A few quick responses to recurring questions: 1. The containers were opened regularly during the six weeks to mimic daily usage. (As I said, six weeks is a long but I hoped it would help produce more dramatic results) 2. Why no control? A good question, with a two-part, dull answer: - The coffee I used came from a 2kg bag so I could be confident it was the same roasting batch. I couldn’t reseal that batch. If I had used a retail type bag from that day I couldn’t be 100% sure it had come from exactly the same batch/blending session and it felt like introducing a variable. - The bigger idea of the testing was to look at the impact of broad technologies. Most resealable bags would work like displacement containers - so they’d work well, but not quite as well as vacuum storage. However, the differences in taste would be pretty minor. In the end my recommendations from each category as much reflect their taste impact as they do the broader experience of owning and using one. Hence I felt comfortable recommending the Airspace even though it wasn’t tested.
It'd be interesting to see how the plastics and rubber permeate the coffee. It'd also be interesting to see how the acidity reacts with the metal containers. Surely all these materials alter flavour in some way. What might a oak, manuka or maple wood storage container do to the flavour?
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What about a resealable bag with the water immersion technique? Theoretically it should be the budget version of the vacuum canisters (just like your sieve + paper towel method with blade grinders as a proper grinder replacement). Much less comfortable to use, but in theory I don't see any reason why the result should be different.
There is another control case that I would be interested in seeing: a non-airtight container. I store mine in a '50s style tin on the countertop, but I try to use it within 10 days or so. It would be interesting to see the difference between that and a couple of the best performers in this test
I had the Fellow canister for several months and it did not keep the seal. After several days of the canister sitting on my shelf I could take the top off without doing anything. I noticed that after I sealed it the seal would weaken after several days. I contacted Fellow and they said that was normal and supposed to happen. So I bought the Miir canister when it was on Kickstarter. I have the same issue with trying to seal it as you did, but it works. I wish the Fellow canister could maintain its seal for longer than a few days but within a day or two it begins to lose its seal. Thanks for this review!
I checked the comments before playing the video and you just got me excited. I thought he would actually be talking about how the different kinds of dust in his hallway indicate different types of storage climate conditions.
I was bought a Fellow atoms base on his review. Maybe I did not know coffee as well as him. But I know atoms are definitely not a great coffee container. Not even close.
I would have loved to have seen a resealable bag and an open-air container or something to have been included in the test. Could be fun to see how much worth it would be to buy ANY for-coffee-crafted container of any kind versus just keeping the grounds in the bag or just keeping them in a place where some or a lot of air might come in contact with the beans.
I use brown beer bottles with vacuum wine stoppers, which works well, and there’s something rather satisfying about pouring coffee beans out of a glass bottle.
@@ty_tcm9509 Yes, you can buy them with a small pump. The sound of air being sucked in when you re-open tells you that the seal is good. There’ll still be some air in there. It’s only a partial vacuum.
James, just as a suggestion, when you review so many products, it may be worthwhile to showcase their names in the video while you're summarizing the key take aways! One has to rewind to say, which was which. Or maybe keep them in the same frame as at say 5:50? Thanks as always for answering every darn question i could ultimately imagine! You rock! 🙊
A method that I find works to keep the freshness longer is to store the coffees in smaller containers of maybe 100-200 grams each. The reason for this in my opinion is because you reduce the number of times each container is opened. With smaller containers, the container might only be opened 3-4 times as opposed to a larger container that might be opened 10-20 times which exposes it to fresh air each time.
I’m guilty of reheating coffee too. Once my pot has been brewed (Technivorm) I immediately turn it off and remove the pot from the machine to cool quickly. I actually like the taste of the reheated stuff - deeper darkness with a hint of tar. Then again, I’m also guilty of adding cream (whipping cream) but no sugar.
I buy coffee in a top rated brulerie / roaster who was often ranked in the best, worldwide. It does not come cheap, the coffee is not acid, nor bitter. And my tiny plastic container, is doing wonders... Just cook the inside with 14° vinegar for few days to seal the molecules. then it acts like glass.
@Mike Strawson Yep. After a certain point, all you will get with hardware upgrades is benchmark upgrades - numbers that give overall performance a number that is easy to compare with previous benchmark numbers, but nothing noticeable in terms of daily use.
I bought an Airscape from my favourite local roaster at their recommendation and it works pretty well. They give a discount when I bring it in to get refilled, too, so it's pretty near paid for itself at this point. Like James says, I don't know if it's significantly better than a well-sealed bag, but it's durable and dark, and since the roaster will fill it directly (and will again post-Pandemic, I hope...) means I'm not generating a lot of plastic waste.
Same scenario here, I’ve had the Airscape for apps. six years and it does a fine job of storage but then I buy beans every two weeks give or take so haven’t really noticed any issues. I also have a CoffeeVac and it shares a similar performance to the Airscape, works just fine. I’ve also experimented with true vacuum containers and with the frequent opening and resealing I just didn’t experience any advantage
I don’t think I’ve ever watched a more detailed and in-depth review of anything! The time and effort you must have put into this, along with your professionalism and expertise are all very impressive and much appreciated.
As a newbie to the finer coffee world, I’d like to have seen a Control Batch... just the original coffee bag opened and closed and extra air manually squeezed out... seen just how much doing anything with any of these options actually accomplishes... haven said that, I’ve been looking at the fellows option myself... glad to know I was on the right track... thanks for the review!!!
I just love how James is like an overexcited dad with his child after school at the end of every video :D. Did you enjoy your day? Were the children nice to you? Did you have P.E.? Are you hungry? How were your classes? Was your lunch money enough? Did Karen call the manager?
@@redmenace3921 That's an excellent idea! The drawback the evacuate ones have is that they would probably prove too fiddly if you are using several times a day. A simple mechanism (such as found on wine bottle resealers) would be idea. Hmmmmm..... I think I see a project coming on
James, great content as always! I actually bought the Fellow Atmos Canister after a bit of research, your review definitely influenced my decision. I need to inform you that there seems to be an issue with the lid. The pumping mechanism is failing on my Atmos, it stopped functioning after only two weeks of use. I've contacted the company and they replied that they recently identified an issue with the sealing component of the Atmos lids. In light of this discovery, they have stopped shipping the Atmos canisters until they can guarantee quality. The good thing is that the Fellow company is aware of the issue and is transparent about it. They are also keen to send a new lid, once they fix the issue, but there is no ETA for that. Finally, they allow you to request a full refund.
Thanks for the info, good to know. I’ve literally today had the same issue on one I bought a few weeks ago. Only opened it around half dozen times and it no longer pulls vac. It’s being returned to Amazon for a refund. Might try the beer bottle trick someone mentioned in the mean time.
Thank you for this... I ended up getting myself a CoffeeVac, even though I hadn't even been thinking about my coffee storage. Why? Because you made me think about coffee storage. Because, as a household of one, the coffee consumption here is at such a slow rate that my coffee is going to be sitting around getting stale simply because I can't drink it all before it does, so getting better coffee storage makes sense, if I don't have to spend an arm and a leg on it. And the CoffeeVac looked like very good value for money in that regard. So thank you.
it’s alright if you use the same one every day, the seal lasts that long, but it only lasts a couple days at best, never even close to a week for me. I have two and i seem to just go back to using my amber mason jars
I own three atmos's and they are great, they seal well, if you tighten them up a lot (more than when the dot drops) they shall remain sealed for a long time. They work great, they get the job done and I love them. Never going back to storing coffee without an atmos
When I started using my new Airscape canisters, I was surprised at how much longer my coffee retained good flavor. I especially noted how roasts I was familiar with had an extended “break-in” period-over 6 days-before they started peaking in flavor and no longer tasted grassy. Also, I highly recommend buying 2 small canisters instead of one large canister. I keep approx. 1/2 lb. in both, and avoid opening the second one until the first one is empty.
barkingburro: good idea. Personally a pound of beans doesn’t last long enough here. I do use the Airscape (comes in pretty colours too). Although I have most of a bag of flavoured beans (I’m not a fan but a visiting niece likes hazelnut) and what is left I vacuum sealed in 50 gram portions in a food saver and tossed into the freezer for next time.
Your comment about having 2 instead of 1 container was all I needed to hear. Genius! Thank you. I have the large Airscape and will soon have 2 of them!
We like our Airscape, but have not tried any of the vacuum sealed options. I use large Airscapes for whole grain flour & find that it keeps much longer than an an ordinary airtight canister or Mason jar.
I have 2 large and 2 small Airscapes. 1 bronze, 2 black with logos and one retro red with logo. Have 3 coffees in each one and homemade granola in another. Love when coffeehouses have their logo on them. And will always buy more when I see one! ☕🙋♂️📖 And by the way I cut the bag label off with roast date and day opened date and tape it to the lid. Just works for me. Thanks for your videos James.
When I open a new bag of coffee, I divide the coffees and put them into 4 oz mason jars, which are then placed inside a cabinet. That way, I minimize air contact and "agitation" without breaking the bank. The jars are also easily stackable/rearrangeable for tight spaces.
50g of beans always "just fits", so far in those jars. I found some narrow kitchen trays that keep my vertical stacks of four 4 oz jars in the door's bottom shelf. So up to 200g each of caf, decaf, and espresso.
