in them. Or have for 60 years.
@@xr6lad He clearly was being sarcastic, of course he knows that everyone has fucking freezers. EZ action is just going along with the joke. You are reading far too much into what he is saying just because he has a posh voice and a successful career. It's you thats being the smug twat.
Man, you have an internet connection in your cave
Max it’s neighbor’s 😄
I'd love to see you revisit this subject with one of your experiments, comparing freezer-kept coffee at different ages/levels of freshness, to work out a rough estimate for how long it can be stored in a typical -18 to -22C freezer, compared to simply keeping it in the cupboard in an airtight container.
Same here. I got a great setup IMO but I'm fighting staling every step of the way.
I'm starting to consider just vacuum sealing individual portions because there's not much else to get the best out of those beans
vacuum bags are kinda reusable, if you just let em shrink slowly out of existence
I do vacuum pack about 1 week of espresso beans at a time. I reuse the same bag over and over until the bag is too short (from cutting off 3/4" off the top each time I open it) to use. It works good. Plus, there are vacuum bags with a ziploc top as well. I just haven't tried those yet. Great video, as usual.
Agree! I always wash vacuum seal bags and reuse them over and over until they are too small to use anymore. I don't see it as anymore wasteful than using ziploc type bags which are also washable and reusable.
Just use ziplockable vacuum bags with the valve.
@@hakosama 3/4" is way too much waste. Try to get the most basic model with manual control, each my seal trim the bag like 1/4"
Caso, and I would guess also other manufacturers, also has vacuum sealable containers out of glass and plastic, through which you could reduce waste to zero
I have been vacuum sealing and freezing beans for a while (I have an issue with buying an interesting coffee whenever I see it when I already have plenty of great coffee at home). I avoid the whole issue of waste by re-using the vacuum bags. If you open the bag by cutting just behind the current seal, you can re-use it and you'll only "waste" the tiny bit of bag between the old seal and the new seal.
what vacuum seal do you use?
Look for vacuum zipper bags. The valves do wear out but they last quite a while and you can use a much less expensive vacuum.
I have been doing the exact same for about a year, and have found that the coffee no longer has much aroma, being unsure whether to warm the grounds for a given amount of time before brewing? What have you found works the best?
Old videos that I haven’t seen, and just pop up are the best. I’ve been storing my coffee in the freezer in an airtight container, for daily use, and grinding frozen beans. Thanks James
If you want to use a vacuum sealer and cut down on waste then you can reuse the majority of it by using a larger bag than you need then just cutting off the sealed part to open it, then you can reseal the same bag. Means you're using about 5-10mm of bag for each use rather than a whole bag.
J. Sparrow I use vacuum mason jars. Reusable.
You can buy an attachment for most vacuum sealers to vacuum seal mason jars. Works great! I use it for dehydrated veggies, dehydrated mushrooms, etc.
I have a vacuum sealer and would there be any issue if you use the same vacuum bag again? For instance, buy a bigger bag and freeze the portion you want to save. Defrost that and use it and then put more beans and reuse the bag. That would cut down on waste. I’m thinking it would work for the same exact beans, but not sure if they were different.
Also, for someone who is just getting into coffee and espresso, your videos have been fantastic. I have leaned so much. Thank you!!
@@kenwhite731 Why not just use a high quality zip lock freezer bag and re use it for a long time, less waste.
Correct. I get 6-7 uses from my pint freezer bags by sealing the very edge and slicing off the minimum amount to open. I vacuum seal in one day packets. Otherwise the same as he recommends. Take a bag out every night for the next day's use. But get real, the carbon footprint used to transport your coffee to you, Is by far the worst environmental impact from coffee. Anyone who is truly concerned about the environment would grow their own coffee. :D
So in essence we need to 'flatten the (oxidation) curve' and in order to do that we have to implement 'social distancing' between coffee and air.
😑
I ran a simulation. Turns out individually vacuum wrapping each coffee bean flattens the curve the most.
@@jean-paulvanewijk1810 and spikes the pollution level simultaneously because of all the plastic
Yuck
And 2 weeks magically turns into a year and having to distance even after oxidation has occurred
Amazing James, love your work! As a bartender and barrister who (along with my entire hospitality company) was laid off last week, watching these videos have been great. Best wishes from Melbourne, Australia! Stay Safe all
Thomas Cahir from a Melburnian coffee drinker, thank you and I’m sorry things are so bad for you all. :(
I hope you’re all ok and safe and I hope things get better soon
@@jameshoffmann Thanks guys! The hospitality industry has really rallied around everyone here which is great to see, we've gotten free food deliveries and homemade meals which has made all the difference. Hope its the same in your neck of the woods
Woooo! Nothing better than a James Hoffmann video to keep you company while you're trapped in isolation :D
Agreed!!!