Although I learn a lot from you, I am not nearly so fussy about coffee as you are. Finally, a test that has a direct impact on my coffee life! The reason vacuum-sealing did not result in significant outgassing is because after the initial purge of air those beans were never exposed to air again until shortly before use. Had you opened the container daily and re-established vacuum (as I would use such a container rather than inexpensive vacuum bags) you might have produced a different result. Always interesting, informative, entertaining -- I enjoy your channel and I wish we lived at least in the same hemisphere so we could be friends IRL.
@@YunisRajab Maybe they're useful if you get 1kg of beans and want to store half of them in one of these for a while. Getting beans at a local brick store is pretty hard around here, and ordering half a kg makes them rather expensive as it adds 4-7 euros to an order (thus adding 8-14 euros to the kg price). Luckily most just come in half kg bags and there is seemingly little need for these.
I'll be honest I've tried all sorts of coffee beans and ready ground. With so many variables such as the water flavour etc, I find little differnce. I grind 200 grammes at a time and put it in a container. By the time I get to the bottom there is sod all difference and yes I have tested it against freshly ground. Haven't I just. I really do believe that there is so much hot air and snobbery around coffee it's all down to personal taste.
@@jameshoffmann Oh good, I was concerned that hadn't been done and therefore didn't mimic usage. The one other thing I would have liked to see is using the original bag as a baseline in comparison to all these.
That control which is the original bag, is the best option as long as the bags have resealable ziplocs and beans are freshly roasted. Pouring the beans into canisters is the dumbest thing you can do to significantly reduce the freshness. You spent money on these to keep freshness and you pour the beans into the canister... what are people thinking..? Just leave the beans in the bag and finish it within 2-3 weeks.
James, I really appreciated this test! I have a Fellow Atmos and I enjoy it. It isn’t a night and day difference, but it does seem to extend the “golden period” of the coffee by another week. Secondly, you absolutely can take the metal disc out of the top! You simply remove the rubber gasket and remove the metal piece and cloth thingy below it. I wouldn’t clean the cloth, but I have washed the metal disc.
Hey James, I know this is an old video but wanted to give you another experiment you could do with these. In the food packaging industry, part of the calculation for shelf life of dry goods includes weighing the food at certain intervals to see how much moisture it has taken up. If you were to design an experiment around weighing the beans before and after 6 weeks in each container, you should be able to see which system has the most integrity by seeing which one gained the least weight.
Not sure that a test would be necessary for that, its obvious that the vacuum sealed containers would perform the best because there is the least air in those containers. At the end, the most important thing is the taste and he already tested that.
@@iteese For long term storage of dried goods, I agree. So for green coffee beans a proper vacuum seal would be important. For roasted coffee not so much. My 1lb of roasted coffee doesn't last 2 weeks. Using a displacement system, even a resealable bag rolled up, is all that is required. It's also cheap. ;)
One thing I'll note with the vacuum coffee saver, it's part of the Vacu-Vin line of product and I have a set of the "corks". The pump does actually have a way to let you know if you've pumped enough as it will start to produce a metallic click when you try to draw more vacuum after it's done as much as it can Also, to release the vacuum, just nudge the nubbin at the centre of the cork
Good eyes, I noticed that too :) I actually have their "instant marinator" which came with a slightly beefier pump that does not click - you can just go as far as your strength goes, and it works with the normal wine stoppers as well.
I've had my Coffeevac for about two years and bought the Airscape for my parents as a gift quite recently. Good to know they seem like the ones for the job!
Extremely informative video! I'm glad someone went through the time and effort to evaluate these storage technologies. Since the difference in results are relatively small, the more significant factors in storing are IMO: 1) opacity so light doesn't accelerate the reaction to any remaining air, 2) fewer parts probably means more durability, 3) pick one that's easier to use (large hands and small openings are a pain). Thank you so much for this video!
I appreciate the comment at the end about keeping the coffee in a resealable bag. My method is to leave the coffee in whatever bag it comes in, squeeze out as much air as possible, put that bag in a freezer gallon bag and again squeeze out as much air as possible. I’m convinced that oxidation is more a function of free air exchange and less about total air-tightness
I own a Coffe Vac. The valve that you mentioned is also an oneway check valve allowing the CO2 to escape. That might be why you liked that one better than the others in that category.
As a comparison I ran an experiment a while ago with vacuum seal bags. Right after roasting I sealed 1oz of coffee in each of two small bags. One bag I left at room temperature. The second bag was immediately placed in the deep freezer. Results: The bag at room temperature was puffed out after just one day from off gassing and was ready to pop after a few days. The second bag in the freezer maintained a perfect vacuum for weeks. I then took it out of the freezer and it did exactly what the first bag did. Puffed up after one day and ready to pop after a few days. So the freezer totally prevented off gassing. So it seems that by putting freshly roasted coffee in vacuum bags and freezing you can have almost indefinite perfect storage with identical taste to the freshly roasted that wasn't frozen. Note: I only do pour overs so I don't know what effect it would have on crema or other things in espresso.
I also have an airscape and for at least 4 or so years. Coffee is good (we keep the beans for about a week to 10 days). Durable, washable and its biggest advantage-simplicity. My technology-challenged husband has no trouble with it (except occasionally not having beans and air extractor level).
One thing James didn’t take into account is the amount of coffee being stored. I have the airscape and, what I like about it is the fact that the volume inside the container is essentially variable. It works just as well with a small amount of coffee as with the larger amount of coffee because you can push the lid down until it contacts the coffee.
Hi James! This is a small note but the date dial on the Friis container isn't actually for the coffee (but it could be!), its for keeping track of when you last put a new C02 filter in the lid, which in theory should be replaced each month, hence the 31 days
I've had an Airscape canister for almost two years now. I've been very happy with it. I've started ordering 2lbs at a time from a nearby roaster. I vac seal 1lb in the freezer, and keep the other 1lb in my Airscape. I haven't noticed any big changes between the last cup from the canister, and the first cup from the thawed freezer bag.
I have been doing pretty much the same as you have, SlipshodAverage. I have been vac sealing the beans destined for the freezer right in the bag they come in. Saw how the FoodSavers can be “tricked” into working with regular ziplock bags too but I don’t bother doing that with the coffee beans as it creates so much plastic waste. However, I do seal in glass Mason jars. I find the 8 ounce jelly jars hold the right amount (50 grams in my coffee maker) for each pot. My pantry is like a very cold fridge much of the year. Oh: using Mason jars, you can reuse the lids too.
I have a Food Saver Vacuum sealer that I've had for a long time. I have used it to vacuum seal my coffee for a long time, and at this point, I'll talk about the lost sealed container. I vacuum sealed some of my coffee, and it was packed when we moved. Four years later I found it in the basement with my canning products. The date was a little over 5 years. I groaned as it was one of my favorite coffees from the City I had moved from. I pressed the vacuum release button and it was, to my surprise, still sealed and you could hear the air rush in. The aroma that wafted out of the container way a pure delight. I brewed this coffee in my favorite method, and it tasted like the day the coffee was bought. Very surprised, and delighted. I now vacuum seal everything.
I know this is an old comment now, and I've seen this video more times than should be necessary, but I was on the Airscape website and they have it embedded there, only it keeps rewinding once it gets to the part where their canister is discussed. Kind of annoying, but anyway... I scrolled through some comments to see if anyone noticed, and I came to this. I had never thought to try this. I currently buy 2lb bags, usually 2 or 3 at a time, and put the opened one in an Oxo container. I know you're talking about using a container, but the bags are plastic, so I just went and tried vacuum sealing one with my Nesco vacuum sealer, and it worked! It did take longer to seal, presumably because the bag is thicker? It's kind of erratic about the time it takes to seal anyway, but it took much longer than normal. I would have to wonder if this is harder on the heating element, but I may start doing this with my beans anyway.
After years of using the Coffeevac, I can tell you: I have observed cracks in the bottom of the containers, eventually making them unusable. Remember, they're made of plastic, so they will have an "exipry date". I have recently moved to the Airscape, for three reasons. 1. they will never have cracks, since they're stainless steel. 2. you can buy REPLACEMENT lids, both for the inner and the outer lid! 3. there's less air sealed in than with the Coffeevac.
This was well thought out bar the missing control. If there is no discernible difference between storage in a bag or in a container then these products are less important.
Hey James, great review! Next time around for a test like this, would you mind adding a control? I feel like it would have been a nice addition if you had tasted a regular bag of coffee beans that you had opened at the beginning of the 6 weeks. Keep up the good work, I love your videos!
Totally agree with this. I would have really liked to have seen a regular zip bag of the same coffee tested along with the others. Otherwise great video as always.
I was curious about this as well! I was also was wondering about how the ratio of air to coffee impacted the results. A smaller container would have less air in it, and so maybe wouldn't stale as quickly?
Well done video which covers some of the science behind the effects of sunlight, CO2 and air on coffee beans, as well as the practical aspects of each container for daily use. The man jams in prevalent knowledge at just the right clip, keeping those questioning the need for a 16 minute video on coffee containers engaged to the end.
I use a decently wide and simple container of the "just airtight" type, and I keep the coffee in the bag that I get it in, inside the container. I cut the top off the bag and then keep it closed using a plastic clip. That allows for minimizing the volume of air above the coffee, just like for the "second" category of container, but in a simple and cheap container. Double-sealed system (together with the container lid) and non-transparent because of the bag, for cheaper than a complicated solution. I use very dark roasts, and I do notice a definite difference in smell when I open a new bag of beans compared to one that has been open for a while, but I haven't made any back-to-back tests like this. There have been other things that have impacted the coffee flavor more for me, and I'm glad to say that this channel has given me a lot of ideas and opened my mind to how to start going about making my coffee taste better!
He does reference factory bags at least twice in the video, and says he'd just as soon use them over a canister. I expect the ziplock bags with a one-way air hole should, in theory, be sliiightly better than displacement (because the sides aren't solid so you can get more air out), and the roll-top bags would basically be sliiightly worse than displacement (because it's harder to get all the air out)? I do put mine in a second ziplock bag just in case tho, especially if it's roll top, since the plastic lining in those paper bags trends to be pretty thin and I don't trust the seal.
Another alternative to consider is using gas displacement. I've tried using many of the canisters you've reviewed here, and while I had best results with vacuum canisters, they're just too fiddly to use in the morning. My alternative is to use an opaque one liter airtight canister, that I fill half way with coffee, roughly ~220 grams, which is enough for 5-10 days of espressos for me. I then fill the container with an ounce of carbon dioxide from a small tank, the sort sold to use with home soda machines, which holds ~14 ounces of gas. This is more than enough to repeatedly fill the one liter volume of the air tight canister. It's not a precision operation; since CO2 is heavier than air, as long as there's enough gas to cover the coffee, a gas barrier forms and oxidization is significantly reduced, and one ounce of CO2 is enough to displace a liter of air several times over. A little air will get mixed in every time the lid is opened or coffee is scooped out from the top, but it's not significant when coffee only lives in the container for around a week. When I run out of coffee, I transfer a week's worth from the freezer, and shoot another ounce of gas into the canister. I've also tried using argon gas displacement, which works as well as CO2, but there wasn't any discernible difference in taste, and recharging a small CO2 tank costs significantly less than having a tank charged with argon.
I have been using a fellow Atmos for over a year now and thought mine was broken. Constantly the green ring disappeared and I never knew why, thank you for providing answers! 🙌
Love these videos, James' vast knowledge, keen scientific approach and impeccable delivery is always a pleasure to watch. And just as a shout-out to the channel & team as a whole, the whole production - such as the camerawork, lighting, editing and graphics - is simply 10/10. Keep up the great work!
I’ve had the coffeevac for years and I’m pretty content with it. It very well could be a placebo effect but it’s nice knowing my coffee is safe from light and is reasonably well sealed.
It might have been interesting to test a bag with a built-in valve. Based on your test criterion and results, it suggests a well-made bag might just be the optimum storage for beans.
And moving the built in value further down the bag so when it’s half full one can roll it down further to displace more air? Probably a reason this would not work... just a random thought.
Old video but i agree with you. Also i have a daily routine to suck the air (yes, i breathe in from the valve 😁) from the bags. This is the solution i’ve found because i think all the products in the market for this purpose fails. All my beans stay fresh(er).
Thanks for the incredible amount of time and effort that you must have gone through to get all this data. I immediately went online and ordered the Airscape.
16:00 To sum up: there was no noticeable difference in taste from storing coffee beans in any of the containers. Just keep them in a resealable bag and save your money.
I’ve been thinking about getting the atmos, but I saw some reviews about it losing a vacuum after a few days. Thanks for the explanation about that being caused by the gasses releasing from the beans! I hadn’t thought about that, it makes a lot of sense!
It would have been cool to see him test the theory - like is it really off-gassing or a shoddy seal? I suppose if you used an esp32 with WiFi and CO2 sensor and solid state barometer one could determine how much off-gassing is happening and pressure change is happening to determine if it’s a bad seal or just gas released from beans.
I’ve been using the airscape for a few years now, and I’m extremely happy with it. It pulls the air out nicely and keep the beans super fresh for the two weeks it takes to deplete my bag’s worth. It’s very easy to clean as well!
@@antoniomendez4855 I doubt that applies to anything other than direct sunlight, which let's be honest, I doubt anyone does. It's not like people keep mason jars full of beans out on the window sill.
If you do use mason jars, you could vacuum seal in appropriate measurements for your preferred brew using the food saver jar sealer. No wasted plastic and you reuse the lids too so no waste. A can of spray paint will take care of sunlight coming through the glass. Now it won’t last forever. For me with one pound of coffee that would mean 7 jars sealed (you could easily keep two days worth without doing anything special). Only if you’ve got loads of time to fiddle away. I don’t do any of that though. An Aerscape canister or a plain steel tin with a wooden lid seems fine in the time it takes me to use it up - 9 mornings, if I don’t have company; which I do often.
I love, love, love how thorough these coffee tests are while at the same time, there is no claim of causation based on correlations. This is a great example of good science that provides helpful recommendations without falsifying reasoning.
I have a Starbucks branded Airscapes I bought as my first coffee storage method and haven’t looked back since. I love the feel of the metal casing and hearing that suction as I pull up the “plunger” valve is quite satisfying.
Put that Mason Jar you have lying around in your house to use and buy a vacuum fermentation lid. It will let you know when you have a complete vacuum and it’ll also allow built up CO2 to escape.
I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner, but this made me realize my vacuum sealer has a hose attachment for use with containers. Looks like I finally have a use for it! As you said in your video on freezing it seemed wasteful to use bags for coffee, but this seems like the perfect solution and should make a better vacuum than any of these containers. Thanks Mr. Hoffmann! P.S. As someone who works in a research lab, there's no such thing as a 'perfect' vacuum, even in space ;)
I’ve tried several canisters, but was never convinced they worked to extend freshness or flavor. I eventually just started using rubber straps to seal the coffee in the original foil-lined bags I purchased them in. When I pull out the beans for the day, I fold the bag over to remove as much air as possible, and then place a large rubber strap around the bag to keep it flat/sealed.
I'd argue a resealable coffee bag is actually closer to the displacement method because you can press out the atmosphere before sealing. It would be interesting to see how the same coffee in a resealable bag faired here. Curious also for the use cases. Many viewers of yours are not likely to keep 12oz of coffee around for 6 weeks. 3 weeks with 1 week in original packaging may have approximated closer.
I went from a simple plastic container container for my beans, in the fridge, than after a few years changed my storage space for the freezer. Went for zip bags back in the fridge. Then I bought myself a mid level espresso machine and started visualizing all these different videos. OMG !!! This seemed to be so complicated. slowly but surely it became much easier and I started tasting the difference. So I am now with a simple black sealed steel container, wanting to go a step further, so this video really helped me out. Thx. Keep up with the good work.
A really good cup of coffee is an absolute joy and if you're making it yourself, that joy is at least doubled. I have the cheapest (I think) deLonghi espresso machine and two great sources for beans. It's rare to have a coffee out which is better than I make at home (at least for my taste). I wish you continue happiness in this delightful addiction!!!
As I already have a vacuum sealing machine in my kitchen (for vacuum packing products for freezing, or occasionally sous vide cooking) I’d bought a quality, but cheap set of vacuum storage jars made by Lacor, which come with in 3 sizes the largest of which can easily store 1Kg of beans, and the smallest easily a 250g bag of beans. Best part of all is all 3 only cost just over £20, though of course you need some means of getting the air out. Brilliant given the whole set was cheaper than just one AirScape container, and they really hold their seal and are super easy to operate, are made of tough, strong plastic and there are no issues with putting them in your freezer (if you have room). I guess these are way, way cheaper are they are general purpose and not marketed specifically as a ‘Coffee’ product, as lets face it most companies use that as a licence to charge extra. Interestingly, the vacuum pressure is so good that I’ve never found any noticeable drop in seal pressure from off-gassing, though I do tend to use lighter roasts. You can get them on Amazon and would highly recommend them, provided you’ve got some means of extracting the air (they even come with a spare tube to connect up a vacuum pump/sealer that’s a standard size). Even the big one takes less than 10 seconds to extract all the air when only a few beans in it, and much less the fuller it is. Hope this is helpful to others 👍
James, this was really interesting. I have three cylindrical 'Vacuvin' vacuum jars that I bought, many years ago, from a Whittards high street store (I'd guess around 30 years ago!). I've used them for all manner of things, but primarily storing coffee, and found them to be very effective at extending storage life. The ones I have look a little easier to use than the vacuum jar you have, to release the pressure on the rubber valve, you just squeeze the sides of the rubber bung. It's also easy to judge when you hit the maximum evacuation, as you can tell from the feel of the pump. Another interesting element (given your video about freezing coffee) is if you have a large bag in the freezer, you can quickly pour out some into the vac jar, evacuate it and there's no condensation or moisture build up on the coffee, as you let it defrost. They were discontinued years ago, but it looks like the unit you tested is a spin-off: www.shopvacuvin.com/Tomorrows-Kitchen-Medium-Vacuum-Storage-Container-p/28733606.htm Mine look like this: lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fWJp_-9viaUF6pzkrDHvSDQwlFKhPGUBd0UenB1kzFfmkj_xAUsSLs-cJfekenyEu6PYO2PU8OhvUUgfpk21eJmF5_9hcOSMigA5npUap_ky8PDTDlENibBlVxQLZwt1eKBlc6DnVNuroZlXbEGdBWYw=w958-h539-no?authuser=0 P.s. they're great for rapid marinading of food too!
I use the Fellow and it’s been great. If you use the coffee daily it never looses pressure in my experience. I stick with one bag of coffee until used and I get a better cup at the end of the bag with the Fellow vs when I used just an airtight container.
Just watching this to justify my Fellow addiction. Love how aesthetic, simple and minimalist all their products are! Are you by any chance planning on reviewing the Ode Brew Grinder as well?