I'm here with you too!
A James Hoffman video with a cup of coffee? 🤭
In isolation? Did you mean sealed and frozen? :)
Amen. James (along with practice) has helped improve my brewing and brewing skills!
"do the right thing." Such a powerful statement right now.
Jefferson Derrickson just do the next right thing
This is the process I’ve been using for a while now and I can second that it works great for me: I get a kilo and freeze 3/4 of it in three separate bags. Each come out as fresh as the first!
Are Ziploc sandwich bags good to use?
Yes
That’s good to know! I’ve been reusing coffee bags with a one way valve as I wasn’t sure how much outgassing would be reduced in the freezer, but I guess it’s not really an issue!
@@themousemafia this is a good idea too though I'd say? the bags can be pretty airtight.
@Sean Morris yeah, they work pretty well! Mine are getting a little battered after much use though.
One thing people don’t take into consideration, and as a coffee roaster I have cupped many coffees and actually did a test with freeer stored coffee that was stored for one month. Vs fresh coffee stored in a cover vault. The issue is that coffee has oils and we all know when we store items in a freezer that have oils in them the oils break down and separate from the solid mass. This in fact has a lot of the flavor the coffee has to offer.when we cupped the various freezer stored coffees vs the coffee vault stored coffees there was a difference in scoring. The acidity, the mouthfeel, and the flavor were definitely off on the coffee stored I. The freezer. The average person might not notice the difference especially if they add milk, cream, syrups, or sugar. The coffees stored in the coffee vault at room temp definitely scored higher and were more vibrant in the cup. So can you store coffee in freezer? Short answer yes! Does it affect the flavor and cup? Short answer is yes. But it’s really a personal preference to the consumer and how intently they are passionate about that flavor and coffee.
Was it a randomized blind test?
obviously not
pretty sure you didn’t vacuum seal the beans and ended up degrading it’s quality
JAMES, YOU ARE A WONDERFUL HUMAN & DESERVE ALL THE BEST! I have watched your videos for quite some time now, and have been grateful for your level-headed, clear, inclusive information. And now, that you are doing giveaways for those who need it - BRAVO! Keep on keeping on; your work is appreciated!
I’ve watched most of James’ content and I honestly don’t drink coffee at all. Why do I love this man’s videos?
His voice, accent, and demeanor are soothing and pleasant. His focus, interest, and dedication are inspiring.
Amsr
What a proper lad. He knows there's people who can't afford coffee right now and offers to genuinely help with that. Good man. This is why I like you. You take coffee as serious as I do.
Would you consider cupping frozen coffee at various "freezer ages" to see what happens to it vs. fresh?
There was one good video where someone did shots of espresso everyday similar to what you're suggesting and had surprising results about the aging of coffee. Freezing does seem to pause the maturing or aging, but he also found coffees were best behaved and tasted more balanced I think when they were about 25-34 days after roast, longer than he had thought. Many people assume it's best within 1-2 weeks. I've had a coffee that was kinda boring but OK, which started getting good when I was pretty much done the bag, after about 3 weeks, that's not a usual case, but was interesting!
Quick Tip: You can (kinda) vacuum seal a ziploc bag by filling it with coffee, sticking a straw in it, closing the ziploc as much as you can (so the straw is still sticking out), sucking the air out through the straw, then quickly removing the straw and completely closing the ziploc.
or you cannot do that and lead a normal life which does not involve fretting over the tiniest morsel of air molecules.
@@achalgoel1Or you too can live a normal life and not care what other people do in their free time
There are vacuum pots that can be re used. That would remove most of the waste but still have the vacuum element
I'd be wary of those - some research is likely necessary on the effect of reverse pressure on coffee - I've heard reports of those vacuum jars bringing oils to the surface of a bean (more quickly) due to the negative pressure inside them, speeding up staling.
You can also vacuum seal jars with the right machine if I recall correctly.
Highjacking that comment to talk about vacuum bags like the ones shown in the video. Yes they're wasteful, but nearly not as much as one might think. Usually these bags come in rolls that you cut to size based on what you want to vacuum seal, just cut them 10 cm longer and when opening it you just have to cut off the dealed bit and you can use the rest.
@@KingofHassi for those asking themselves but then what's the difference bewteen that and a vacuum bag... Well a vacuum bag removes air from the bag and applies a light succion force to do that, but the negative pressure is barely noticeable. A propper vacuum sealing pump for creating a somewhat useful vacuum inside a mason jar will generate way more pressure, causing off-gassing which is... Well... Exactly what we don't want for coffee.
there is a foodsaver attachment for mason jars that you can suck the air out
“-40 degrees, the magical temperature where it doesn’t matter what units your talking about”
*Kelvins, Rankine, Delisle, Newton, Réaumur and Rømer have rage quit*
M B absolute zero
-40 degrees Kelvin?