From the Ankomn product page you linked: "In every lid you can find a silicon indicator, this sinks down when there is a vacuum present, so you always know at a glance. "
That's true, Ankomn has an similar indicator like Fellow - in fellow its a green line, in Ankomn its the rubber valve which is sucked inside while vacuum.
I absolutely love your videos Mr. Hoffmann! I have been taking my careful steps into the wonderful world of coffee, and have been enjoying your videos thus far! I started off with the standard pre-ground coffee from Tim Hortons, brewed in the K-Cup Keurig machine I have from my college days. Now I have a little electric coffee grinder and a De'Longhi Dedica I got off kijiji a while back and have been having a lot of fun learning how to properly make espresso, and it is absolutely delicious! Haven't splurged yet and gotten any specialty beans or upgrade my espresso machine as of yet, but I'm excited to continue moving into the wonderful world of coffee. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on coffee science! It is very much enjoyable to see!
3:36 i just wanna say that i DEEPLY respect the amount of work you go to for these things. even just brewing 10 cups of coffee feels near overwhelming. not to mention sourcing all the containers, getting the beans ready, storing them for an extended time, and the methodical way you go about everything. i live for your comparisons! so good! so helpful! such science! lol. that's why you dipping into food AT ALL was so fascinating (like with the tiramisu). i've only seen one other guy on YT have this method. Ethan Chlebowski (first one i saw was canned tomatoes and if san marzanos are really worth it. but he had another testing diff types of flour for pizza dough, which is best, or what the actual diff in results was, so you could decide your own preference.) anyway, just want to say, thank you for your service! i'm hoping you do an updated espresso machine line up vid, since you just did the grinders again recently. the $100 and $500 groups. i'm sure a lot is different now that it's been 3yrs. (just looked up the date stamps on those).
Love that you did blind tasting! I'd go further and include two cups of each so we can see the variance in your judgements. IE how consistently you rank each pair similarly. Because you are all over the place, then you can't pick a clear winner, and if you are consistent, you can give more confident recommendations.
The pump tells you when it has reached a vacuum by making a clicky sound. (maybe not the exact one you had in that set, but definitely the one I have for wine called vacuvin)
exactly, you can release the pressure by pushing the tab of the valve to the side. No need to pull it. I didn't know these containers existed but definitely have my interests now.
I have the same vacuum pump used in the test, marketed (in South Africa) as a Vacuvin product. No click, but it's certainly not too tricky to work out when to stop: I keep going until I physically can't anymore.
@@jasonvanniekerk9269 it seems like maybe it's an older model or something? The one I have (for wine) has a handle on top going both ways and it clicks.
I use a Ball, amber glass “mason jar”. It’s perfect, easy to use, and if you have a vacuum sealer, there is a jar sealing attachment that would work if you expect to use the coffee over a little get period, cost for the jar, $6.
Good video!! I really appreciate the comment about how the green ring disappeared in my fellow atmos. I thought that the lid might be defective and even Fellow replaced the lid sending me a new one from US to Spain. The green ring kept disappearing. So in the end: happy with my fellow, congratulations to Fellow and its customers for the great service and congratulations to you, James, for your wonderful channel. So proud to be one of your patreons and watching your videos!
After watching a few of your videos, I could successfully shortlist the coffee I'd like to buy, had a long discussion over it at local stores around me, and could order a batch online too alongside a suitable container. Fascinating how little things like a coffee ritual can affect a life! Thank you Mr. Hoffmann. :)
Something that might be worth considering: how much water/humidity is lost from the beans stored in air-tight container vs vacuum-sealed. Although the beans are all supposed to be equal in weight for each test in the espresso section, perhaps the density of the beans are different due to how they are stored--and hence they behave different when ground wrt channelling?
I'm continuously surprised and impressed at the depth and thoughtfulness in your videos. You truly take the time to think through all the variables and explain your whole through process and give practical advice. I'm also very fond of the way you talk about price ranges. You seem to have a great grasp on the fact that most of us are dealing with a few hundred dollars to spare, not thousands, and do not belittle the options we can get in that price range. My favorite TH-camr by far, even though I just started watching you. You really are a master of your craft and I'm very impressed by the content you produce, and what's more, the coffee I can now produce because of aforementioned content :) Thank you!
Your reviews are very helpful. educated us and helped save us time and money and especially we avoid the disappointment using "wrong" equipments/products. Thanks a lot.
The clicky one reminded me of a wine sealer. So actually I've tried storing coffee in empty wine bottles and it works great. Don't have to buy a container just for coffee and honestly it looks good in a clean glass bottle.
I've been thinking about this solution for a while, which prompted me to find this video in the first place. Figured wine, like coffee beans needs to avoid oxygen and light. A tinted wine bottle with a wine sealer accomplishes the same thing. Glad to read that others have tried this solution with success. Think I'll start doing this too myself!
I bought the glass version of the Atmos container and after watching this now feel a little silly. Since my pallet isn't super refined to notice any drastic differences I still love it! Thanks for putting in the time to do this!
Thank you for such an informative video! I actually bought both the Miir container and the Fellow, and found that I gravitated towards the Miir out of convenience. To twist the Fellow tight every time I wanted to make coffee ended up being very cumbersome to me. I definitely appreciate the comments from others about storing batches of smaller coffee to reduce the amount of opening times which I never thought of. Thanks for all this great content!
I seal them in a wine bottle and get them out with a coravin that replaces the air with neutral argon gas. It's a bit hard getting the beans through the needle but eventually it works. Coffee will stay fresh for years with this method.
if the zip lock's good you can really just take off the air by hand, seal, then chuck somewhere in a cabinet. Either way, with any bag, you're still one piece of scotch tape from having an "displacement storage solution".
I came up with an extremely superior and dirt cheap method for roasted coffee storage about 15 years ago. Clean out your favorite wine bottle-champagne or a slightly wider mouth is best-make a simple paper funnel and use a rubber, hand pump, air extracting wine saver cork. Your coffee will stay fresh twice as long as any of these.
A few quick responses to recurring questions:
1. The containers were opened regularly during the six weeks to mimic daily usage. (As I said, six weeks is a long but I hoped it would help produce more dramatic results)
2. Why no control? A good question, with a two-part, dull answer:
- The coffee I used came from a 2kg bag so I could be confident it was the same roasting batch. I couldn’t reseal that batch. If I had used a retail type bag from that day I couldn’t be 100% sure it had come from exactly the same batch/blending session and it felt like introducing a variable.
- The bigger idea of the testing was to look at the impact of broad technologies. Most resealable bags would work like displacement containers - so they’d work well, but not quite as well as vacuum storage. However, the differences in taste would be pretty minor.
In the end my recommendations from each category as much reflect their taste impact as they do the broader experience of owning and using one. Hence I felt comfortable recommending the Airspace even though it wasn’t tested.
It'd be interesting to see how the plastics and rubber permeate the coffee. It'd also be interesting to see how the acidity reacts with the metal containers. Surely all these materials alter flavour in some way. What might a oak, manuka or maple wood storage container do to the flavour?
What about a resealable bag with the water immersion technique? Theoretically it should be the budget version of the vacuum canisters (just like your sieve + paper towel method with blade grinders as a proper grinder replacement). Much less comfortable to use, but in theory I don't see any reason why the result should be different.
There is another control case that I would be interested in seeing: a non-airtight container. I store mine in a '50s style tin on the countertop, but I try to use it within 10 days or so. It would be interesting to see the difference between that and a couple of the best performers in this test
I mean you definitely could use a bag sealer (those do exist) but okey
I had the Fellow canister for several months and it did not keep the seal. After several days of the canister sitting on my shelf I could take the top off without doing anything. I noticed that after I sealed it the seal would weaken after several days. I contacted Fellow and they said that was normal and supposed to happen. So I bought the Miir canister when it was on Kickstarter. I have the same issue with trying to seal it as you did, but it works. I wish the Fellow canister could maintain its seal for longer than a few days but within a day or two it begins to lose its seal. Thanks for this review!
This guy could be talking about different kinds of dust he found on his hallway floor today and I would still watch.
Right?? 🤣 Like, some of the things he reviews, there is a 0% chance I would ever buy, but I watch anyway
I checked the comments before playing the video and you just got me excited. I thought he would actually be talking about how the different kinds of dust in his hallway indicate different types of storage climate conditions.
Has he finally made the video about hallway dust? I would definitely watch it.
You guys need to socialise more 😂
I was bought a Fellow atoms base on his review. Maybe I did not know coffee as well as him. But I know atoms are definitely not a great coffee container. Not even close.
I would have loved to have seen a resealable bag and an open-air container or something to have been included in the test. Could be fun to see how much worth it would be to buy ANY for-coffee-crafted container of any kind versus just keeping the grounds in the bag or just keeping them in a place where some or a lot of air might come in contact with the beans.
Agreed I would like to see this too
In the comments he mentioned that it would be as good as a displacement device; not a good as a vacuum, but good enough to use
I use brown beer bottles with vacuum wine stoppers, which works well, and there’s something rather satisfying about pouring coffee beans out of a glass bottle.
You're a genius, that's creativity!
👍👍👍
That's great recycling application !
Are they really vacuum stoppers or do they just seal really well
@@ty_tcm9509 Yes, you can buy them with a small pump. The sound of air being sucked in when you re-open tells you that the seal is good. There’ll still be some air in there. It’s only a partial vacuum.
James, just as a suggestion, when you review so many products, it may be worthwhile to showcase their names in the video while you're summarizing the key take aways! One has to rewind to say, which was which. Or maybe keep them in the same frame as at say 5:50? Thanks as always for answering every darn question i could ultimately imagine! You rock! 🙊
A method that I find works to keep the freshness longer is to store the coffees in smaller containers of maybe 100-200 grams each. The reason for this in my opinion is because you reduce the number of times each container is opened. With smaller containers, the container might only be opened 3-4 times as opposed to a larger container that might be opened 10-20 times which exposes it to fresh air each time.
@@221b-l3t Wait, stored....toast?
@@PhotonChief Yeah man, they also buy stored frozen water over there in good ol' USA. And canned bread.
@@221b-l3tYou dont just put bread in a toaster? Do you like reheat the toast?
This has genuinely blown my mind what
@@221b-l3t I think their confusion comes from the fact that in a lot of places, what you call toast is called white bread.
@@221b-l3t Well they were certainly confused lol.
me, sipping my reheated coffee made from preground coffee that I store in a tupperware container: ah, interesting
😂😂😂
Saving money mode
I save my coffee with the paper bag it comes with and seal it with rubberband 🤣.
I’m guilty of reheating coffee too. Once my pot has been brewed (Technivorm) I immediately turn it off and remove the pot from the machine to cool quickly. I actually like the taste of the reheated stuff - deeper darkness with a hint of tar. Then again, I’m also guilty of adding cream (whipping cream) but no sugar.
I buy coffee in a top rated brulerie / roaster who was often ranked in the best, worldwide. It does not come cheap, the coffee is not acid, nor bitter. And my tiny plastic container, is doing wonders... Just cook the inside with 14° vinegar for few days to seal the molecules. then it acts like glass.
i wonder how i'll completely ignore the teachings of this video and keep making boring cheap mediocre at best coffee this time
I'll do it by storing the beans in the bag they came in, and maybe using a bag clip on it if I'm feeling extravagent.
If anything, a lot of his videos prove going to extremes doesn't get you a whole lot further.
@@applec2400 the law of diminishing returns is a harsh mistress
@@BBB_025 yeah but she's sexy af
@Mike Strawson Yep. After a certain point, all you will get with hardware upgrades is benchmark upgrades - numbers that give overall performance a number that is easy to compare with previous benchmark numbers, but nothing noticeable in terms of daily use.
I bought an Airscape from my favourite local roaster at their recommendation and it works pretty well. They give a discount when I bring it in to get refilled, too, so it's pretty near paid for itself at this point. Like James says, I don't know if it's significantly better than a well-sealed bag, but it's durable and dark, and since the roaster will fill it directly (and will again post-Pandemic, I hope...) means I'm not generating a lot of plastic waste.
Ohh that's a super cool service! More companies should do this!
That's nice! I wish my roaster would do this.
That's a neat idea. I wonder if my local roaster would be interested in a scheme like that after the pandemic calms down.
Same scenario here, I’ve had the Airscape for apps. six years and it does a fine job of storage but then I buy beans every two weeks give or take so haven’t really noticed any issues.
I also have a CoffeeVac and it shares a similar performance to the Airscape, works just fine.
I’ve also experimented with true vacuum containers and with the frequent opening and resealing I just didn’t experience any advantage
If your roaster doesn't do a bulk refill...maybe ask them! I bet it would save them some money on packaging.
I don’t think I’ve ever watched a more detailed and in-depth review of anything! The time and effort you must have put into this, along with your professionalism and expertise are all very impressive and much appreciated.
So sad that James didn't include the original 12oz coffee bags (both zip and gold) in this test.
As a newbie to the finer coffee world, I’d like to have seen a Control Batch... just the original coffee bag opened and closed and extra air manually squeezed out... seen just how much doing anything with any of these options actually accomplishes... haven said that, I’ve been looking at the fellows option myself... glad to know I was on the right track... thanks for the review!!!
I just love how James is like an overexcited dad with his child after school at the end of every video :D.
Did you enjoy your day?
Were the children nice to you?
Did you have P.E.?
Are you hungry?
How were your classes?
Was your lunch money enough?
Did Karen call the manager?
Have you bugged my house and heard those questions with my kids 😁
Think he would be far more interested in his coffee than his family.
Might be all that coffee he just drank ;)
I read this in his voice...
"The backwards and forwards was not quite as nice"
- James Hoffmann
James "I have reasonably large hands" Hoffmann
txaggieaero woooooooooosh
We need a device which leverages a middle-out compression mechanism 😏
@@redmenace3921 That's an excellent idea! The drawback the evacuate ones have is that they would probably prove too fiddly if you are using several times a day.
A simple mechanism (such as found on wine bottle resealers) would be idea.
Hmmmmm.....
I think I see a project coming on
"My preference would be the Fellow"
James, great content as always! I actually bought the Fellow Atmos Canister after a bit of research, your review definitely influenced my decision.
I need to inform you that there seems to be an issue with the lid. The pumping mechanism is failing on my Atmos, it stopped functioning after only two weeks of use.
I've contacted the company and they replied that they recently identified an issue with the sealing component of the Atmos lids. In light of this discovery, they have stopped shipping the Atmos canisters until they can guarantee quality.
The good thing is that the Fellow company is aware of the issue and is transparent about it. They are also keen to send a new lid, once they fix the issue, but there is no ETA for that. Finally, they allow you to request a full refund.
Thanks for the info, good to know. I’ve literally today had the same issue on one I bought a few weeks ago. Only opened it around half dozen times and it no longer pulls vac.
It’s being returned to Amazon for a refund. Might try the beer bottle trick someone mentioned in the mean time.
@@bezza1404 I have problem with mine too
@@homeleexie I have a problem with mine too @James Hoffmann
Thank you for this... I ended up getting myself a CoffeeVac, even though I hadn't even been thinking about my coffee storage. Why? Because you made me think about coffee storage. Because, as a household of one, the coffee consumption here is at such a slow rate that my coffee is going to be sitting around getting stale simply because I can't drink it all before it does, so getting better coffee storage makes sense, if I don't have to spend an arm and a leg on it. And the CoffeeVac looked like very good value for money in that regard. So thank you.
Watching anxiously after having just purchased the Fellow Atmos.
I got mine a few days ago and I couldn't agree with you more on this feeling. Just anxiously waiting to see if I made the right choice.
Same. My Fellow Atmos came yesterday and I was nervous for a moment.
it’s alright if you use the same one every day, the seal lasts that long, but it only lasts a couple days at best, never even close to a week for me. I have two and i seem to just go back to using my amber mason jars
I own three atmos's and they are great, they seal well, if you tighten them up a lot (more than when the dot drops) they shall remain sealed for a long time. They work great, they get the job done and I love them. Never going back to storing coffee without an atmos
So glad he made this before I bought anything.
*stares at my bag of supermarket beans sealed with a clothes peg*
Lol.
😂😂
Stares at my bag of supermarket grounds rolled down without a clip
I just use the tab that comes with the bag. This video might just inspire me to get an actual coffee canister.
oof
When I started using my new Airscape canisters, I was surprised at how much longer my coffee retained good flavor. I especially noted how roasts I was familiar with had an extended “break-in” period-over 6 days-before they started peaking in flavor and no longer tasted grassy. Also, I highly recommend buying 2 small canisters instead of one large canister. I keep approx. 1/2 lb. in both, and avoid opening the second one until the first one is empty.
barkingburro: good idea. Personally a pound of beans doesn’t last long enough here. I do use the Airscape (comes in pretty colours too). Although I have most of a bag of flavoured beans (I’m not a fan but a visiting niece likes hazelnut) and what is left I vacuum sealed in 50 gram portions in a food saver and tossed into the freezer for next time.
Ugh, that makes total sense to have two! I only drink a cup or two a day. Thank you!
Your comment about having 2 instead of 1 container was all I needed to hear. Genius! Thank you. I have the large Airscape and will soon have 2 of them!
We like our Airscape, but have not tried any of the vacuum sealed options. I use large Airscapes for whole grain flour & find that it keeps much longer than an an ordinary airtight canister or Mason jar.
I have 2 large and 2 small Airscapes. 1 bronze, 2 black with logos and one retro red with logo. Have 3 coffees in each one and homemade granola in another. Love when coffeehouses have their logo on them. And will always buy more when I see one! ☕🙋♂️📖 And by the way I cut the bag label off with roast date and day opened date and tape it to the lid. Just works for me. Thanks for your videos James.
When I open a new bag of coffee, I divide the coffees and put them into 4 oz mason jars, which are then placed inside a cabinet. That way, I minimize air contact and "agitation" without breaking the bank. The jars are also easily stackable/rearrangeable for tight spaces.
50g of beans always "just fits", so far in those jars. I found some narrow kitchen trays that keep my vertical stacks of four 4 oz jars in the door's bottom shelf. So up to 200g each of caf, decaf, and espresso.
This is my current method. What kind of lid do you use, plastic or the 2-piece metal kind?
My go to method also. By keeping the coffee far back in my cabinet and in the lower portion I keep light off the very inexpensive jars.
Although I learn a lot from you, I am not nearly so fussy about coffee as you are.
Finally, a test that has a direct impact on my coffee life!
The reason vacuum-sealing did not result in significant outgassing is because after the initial purge of air those beans were never exposed to air again until shortly before use. Had you opened the container daily and re-established vacuum (as I would use such a container rather than inexpensive vacuum bags) you might have produced a different result.
Always interesting, informative, entertaining -- I enjoy your channel and I wish we lived at least in the same hemisphere so we could be friends IRL.