That would violate some laws of physics, but would definitely keep your beans fresh.
@@StavrosSachtouris negative Kelvin doesn't break the laws of physics at all, lots of systems are negative Kelvin, e.g. parts of lasers
@@StavrosSachtouris No one setting the fridge temp in Kelvin - unless the Big Bang Theory guys are freezing their coffee. :)
-40 Celsius = -40 Fahrenheit
This is an interesting thing to explore.
I’m still a student and therefore the only corona effect is that I now have plenty of time for thing such as this.
I am now at the point where I realise, that I know so little and (even worse) that I have so little experience. I started watching your channel a bit more than a year ago and this journey has been a great pleasure.
Thank you, James!
Realizing you know nothing and have no experience is a good place to start. It helps you open your mind and really absorb what is being taught to you. That's probably the worst part of school, particularly college, it gives you a false sense that you now have all the skills to get a job but in reality you have zero skills (if you just went to class) and a lot of useless knowledge (electives not pertaining to your degree).
Is there anywhere I can buy a “community bag” or something of the sort for you to donate? Meaning I buy a bag and you donate it! If I can help more people get coffee I would love to!
brilliant idea, if is possible, I'll buy someone some coffee
help locally by donating a few bags to a food bank
I use one of those Ikea ziplock bag (and reusing them), and then with a straw (from stainless steel don't cut me) suck all the air out and close the bag.
You can get surprisingly good results from it!
or submerge the bag in a pot of water, then close the bag.. the water can then be used as ordinary
I tried, but to be honest, simply hand-press the air out will do the job. When I suck the straw, most of the air I suck is actually from outside the bag. It looks slightly better only. But it's fun to try things out.
Coffee Beans float, and so it can make the displacement method a little unyieldy to do. (Hoffmann responded elsewhere with that)
Almost exactly what I do but just push or roll the ziplock bag up. Manage to get around 2 weeks out of an open bag of beans with no notable change in flavour.
lol "don't cut me"
this kills the man
Would love a video comparing frozen vs room temperature stored coffee.
Buy two bags of the same coffee with the same roast date. Leave one in the cupboard and one in the freezer. After week, take the freezer coffee out and let it thaw. Pull some shots/make some coffee with a blind test & see which one tastes better.
This just has to be done. My theory is the thawed beans will be oilier and more acidic (bitter). The structure of the bean has changed, perhaps at the cellular level.
Good to know I can just leave my coffee outside in the winter. Finally, something good to come from these -40° Canadian winters!
James --
Vacuum packing.
There is a simple pump to vacuum seal mason jars.
Foodsaver jar sealer + Ziploc Vacuum kit/pump.
Not expensive. Infinitely reusable. Vacuum seal mason jars.
There's a nice trick to get pretty close to vacuum. You take a reusable bag and dip it in water, with a small opening. As you introduce the bag the water will displace the air in the bag.
Nice video! Really informative.
Stay safe and healthy guys ✌️
I use the caveman approach, suck the air out with my mouth :D
this works with most foods, but coffee beans float and are quite difficult to do the displacement method with. (Having tried it)
@@jameshoffmann that is a really good point! To the drawing board! 🤓
@@jameshoffmann Would adding something heavy to the bag work? It would need to be inert and freezer safe, perhaps a clean teaspoon or something?
perhaps a compromise would be to use your fingers to hold the beans below the water line (while your hands are still outside the bag but also below the waterline)? maybe some air would remain between your fingers and the beans and it might be hard to close the bag, but maybe worth testing?
Hey James, just wanted to say thanks again for the coffee giveaway! Pretty much all the local roasters I normally purchase from have also shut down, coupled with umemployment, makes it a godsend. Looking forward to its arrival :)
Up until he showed the bag of beans I thought he was talking about brewed coffee
That was what I thought at first too. I was intrigued!
I should have been clearer! This is good feedback
@@jameshoffmann never had a problem with your instructions so far, it is always very clear!
Maybe I should have taken a closer look at the thumbnail, didn't realise those were beans as well.
So did I. lol In fact, I was thinking, "coffee cubes?"
Because if the thumbnail?
You're advise is excellent. I use a vacuum sealer and purchase 2 lb. bags of coffee. I store about 12 oz. in a counter top container and freeze the remainder in an over sized bag. When I have to remove coffee from the freezer, I defrost it and then open the bag at the top and fill the container. I re-freeze the remainder in the large bag. When it's empty I re-fill and freeze the next purchase. I can easily re-use the bag 10 to 15 times to cut down waste.