Which is the downfall of vacuum jars. Don't see the point of them
@@YunisRajab Maybe they're useful if you get 1kg of beans and want to store half of them in one of these for a while. Getting beans at a local brick store is pretty hard around here, and ordering half a kg makes them rather expensive as it adds 4-7 euros to an order (thus adding 8-14 euros to the kg price). Luckily most just come in half kg bags and there is seemingly little need for these.
I'll be honest I've tried all sorts of coffee beans and ready ground. With so many variables such as the water flavour etc, I find little differnce. I grind 200 grammes at a time and put it in a container. By the time I get to the bottom there is sod all difference and yes I have tested it against freshly ground. Haven't I just. I really do believe that there is so much hot air and snobbery around coffee it's all down to personal taste.
I think I cut something in the edit - these containers were opened reguarly during the six weeks to mimic usage.
@@jameshoffmann Oh good, I was concerned that hadn't been done and therefore didn't mimic usage. The one other thing I would have liked to see is using the original bag as a baseline in comparison to all these.
missing a control.
Should have coffee exposed to the elements, in a beans original bag.
Would have been nice to hear the difference to the containers
Just any chance to make James taste bad coffee ;)
Ya I wanted to see the oldest and most popular coffee storage method, squeezing the air out of the bag you bought the coffee in.
Yep, my thoughts too. A resealable bag and a bag simply clipped shut would be great controls to add to this experiment!
@@__Razer Yep, squeeze the air out and roll up the opening. Works on everything from bread and chips all the way to coffee lol.
That control which is the original bag, is the best option as long as the bags have resealable ziplocs and beans are freshly roasted. Pouring the beans into canisters is the dumbest thing you can do to significantly reduce the freshness. You spent money on these to keep freshness and you pour the beans into the canister... what are people thinking..? Just leave the beans in the bag and finish it within 2-3 weeks.
James, I really appreciated this test! I have a Fellow Atmos and I enjoy it. It isn’t a night and day difference, but it does seem to extend the “golden period” of the coffee by another week. Secondly, you absolutely can take the metal disc out of the top! You simply remove the rubber gasket and remove the metal piece and cloth thingy below it. I wouldn’t clean the cloth, but I have washed the metal disc.
Hey James, I know this is an old video but wanted to give you another experiment you could do with these.
In the food packaging industry, part of the calculation for shelf life of dry goods includes weighing the food at certain intervals to see how much moisture it has taken up. If you were to design an experiment around weighing the beans before and after 6 weeks in each container, you should be able to see which system has the most integrity by seeing which one gained the least weight.
Not sure that a test would be necessary for that, its obvious that the vacuum sealed containers would perform the best because there is the least air in those containers. At the end, the most important thing is the taste and he already tested that.
@@gray_gogy That also depends on how leaky the vacuum canisters are. A poor vacuum seal means moisture will get in over time.
That experiment is highly dependent on the humidity at the place of storage. It will be very difficult to test.
@@iteese For long term storage of dried goods, I agree. So for green coffee beans a proper vacuum seal would be important. For roasted coffee not so much. My 1lb of roasted coffee doesn't last 2 weeks. Using a displacement system, even a resealable bag rolled up, is all that is required. It's also cheap. ;)
One thing I'll note with the vacuum coffee saver, it's part of the Vacu-Vin line of product and I have a set of the "corks". The pump does actually have a way to let you know if you've pumped enough as it will start to produce a metallic click when you try to draw more vacuum after it's done as much as it can
Also, to release the vacuum, just nudge the nubbin at the centre of the cork
Good eyes, I noticed that too :) I actually have their "instant marinator" which came with a slightly beefier pump that does not click - you can just go as far as your strength goes, and it works with the normal wine stoppers as well.
Very true
I've had my Coffeevac for about two years and bought the Airscape for my parents as a gift quite recently. Good to know they seem like the ones for the job!
The dot popping up on the Atmos has quietly annoyed me to no end, it now makes sense, thank you!
Extremely informative video! I'm glad someone went through the time and effort to evaluate these storage technologies. Since the difference in results are relatively small, the more significant factors in storing are IMO: 1) opacity so light doesn't accelerate the reaction to any remaining air, 2) fewer parts probably means more durability, 3) pick one that's easier to use (large hands and small openings are a pain). Thank you so much for this video!
As I watched this I realized that it wouldn’t change a darn thing about how I store coffee. I just like to hear James talk. :)
And how do you store your coffee out of curiosity??
@@mariosavva999 I do it all wrong. ;) Just store it in the bags. It still tastes good.
@@cynthiasymons lol same, I keep it in an old coffee tin, tastes OK to me :)
The depth at which you tested these was impressive. Appreciate all the details and time you put into this one (as always).
I appreciate the comment at the end about keeping the coffee in a resealable bag. My method is to leave the coffee in whatever bag it comes in, squeeze out as much air as possible, put that bag in a freezer gallon bag and again squeeze out as much air as possible.
I’m convinced that oxidation is more a function of free air exchange and less about total air-tightness
I own a Coffe Vac. The valve that you mentioned is also an oneway check valve allowing the CO2 to escape. That might be why you liked that one better than the others in that category.
@Pronto CoffeeVac is not "vacuum" system. But it is not very good name - making confusion.
When Hoffmann says "it's the most expensive" I expect several hundred pounds at a mininum. Was pleasantly surprised!
My wife doesn’t understand me anymore after she saw me watching this video
did she understand you before it?
Haha
That made me laugh loudly! Thank you. : )
breadbutt - come to think of it.....no
@@teskio 🤣
I'm at the very beginning of my coffee journey and yet I'm watching this middle of the day. Hoffman is an addiction.
As a comparison I ran an experiment a while ago with vacuum seal bags.
Right after roasting I sealed 1oz of coffee in each of two small bags. One bag I left at room temperature. The second bag was immediately placed in the deep freezer.
Results:
The bag at room temperature was puffed out after just one day from off gassing and was ready to pop after a few days.
The second bag in the freezer maintained a perfect vacuum for weeks. I then took it out of the freezer and it did exactly what the first bag did. Puffed up after one day and ready to pop after a few days. So the freezer totally prevented off gassing.
So it seems that by putting freshly roasted coffee in vacuum bags and freezing you can have almost indefinite perfect storage with identical taste to the freshly roasted that wasn't frozen.
Note: I only do pour overs so I don't know what effect it would have on crema or other things in espresso.
Thank you for covering this. Im so happy i can barely contain myself.
Although it’s the only solution I’ve used, the airscape does do a fairly good job of increasing the “enjoyable” shelf life of coffee.
I also have an airscape and for at least 4 or so years. Coffee is good (we keep the beans for about a week to 10 days). Durable, washable and its biggest advantage-simplicity. My technology-challenged husband has no trouble with it (except occasionally not having beans and air extractor level).
One thing James didn’t take into account is the amount of coffee being stored. I have the airscape and, what I like about it is the fact that the volume inside the container is essentially variable. It works just as well with a small amount of coffee as with the larger amount of coffee because you can push the lid down until it contacts the coffee.
Hi James! This is a small note but the date dial on the Friis container isn't actually for the coffee (but it could be!), its for keeping track of when you last put a new C02 filter in the lid, which in theory should be replaced each month, hence the 31 days
I've had an Airscape canister for almost two years now. I've been very happy with it. I've started ordering 2lbs at a time from a nearby roaster. I vac seal 1lb in the freezer, and keep the other 1lb in my Airscape. I haven't noticed any big changes between the last cup from the canister, and the first cup from the thawed freezer bag.
I have been doing pretty much the same as you have, SlipshodAverage. I have been vac sealing the beans destined for the freezer right in the bag they come in. Saw how the FoodSavers can be “tricked” into working with regular ziplock bags too but I don’t bother doing that with the coffee beans as it creates so much plastic waste. However, I do seal in glass Mason jars. I find the 8 ounce jelly jars hold the right amount (50 grams in my coffee maker) for each pot. My pantry is like a very cold fridge much of the year. Oh: using Mason jars, you can reuse the lids too.
I have a Food Saver Vacuum sealer that I've had for a long time. I have used it to vacuum seal my coffee for a long time, and at this point, I'll talk about the lost sealed container. I vacuum sealed some of my coffee, and it was packed when we moved. Four years later I found it in the basement with my canning products. The date was a little over 5 years. I groaned as it was one of my favorite coffees from the City I had moved from. I pressed the vacuum release button and it was, to my surprise, still sealed and you could hear the air rush in. The aroma that wafted out of the container way a pure delight. I brewed this coffee in my favorite method, and it tasted like the day the coffee was bought. Very surprised, and delighted. I now vacuum seal everything.
I know this is an old comment now, and I've seen this video more times than should be necessary, but I was on the Airscape website and they have it embedded there, only it keeps rewinding once it gets to the part where their canister is discussed. Kind of annoying, but anyway... I scrolled through some comments to see if anyone noticed, and I came to this. I had never thought to try this. I currently buy 2lb bags, usually 2 or 3 at a time, and put the opened one in an Oxo container. I know you're talking about using a container, but the bags are plastic, so I just went and tried vacuum sealing one with my Nesco vacuum sealer, and it worked! It did take longer to seal, presumably because the bag is thicker? It's kind of erratic about the time it takes to seal anyway, but it took much longer than normal. I would have to wonder if this is harder on the heating element, but I may start doing this with my beans anyway.