-40 degrees? Canada now has a leg up in the coffee world.
Tim Horton says otherwise.
Mud water is not milk
I live near Edmonton, the northernmost major city in Canada, and here even a single day reaching momentarily as low as -40 °C is very rare... most years it doesn't happen even once.
Thank you, James, for your generosity in giving coffee to those who may not be able to acquire it themselves these days. You are a good person! I'm fortunate enough to be able to subscribe to regular deliveries of coffee from a roaster I love (used to be local, but I moved), and I do, indeed, freeze the amounts beyond what I can use in about a week, and it's been working swimmingly. In these days of self-isolation being able to enjoy a great cup of coffee with whatever else you're doing to maintain your sanity is a small joy that is a true luxury! Thanks for the ongoing videos, and for contributing to that extra joy we can add to our days!
I always get my beans in 250g bags with a ziplock and airvent, instantly put that in a freezer and do exactly what you did not recommend: take it out when i need it, quickly weigh the coffee and put it back in the freezer; I try to get as much air as possible out of course.
I haven't had any ice crystals on my coffee ever, the taste is still very much to my liking and there is still a bloom after several months even.
I just love having multiple, different kind of beans to switch up whenever :)
If it tastes good and you’re happy then you’re ok. Also, if it’s a small bag then the number of in and outs is going to be relatively small and you’re probably using it before it suffers. With a kilo bag that wouldn’t be the case
How long do you keep it in the freezer? Is the taste as good as fresh beans? What about the crema, if you make espresso?
As local roasters are closed due to actuality, I had to order online, but you have to buy 2kg minimum, so I guess I'll have to freeze it, because for sure after a few weeks it will degrade if stored on a shelf
So, do you grind frozen coffee beans? Am I right?
i' m over a year late. but still, i'm so glad i found that channel :)
Mr James Hoffmann. Firstly - I love the content. I'm a avid coffee nerd.
Secondly - My question is; What are your thoughts on freezing ground coffee? My grinder broke and I can't get one currently due to Covid-19. I still want to support local roasters as best as I can. So I was think, pre-ground, used in a French press. Now I know pre-ground isn't the best thing. But .... very little options right now.
Cristiano Same here, I want to know. I bought some pre-ground coffee as a gift for a friend (they don’t have a grinder) and then couldn’t give it to them because of this virus business. I’m worried it will go stale.
@@DanaBonn your best bet is probably to go ahead and use that coffee yourself! Buy your friend a fresh package when it's safe to venture out again.
DanaBonn Use it to brew a nice coffee then sit down and write down a list of priorities. When you’ve finished your list you’ll know the answer.
For ground coffee. I would suggest vacuum sealing or at least an airtight container as seen in the video (the smaller the better). Drop a oxigen absorber bag (not silica) to maintain freshness. Some thing like this www.amazon.com/Oxy-Sorb-Oxygen-Absorbers-Storage-100-Pack/dp/B0028AG8RO
Detailed and well-explained content in EVERY. SINGLE. VIDEO. Thank you James Hoffmann!
related refrigeration question: should i keep coffee (beans or ground) in the fridge, instead of pantry?
I have the same question.
Fridge is bad due to moisture
I roast 3-4 lbs of my favorite coffee every week or two then place them in a re-usable vacuum cylinder and use the vacuum sealer to extract the air and freeze it. I did experiment with the taste between the frozen and fresh beans and found very little difference if any at all. All in all vacuum sealing and freezing is a very good option. Great video Mr. Hoffman.
My local roastery, Jittery Joe's, is having a tough time but getting there folks to come to work in the roastery seems to be one of the issues at hand and they cannot even ship beans out. Hope this all ends soon. Stay safe.
Hi James, Yason from Indonesia
A more a weeks ago, I tried to experiment these topic w/ 4 variable coffee :
1. Vacuum coffee
2. Vacuum silica gel coffee
3. Vacuum frozen coffee
4. Vacuum silica gel frozen coffee
Roasted (16.3.20) Gayo Honey dose 12gr (same 67 pieces beans) then cupping w/ range of 5 days. So me and my team will cupping together at (21, 26, 31 March & 5 April)
The cupping (21.3.20) just legit and exciting, sample no 4 (vacuum silica frozen) have best score and optimum flavor. The taste of Gayo Honey have more pronounce flavor despite another one.
Are you agree vacuum frozen and silica can make flavor single origin more pronounce?