After years of using the Coffeevac, I can tell you: I have observed cracks in the bottom of the containers, eventually making them unusable. Remember, they're made of plastic, so they will have an "exipry date".
I have recently moved to the Airscape, for three reasons. 1. they will never have cracks, since they're stainless steel. 2. you can buy REPLACEMENT lids, both for the inner and the outer lid! 3. there's less air sealed in than with the Coffeevac.
Coll😮
As is usual with James, the beyond thorough systematic review and deconstruction is maddening - I love it!
I love how I'm gonna watch this video and then continue to keep coffee in the little tin it comes in
This was well thought out bar the missing control. If there is no discernible difference between storage in a bag or in a container then these products are less important.
Hey James, great review! Next time around for a test like this, would you mind adding a control? I feel like it would have been a nice addition if you had tasted a regular bag of coffee beans that you had opened at the beginning of the 6 weeks.
Keep up the good work, I love your videos!
Totally agree with this. I would have really liked to have seen a regular zip bag of the same coffee tested along with the others. Otherwise great video as always.
I was curious about this as well!
I was also was wondering about how the ratio of air to coffee impacted the results. A smaller container would have less air in it, and so maybe wouldn't stale as quickly?
Well done video which covers some of the science behind the effects of sunlight, CO2 and air on coffee beans, as well as the practical aspects of each container for daily use. The man jams in prevalent knowledge at just the right clip, keeping those questioning the need for a 16 minute video on coffee containers engaged to the end.
I use a decently wide and simple container of the "just airtight" type, and I keep the coffee in the bag that I get it in, inside the container. I cut the top off the bag and then keep it closed using a plastic clip. That allows for minimizing the volume of air above the coffee, just like for the "second" category of container, but in a simple and cheap container. Double-sealed system (together with the container lid) and non-transparent because of the bag, for cheaper than a complicated solution.
I use very dark roasts, and I do notice a definite difference in smell when I open a new bag of beans compared to one that has been open for a while, but I haven't made any back-to-back tests like this. There have been other things that have impacted the coffee flavor more for me, and I'm glad to say that this channel has given me a lot of ideas and opened my mind to how to start going about making my coffee taste better!
Two things James:
1) How would the coffee kept in the packaging do?
2) I would never keep coffee for that long! Ha!
Agreed, need a control open air and possibly coffee stored in the factory bag
He does reference factory bags at least twice in the video, and says he'd just as soon use them over a canister. I expect the ziplock bags with a one-way air hole should, in theory, be sliiightly better than displacement (because the sides aren't solid so you can get more air out), and the roll-top bags would basically be sliiightly worse than displacement (because it's harder to get all the air out)? I do put mine in a second ziplock bag just in case tho, especially if it's roll top, since the plastic lining in those paper bags trends to be pretty thin and I don't trust the seal.
Can we just appreciate the absurd lengths James goes to for us?
Another alternative to consider is using gas displacement. I've tried using many of the canisters you've reviewed here, and while I had best results with vacuum canisters, they're just too fiddly to use in the morning.
My alternative is to use an opaque one liter airtight canister, that I fill half way with coffee, roughly ~220 grams, which is enough for 5-10 days of espressos for me. I then fill the container with an ounce of carbon dioxide from a small tank, the sort sold to use with home soda machines, which holds ~14 ounces of gas. This is more than enough to repeatedly fill the one liter volume of the air tight canister. It's not a precision operation; since CO2 is heavier than air, as long as there's enough gas to cover the coffee, a gas barrier forms and oxidization is significantly reduced, and one ounce of CO2 is enough to displace a liter of air several times over.
A little air will get mixed in every time the lid is opened or coffee is scooped out from the top, but it's not significant when coffee only lives in the container for around a week. When I run out of coffee, I transfer a week's worth from the freezer, and shoot another ounce of gas into the canister.
I've also tried using argon gas displacement, which works as well as CO2, but there wasn't any discernible difference in taste, and recharging a small CO2 tank costs significantly less than having a tank charged with argon.
comment section VIP right here
I have been using a fellow Atmos for over a year now and thought mine was broken. Constantly the green ring disappeared and I never knew why, thank you for providing answers! 🙌
Love these videos, James' vast knowledge, keen scientific approach and impeccable delivery is always a pleasure to watch. And just as a shout-out to the channel & team as a whole, the whole production - such as the camerawork, lighting, editing and graphics - is simply 10/10. Keep up the great work!
I’ve had the coffeevac for years and I’m pretty content with it. It very well could be a placebo effect but it’s nice knowing my coffee is safe from light and is reasonably well sealed.
Same here. Glad to see it was a contender and did fairly well.
What I'm interested in is: How do you store your coffee James?
This!!!!
yes! What is your view on fridge storage?
He just fills his pockets before going home from work everyday.
In an old shoe. 🧐
@@MobileDecay "Interesting. Not good. But definitely interesting!"
It might have been interesting to test a bag with a built-in valve. Based on your test criterion and results, it suggests a well-made bag might just be the optimum storage for beans.
I second this. Modern bags with one-way valves might do the same as the displacement containers.
Indeed. The bag that the coffee came in and a freezer clip to seal it again.
And moving the built in value further down the bag so when it’s half full one can roll it down further to displace more air? Probably a reason this would not work... just a random thought.
@@macdaddy9344 Nah just seal the back on top and you can allways press all the air out.
Old video but i agree with you. Also i have a daily routine to suck the air (yes, i breathe in from the valve 😁) from the bags. This is the solution i’ve found because i think all the products in the market for this purpose fails. All my beans stay fresh(er).
Thanks for the incredible amount of time and effort that you must have gone through to get all this data. I immediately went online and ordered the Airscape.
16:00 To sum up: there was no noticeable difference in taste from storing coffee beans in any of the containers. Just keep them in a resealable bag and save your money.
I’ve been thinking about getting the atmos, but I saw some reviews about it losing a vacuum after a few days. Thanks for the explanation about that being caused by the gasses releasing from the beans! I hadn’t thought about that, it makes a lot of sense!
Same reason I came here! Did you ever try it out?
It would have been cool to see him test the theory - like is it really off-gassing or a shoddy seal? I suppose if you used an esp32 with WiFi and CO2 sensor and solid state barometer one could determine how much off-gassing is happening and pressure change is happening to determine if it’s a bad seal or just gas released from beans.
I’ve been using the airscape for a few years now, and I’m extremely happy with it. It pulls the air out nicely and keep the beans super fresh for the two weeks it takes to deplete my bag’s worth. It’s very easy to clean as well!
*me, storing my coffee beans in an airtight tupperware*
James: the fellow is probably the best
me: yeah, damn exactly, thought so too
If it's dark, not transparent, then it's ok.
@@antoniomendez4855 I doubt that applies to anything other than direct sunlight, which let's be honest, I doubt anyone does. It's not like people keep mason jars full of beans out on the window sill.
If you do use mason jars, you could vacuum seal in appropriate measurements for your preferred brew using the food saver jar sealer. No wasted plastic and you reuse the lids too so no waste. A can of spray paint will take care of sunlight coming through the glass. Now it won’t last forever. For me with one pound of coffee that would mean 7 jars sealed (you could easily keep two days worth without doing anything special). Only if you’ve got loads of time to fiddle away. I don’t do any of that though. An Aerscape canister or a plain steel tin with a wooden lid seems fine in the time it takes me to use it up - 9 mornings, if I don’t have company; which I do often.
@@antoniomendez4855 My beans are stored in transparent mason jars. In the cupboard, so in the dark.
I love, love, love how thorough these coffee tests are while at the same time, there is no claim of causation based on correlations. This is a great example of good science that provides helpful recommendations without falsifying reasoning.
Also my tl;dw: the resealable coffee bags are great, just use them. Or a mason jar. Unless you think the Fellow is pretty enough to spend some coin.
I have a Starbucks branded Airscapes I bought as my first coffee storage method and haven’t looked back since. I love the feel of the metal casing and hearing that suction as I pull up the “plunger” valve is quite satisfying.
I’ve got 3 masters degree transport design finals this July and here I am watching a video about canisters
Waiting for James to reveal that he carries the beans in his "fairly large hands" until they're ready for use. Fourth-wave coffee type stuff.
Put that Mason Jar you have lying around in your house to use and buy a vacuum fermentation lid. It will let you know when you have a complete vacuum and it’ll also allow built up CO2 to escape.
@I G they tend to work with a pump like the first extraction method.
Yeah but I'm not in the show breaking bad
Great idea!
I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner, but this made me realize my vacuum sealer has a hose attachment for use with containers. Looks like I finally have a use for it! As you said in your video on freezing it seemed wasteful to use bags for coffee, but this seems like the perfect solution and should make a better vacuum than any of these containers. Thanks Mr. Hoffmann!
P.S. As someone who works in a research lab, there's no such thing as a 'perfect' vacuum, even in space ;)
my partner has an airspace and she got me one recently. I love it. Very convenient and you trust it's keeping the air out. Great video as always
I’ve tried several canisters, but was never convinced they worked to extend freshness or flavor. I eventually just started using rubber straps to seal the coffee in the original foil-lined bags I purchased them in. When I pull out the beans for the day, I fold the bag over to remove as much air as possible, and then place a large rubber strap around the bag to keep it flat/sealed.
I just store my beans in my belly and boil myself when I want coffee.
I'd argue a resealable coffee bag is actually closer to the displacement method because you can press out the atmosphere before sealing. It would be interesting to see how the same coffee in a resealable bag faired here.