Thanks
Something worth sharing, maybe: When I was a kid my mom would buy probably some of the worst, pre-ground, nabob or similar, giant canister of coffee, and keep it in the freezer. I was too young to drink coffee, but I loved the smell when I would open the canister, even though it was feint (considering how cold it was). She taught me how to make it, and something about opening that semi frozen canister and making coffee for my parents is a really nostalgic memory.
I've been experimenting with grinding my beans directly from the freezer - skipping the defrosting stage. In my experience, I'm finding that my grind is more consistent (using a Baratza Encore), and my cups are either brighter or absent of bitterness. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience?
I'm using it and can confirm that grind is more consistent after freezer even with manual coffee grinder.
This video came at the perfect time, just got a KG from Darkwoods. 1. To support them, my local roasters& 2. To support me during “highly vulnerable” social distancing... got two old coffee bags saved to separate out portions. Thanks James for the tips. I love your content and I hope you are well. 😃
Short, sharp and informative- thanks for the great content. Been wanting to have this clarified for a while. What would be the maximum time limit you’d leave them in the freezer given they do degrade? Maybe a month or two?
Good question - depends on a few factors but I’d be drinking three plus month old coffee if I had the coffee well packaged and the freezer running nice and cold.
Thanks for brining waste up! People often forget that these items often end up in land fields or incinerators that affect aquifers and the air.
I want James to meet Gordon Ramsey and make him some espresso and talk about the flavors.
frozen fresh
This but I want Gordon to make the espresso and then James to tell him how horrible his coffee is...
I've seen Gordon use "strong espresso" in one of his recipe videos, and it looked quite miserable.
@@AkaAka_AkaAka I would watch that.
James I just came across this video and your offer to give some people help who needed coffee but could not afford too buy . James your a good man .The world could use a lot more people like you . I thank God I'm ok in life God bless you Sir
Thank you for steady pushing out the good content in the time most of us baristas are sitting at home!
This is the perfect video for me. Just got into buying actual fresh beans versus the supermarket ones.
You can actually smell the beans when you open the bag and I didn't want them to go stale.
James Hoffmann: destroying myths one at a time
First: James, thank you so much! I don‘t need your videos, the more I enjoy them and I feel good about supporting you, who supports a lot of people. Simply thank you. As an addition to your suggestions: when you put your bag or whatever sealable container you use in the freezer before you fill coffee in, there will cold and dry air inside which should not harm your coffee beans. Greetings from Germany and stay healthy, Thorsten.
Good luck to everyone that needs great coffee in their lifes!
I do not need coffee thankfully, just found a place to buy that's open in my new city yesterday thankfully. But I'm a big fan of the channel already, James, and just wanted to say that I think you giving coffee to those that need done these days is just awesome. Good on you, and thanks for all three great content!
Hello James, thanks for the great content! I wanted to ask you about storing ground coffee (for the moka pot) in the fridge. I know many people in Italy that do that, does that actually help preserve the coffee?
James thanks for continuing the production of such enjoyable and informative content in these difficult times. My local roaster (in Sydney Australia) have had to shut the cafe but are still roasting and were delivering their excellent beans themselves today when my order arrived, happy I get to continue to enjoy their coffee and will support via online orders till they're open again!
Hey James! I heard that actually grinding cool coffee gives more consistent grounds than warmer ones (warm coffee is harder to cut when warm, similar to wax) and this was shown from some baristas at championships as well were frozen coffee was used.
Did you try making coffee from freezed vs. defrosted vs non-frozen beans (sensory, crema, TDS..)? Would be an interesting experiment for sure! :)
See his video "Mixing Coffee Beans and Liquid Nitrogen", which he posted about a year after your comment.
it's been done see Home Barista
That offer to give coffee to those in need was sweet as can be. We are JUST starting a little roasting business and have been learning a lot from your videos, and that is the kind of attutide that makes a business about people, not money. Cheers!
Hi James, do you have any possibility to talk/show/share thoughts about home roasting ?
It’s planned - but I also feel like I have a lot to learn!
James Hoffmann Just put some of the options next to each other like you do in other videos would be great !!
Decades ago I always keep Maxwell House grinds in the can in the freeze. Never had condensation problems. Since they were grounds and not beans, I would use directly from the freezer to the machine. The smell of hot water hitting frozen grinds is stronger and delightful.
Coffee and cigarettes were stored in the freezer.
I can just imagine you making a cup of frozen coffee and smoking a frozen cigarette and having the most 80s morning ever.
Oh no. I needed to go to bed. One more video.
On the vacuum packing point (depending on the form sealing on the bag and quality of co2 valve the roastery is using), you can remove a majority of the air through the valve with a hoover and get a very good vacuum seal without spending money on a machine to do it into some specially designed pouch.
Any thoughts on how long after roast is ok to freeze? I’ve always thought it was better to wait a week for degassing and then freeze. I use reusable vacuum seal bags and they definitely degas a bit in the freezer.
James is super qualified to run this test!
Such an amazing thing to give coffee away to people who need it♥️. As an essential personnel my work has remained open and I still have income. But for those who don’t, that service is such a blessing!
Thanks James! I do have one question, and maybe it was addressed here and I missed it (in the 3 times I watched this) -- but if I have beans that were roasted a day ago, would I be better off freezing them ASAP? Or should I wait until they hit the recommended window from the roaster? For example, I have a 5lbs bag of coffee, roasted yesterday with a recommended for use within 10-15 days of the roast date. Would I be best off freezing it right away, or closer to when it hits 10 days?
Years ago I read an experiment that said the BEST BET is to freeze freshly roasted to retain freshness. That's what I've been doing ever since.
I get beans roasted as close to today as possible, portion them in ½ pint wide mouth mason jars (I find 12 ounces goes into four jars). I have a 'brake bleeder' hand pump and a special 'cap' which I use to empty out the air in the jars. I freeze three and keep the fourth out in a dark place which I pump the air out of after I use a portion to make my coffee a few times a week.
Freshly roasted beans should always be allowed ~5 days at room temperature for degassing. If you seal freshly roasted beans in any container without a means of releasing pressure it would explode from the CO2 that comes off the beans.
@@cdvax11 Did this happen to you?
@@mystricalmist No. I paid attention in Physics...
I just wanted to say thank you for your videos. It always make me smile to see a new one.
So James let's say I buy 6 weeks worth of coffee at one time and they are all medium to dark roast coffees. What is my best storage option? Freezing is my best storage option until I'm ready to use? I can keep it in the original bag coffee came in and then put coffee inside of a seal tight canister or inside of a freezer ziploc bag? Taking coffee out of original bag and putting it in a seal tight canister is the next best option? Worst option is just leaving coffee in original bag at room temperature? Thank you!
I don't buy quite so much coffee at one time, but i buy my beans 2 pounds at a time mostly and I bought a vacuum sealed jar for storing coffee and put 1 pound in that when i get the beans, and the other pound in the freezer in its original package. Then I just use the ones in my jar, and when i run out of my beans in the vacuum jar, i pour the beans from the freezer into my jar. It's a quite a decent system. I'd imagine if you had more coffee, then just portion them out in one pound portions and freeze them but always keep 1 pound in a vacuum sealed jar for daily use.
This was really sweet to watch, thanks. When you mention vacuum sealing, I thought of the vacuum sealable jars that they have. It's the best of both worlds, removing air from the container with coffee, and it's reusable.
`Help. I can't turn my freezer down to -40 K for some reason.
-40K seems rather impossible to me.
Excellent Video! I've been doing this for years. It does make a huge difference. It kinda goes like this: Receive fresh coffee (this tastes best over the 1st week). The next week is freezer coffee. This coffee is nearly as good as the 1st week. At the end of this jar, I can't wait for the 1st coffee from the next freezer coffee. Simply put, the 1st few days after freezing are def better than the last few days. It's all still good espresso, just not as good and much better than if I just left it in the bag for a month. Sidenote: I only drink one espresso per day (~15 grams) so it takes a while to go through a bag. -Cheers
Why not to grind them straight out of the freezer in the morning? Why bother defrost it during the night? What good will it do?
This is what I do and it works asbolutely fine. Also means there's no risk of beans heating up when grinding.
The issue (raised in the video) is that the beans get exposed to moisture laden warm air and condensation forms on the beans, both in the bag and in the grinder. Room temp beans don't have this problem.
Love this! Thanks for supporting coffee drinkers in need. I’ll be supporting local roasters that are now doing delivery and curbside. And hopefully they can keep more people on payroll. Cheers from Minnesota, US.
its basically 5 am and im watching coffee videos...
Good morning!
@@jameshoffmann YES I'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED
I subscribed even though I don't drink a lot of coffee - mostly because you seem like a super kind person and I love that you do sponsored giveaways. I don't need them, but I love that you support the coffee addicts who can't afford to buy decent coffee.
Hi James, I have a completely unrelated question: Sometimes when I order a bag of coffee beans, instead of being a vacuum packed bag, the bag is puffed out. It's still properly sealed and air tight, but full of "air". Is this likely to be a fault in the bagging process or have the beans off-gassed something? Thanks ☕
Rob Burgess - Coffee bags need to be vented because they do off-gas over time.
Some companies fill the bag with nitrogen to prevent oxidation. That could do it, along with the natural co2 outgassing.
First of all: thanks for clarifying the whole freezing thing. There are quite some opinions about it.
And secondly: I've put it to practice right away. My local roaster (Dellf, the Netherlands) is facing quite a hard time now, since a huge part of her income is from selling beans to cafés. Since they're all closed and her own shop can't be open either, she decided to start home delivery for local customers. All by bike of course, since we're Dutch and it does help the environment. So I orderd way more than I needed and started freezing it in airtight ziplock bags :-) I'll let you know if the coffee tastes horrible in a few months :-P
Hi James, what about (sorry) pre-ground coffee? Any value in keeping that in the freezer?
I went from instant to grinding my own because it seemed like there was very little value in ground coffee bought from the store to begin with. Consider buying a manual burr grinder, you can get one affordable. Don't spend less than 40 unless it's on sale, something closer to 100 is even better.
I have a method that eliminates all the faff and waste from those single use vacuum bags, but still does a good job of sealing stuff away from air. Its a bit silly, but I swear it really works. Using a straw, you suck most of the air out of a freezer bag. Put the straw in the bag, close the seal all the way up to the straw, then suck hard, pull the straw out, and very quickly fully seal the bag.
This looks exactly like the guy that would be interested in talking about coffee
James - your videos are always a joy to watch. Your kindness and consideration is appreciated.
Sooooo are you saying my Gran'father wasn't mental when he used to store his catering size tub of Nescafe Gold in his chest freezer?
This is the perfect information I need now. I just got 4 packs of 250g coffee at once because of the social distancing. Now I don’t need to worry about my coffee beans anymore. Pro tips: If you have expensive green tea, you can also seal and store them in the freezer. As a matter of fact, tea wholesaler do this at their store too.
So, James, i have a big question: where I should store my in use coffee?
Inside fridge to minimize oxidation or outside is good enough?
In a cupboard away from heat and water, in an airtight container, or if the bag is resealable, just keep it in that.. Coffee absorbs flavours so it can pick up unpleasant notes from other food in a fridge, and it can easily get damp from the moisture inside a fridge which isn't good for beans.
After your last video I bought two bags of coffee from Coffee by Design in Portland, Maine!! Thank goodness you posted this, I was about to chuck both bags in the freezer once they arrived!! Thanks :)
i overcame all this problems, and started homeroasting 7y ago (i roast the quantity i use up in 14 days - starting at the 7th day after roasting)
@Stephane Razzon Aillio Bullet
I love these videos lately. Every video getting rid of old industry myths. Love it
The giveaway is a great gesture! I require some more coffee and normally go to a supermarket for beans (student). I want to buy some locally however (Sussex) after your points about local businesses. Any advice for a first time buyer of 'more' expensive/local beans?
Hi ! We are in a very similar situation. I'm a student too, and bought my first bag of beans to a local roadster last month.
I've just been, knowing what flavor I was looking for (I enjoy red berries)
They asked me what type of coffee machine I have,didn't tried to oversell me, and gave me exactly what i wanted.
Just go and be a good human. They won't bite :)
If you normally buy coffee in a supermarket, you are probably not ready for specialty coffee. I suggest buying the "house blend", which is usually kind of generic in taste and also the cheapest (still expensive). Also, you might want to start by saying you are looking for a low/no acidity coffee (unless you have been there before and you like sour coffee).
another student here! I go to a small cafe nearby where i am in london, operated and owned by 2 of the nicest guys. i got into specialty coffee fairly recently, and chatting to them about different roasts + tasting notes helped because they really know their stuff. i'd say drop a message over instagram to some local cafes (and for sure visit them after the covid-19 situation) to ask about what they recommend! i agree that house blends are a good place to start
another way to experiment before buying a bag of beans is to try a cafe's filter coffee (v60, etc) and they'll usually point out to you which beans they're using. if you enjoy the cuppa, then you can go ahead and invest in the bag :-)
Local beans to Sussex...... Try www.coffeereal.co.uk/contact-us/
I can recommend the 6am espresso blend
Thank you for continuing to make excellent videos about coffee! The little daily rituals of life like coffee are bringing even more calm and comfort in these times. Your videos are a welcome escape to look forward to as well! Cheers and stay safe!
How about keeping beans in the fridge? I live in an upstairs apartment where it can get quite hot, so rather than keeping in the cupboard, could I use the fridge?
I have exactly the same question. Will a fridge also work? Let's assume someone uses a small table fridge dedicated to the beans.
I have been doing this for more than a year without issue. I'm pretty sure it's better than leaving them out in tropical weather with high humidity and room temperatures of up to 35C.
I keep ground coffee in an airtight tin in the fridge and use it as required over about a week. Most modern advice is to not do thst but I have never seen evidence to justify not doing so. Because colder air falls, the air will stay in the the tin when opened, so little chance for moisture to get in.
I can see why this video is in huge need right now, because while most part of the world in lockdown state and people is busy stocking toilet paper, but I as a coffee lover have bought lot green beans and roasted beans just before lockdown.
Tell that to Italian people who keep their already brewed mocha coffee in the fridge to be heated up in the microwave the next day 🤦
I'm fortunate enough to not have to worry about coffee at the moment. But I just wanted to say how awesome I think your giveaway is! It's incredibly generous of you! Thank you for supporting people even with things like coffee, it reminds everyone that we are all in this together and that people are out there that care! Keep it up!
Still waiting on the video titled "The Best Cold Brew Coffee Method"
Very reassured. This is what I have always done, and felt was right. That said, places like on the HB forum can have so many different opinions, I never felt 100% confident. Thanks for putting this issue to rest for good for me. I always appreciate your great critical thinking and sharing your experience with others.
Struggling college student/coffee enthusiast that’s almost out of beans and can’t afford more. Please help!
Hi! Let me know if you’re still struggling to afford beans, I can hook you up with some just to pay it forward. Cheers!
THIS! I'm new to the coffee world, and the only drinker in my home at the moment. I have been forming a sort of stepwise plan as to how I'll go about my coffee adventure as I've been watching your videos! After having the very first cup of coffee of my life that I have thoroughly enjoyed without running for cream and sweetener, I've bought my first bag of beans and had them ground for my french press. I was wondering on my drive home what I would do in the future when I buy whole beans to hand grind at home. I have a vacuum sealer, and it came with some really cool reusable zipper top vacuum bags- so I was thinking I could store whole beans in those bags, and now will be planning to freeze them after removing the air! Huzzah!! ☺
Thanks James. Much respect and appreciation for what you do, both how informative, useful, user friendly your information is and how you combine social messaging with your work. I have watched many of your videos and have learnt much and greatly benefitted in preparing coffee that friends and family like.
All the local coffee shops in my area are closed to the public but are still open selling ground coffee or whole beans and delivering/ready for pick up. I think this is amazing!
When you began to mention a person that was in favor of freezing coffee beans, I hoped at that point it was Mr. Mike Sivits you would be talking about. And lo and behold he was the person you were speaking of! I live in the town in Oregon which he roasted coffee, and built roaster parts. It was my understanding he in fact held at least one patent. I was just so sad when he retired. For years I bought his roasted beans. Yes he did freeze them. I knew I was enjoying coffee from him that was very hard to come across. Flavor notes and an ability to bring out each coffees characteristics of it's origin were something to behold. I was told by another food scientist the success in freezing, is also paramount in the precise timing, cool down of the roasted beans etc.. I sure do miss those days when Mr. Sivits roasted and froze those coffee beans! Fortunately, for us in this same town some local roasters have continued on using Sivit's Roasters. No one here freezes any longer though. I agree with this video, that it doesn't work to just throw any bag of beans in the freezer. Freezing beans in a much more scientific and involved process than that. I have had good luck at times freezing beans 30 to 60 minutes after the roast and or cool down. I put them in a mason jar, as was Mike's preferred method for storage of Coffee beans
Hi James. Great video, as always! totally agree with you with the wastage with vacuum bags, but if you really want to do it, I suggest using a slightly longer bag, let the vacuum machine work a little bit, cancel midway and clip it with one of those longer Ikea bag sealers. Works pretty well for me and you can reuse the bag multiple times. Have a great day and stay safe!
A couple of yrs ago I froze a lb of roasted whole bean Columbia huila Supremo, vacuum sealed, for 3 months. After defrosting the coffee I ground it all and gave samples to friends that I use as tasters. Four of my tasters normally drank Columbia Huila and the fifth would pretty much drink anything I gave him. HIs favorite was an Ethiopian Natural. The four Columbia drinkers found no fault with the taste of the coffee. The fifth said the coffee was ok but did I have any Ethiopian?
I''ve been hobby roasting for 20 yrs using using a half lb Swiss Mar electric drum roaster the fist 17 yrs and a Coffee Crafters Artisian 2.5 lb fluidized roaster for the last 3 yrs.
The vacuum sealer that I have pulls the air out of canning jars with standard Mason/Ball lids. Things so stored in the fridge or freezer will keep several times longer than without vacuum sealing. Reusable glass jars address your concerns about waste and the heavy glass won't allow off tastes and odors to permeate the material like plastic can.