Curious also for the use cases. Many viewers of yours are not likely to keep 12oz of coffee around for 6 weeks. 3 weeks with 1 week in original packaging may have approximated closer.
I went from a simple plastic container container for my beans, in the fridge, than after a few years changed my storage space for the freezer. Went for zip bags back in the fridge. Then I bought myself a mid level espresso machine and started visualizing all these different videos. OMG !!! This seemed to be so complicated. slowly but surely it became much easier and I started tasting the difference. So I am now with a simple black sealed steel container, wanting to go a step further, so this video really helped me out. Thx. Keep up with the good work.
A really good cup of coffee is an absolute joy and if you're making it yourself, that joy is at least doubled. I have the cheapest (I think) deLonghi espresso machine and two great sources for beans. It's rare to have a coffee out which is better than I make at home (at least for my taste). I wish you continue happiness in this delightful addiction!!!
As I already have a vacuum sealing machine in my kitchen (for vacuum packing products for freezing, or occasionally sous vide cooking) I’d bought a quality, but cheap set of vacuum storage jars made by Lacor, which come with in 3 sizes the largest of which can easily store 1Kg of beans, and the smallest easily a 250g bag of beans. Best part of all is all 3 only cost just over £20, though of course you need some means of getting the air out.
Brilliant given the whole set was cheaper than just one AirScape container, and they really hold their seal and are super easy to operate, are made of tough, strong plastic and there are no issues with putting them in your freezer (if you have room). I guess these are way, way cheaper are they are general purpose and not marketed specifically as a ‘Coffee’ product, as lets face it most companies use that as a licence to charge extra. Interestingly, the vacuum pressure is so good that I’ve never found any noticeable drop in seal pressure from off-gassing, though I do tend to use lighter roasts.
You can get them on Amazon and would highly recommend them, provided you’ve got some means of extracting the air (they even come with a spare tube to connect up a vacuum pump/sealer that’s a standard size). Even the big one takes less than 10 seconds to extract all the air when only a few beans in it, and much less the fuller it is. Hope this is helpful to others 👍
James, this was really interesting. I have three cylindrical 'Vacuvin' vacuum jars that I bought, many years ago, from a Whittards high street store (I'd guess around 30 years ago!). I've used them for all manner of things, but primarily storing coffee, and found them to be very effective at extending storage life. The ones I have look a little easier to use than the vacuum jar you have, to release the pressure on the rubber valve, you just squeeze the sides of the rubber bung. It's also easy to judge when you hit the maximum evacuation, as you can tell from the feel of the pump. Another interesting element (given your video about freezing coffee) is if you have a large bag in the freezer, you can quickly pour out some into the vac jar, evacuate it and there's no condensation or moisture build up on the coffee, as you let it defrost. They were discontinued years ago, but it looks like the unit you tested is a spin-off: www.shopvacuvin.com/Tomorrows-Kitchen-Medium-Vacuum-Storage-Container-p/28733606.htm
Mine look like this: lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fWJp_-9viaUF6pzkrDHvSDQwlFKhPGUBd0UenB1kzFfmkj_xAUsSLs-cJfekenyEu6PYO2PU8OhvUUgfpk21eJmF5_9hcOSMigA5npUap_ky8PDTDlENibBlVxQLZwt1eKBlc6DnVNuroZlXbEGdBWYw=w958-h539-no?authuser=0
P.s. they're great for rapid marinading of food too!
I use the Fellow and it’s been great. If you use the coffee daily it never looses pressure in my experience. I stick with one bag of coffee until used and I get a better cup at the end of the bag with the Fellow vs when I used just an airtight container.
Just watching this to justify my Fellow addiction. Love how aesthetic, simple and minimalist all their products are!
Are you by any chance planning on reviewing the Ode Brew Grinder as well?
From the Ankomn product page you linked:
"In every lid you can find a silicon indicator, this sinks down when there is a vacuum present, so you always know at a glance. "
That's true, Ankomn has an similar indicator like Fellow - in fellow its a green line, in Ankomn its the rubber valve which is sucked inside while vacuum.
I absolutely love your videos Mr. Hoffmann! I have been taking my careful steps into the wonderful world of coffee, and have been enjoying your videos thus far!
I started off with the standard pre-ground coffee from Tim Hortons, brewed in the K-Cup Keurig machine I have from my college days. Now I have a little electric coffee grinder and a De'Longhi Dedica I got off kijiji a while back and have been having a lot of fun learning how to properly make espresso, and it is absolutely delicious! Haven't splurged yet and gotten any specialty beans or upgrade my espresso machine as of yet, but I'm excited to continue moving into the wonderful world of coffee.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge on coffee science! It is very much enjoyable to see!
3:36 i just wanna say that i DEEPLY respect the amount of work you go to for these things. even just brewing 10 cups of coffee feels near overwhelming. not to mention sourcing all the containers, getting the beans ready, storing them for an extended time, and the methodical way you go about everything. i live for your comparisons! so good! so helpful! such science! lol. that's why you dipping into food AT ALL was so fascinating (like with the tiramisu).
i've only seen one other guy on YT have this method. Ethan Chlebowski (first one i saw was canned tomatoes and if san marzanos are really worth it. but he had another testing diff types of flour for pizza dough, which is best, or what the actual diff in results was, so you could decide your own preference.)
anyway, just want to say, thank you for your service!
i'm hoping you do an updated espresso machine line up vid, since you just did the grinders again recently. the $100 and $500 groups. i'm sure a lot is different now that it's been 3yrs. (just looked up the date stamps on those).
Love that you did blind tasting! I'd go further and include two cups of each so we can see the variance in your judgements. IE how consistently you rank each pair similarly. Because you are all over the place, then you can't pick a clear winner, and if you are consistent, you can give more confident recommendations.
The pump tells you when it has reached a vacuum by making a clicky sound. (maybe not the exact one you had in that set, but definitely the one I have for wine called vacuvin)
exactly, you can release the pressure by pushing the tab of the valve to the side. No need to pull it. I didn't know these containers existed but definitely have my interests now.
The pump that comes with the Vacuum Coffee Saver doesn't have the 'click' feature like the Vacuvin does.
I just commented this too, have often wondered whether storing beans in an old wine bottle with the vacuvin would be worthwhile. Got my answer.
I have the same vacuum pump used in the test, marketed (in South Africa) as a Vacuvin product. No click, but it's certainly not too tricky to work out when to stop: I keep going until I physically can't anymore.
@@jasonvanniekerk9269 it seems like maybe it's an older model or something? The one I have (for wine) has a handle on top going both ways and it clicks.
I use a Ball, amber glass “mason jar”. It’s perfect, easy to use, and if you have a vacuum sealer, there is a jar sealing attachment that would work if you expect to use the coffee over a little get period, cost for the jar, $6.
Good video!! I really appreciate the comment about how the green ring disappeared in my fellow atmos. I thought that the lid might be defective and even Fellow replaced the lid sending me a new one from US to Spain. The green ring kept disappearing.
So in the end: happy with my fellow, congratulations to Fellow and its customers for the great service and congratulations to you, James, for your wonderful channel.
So proud to be one of your patreons and watching your videos!
After watching a few of your videos, I could successfully shortlist the coffee I'd like to buy, had a long discussion over it at local stores around me, and could order a batch online too alongside a suitable container. Fascinating how little things like a coffee ritual can affect a life! Thank you Mr. Hoffmann. :)
Something that might be worth considering: how much water/humidity is lost from the beans stored in air-tight container vs vacuum-sealed. Although the beans are all supposed to be equal in weight for each test in the espresso section, perhaps the density of the beans are different due to how they are stored--and hence they behave different when ground wrt channelling?
I'm continuously surprised and impressed at the depth and thoughtfulness in your videos. You truly take the time to think through all the variables and explain your whole through process and give practical advice.
I'm also very fond of the way you talk about price ranges. You seem to have a great grasp on the fact that most of us are dealing with a few hundred dollars to spare, not thousands, and do not belittle the options we can get in that price range.
My favorite TH-camr by far, even though I just started watching you. You really are a master of your craft and I'm very impressed by the content you produce, and what's more, the coffee I can now produce because of aforementioned content :)
Thank you!
the return of james “i have reasonably large hands” hoffman
the largeness of my hands is completely reasonable.
Me when he said that 👁️👄👁️
🤣
James Hoffman on Tinder... I love coffee, travel, and I've got reasonably large hands ;)
Size matters.
Your reviews are very helpful. educated us and helped save us time and money and especially we avoid the disappointment using "wrong" equipments/products.
Thanks a lot.
I so appreciate the hard work that has gone into making this video! Great info ❤️
The clicky one reminded me of a wine sealer. So actually I've tried storing coffee in empty wine bottles and it works great. Don't have to buy a container just for coffee and honestly it looks good in a clean glass bottle.
I've been thinking about this solution for a while, which prompted me to find this video in the first place. Figured wine, like coffee beans needs to avoid oxygen and light. A tinted wine bottle with a wine sealer accomplishes the same thing. Glad to read that others have tried this solution with success. Think I'll start doing this too myself!
i like your idea. coffee from wine or whiskey bottles
Clever!
Seeing something you own in these: "You can do it, I know you can. (please validate your existence on my shelf)"
I just re-use an old Illy metal canister. Saves $ and does a pretty good job.
same ^^
Closed bag inside a sealed container, always works
I bought the glass version of the Atmos container and after watching this now feel a little silly. Since my pallet isn't super refined to notice any drastic differences I still love it! Thanks for putting in the time to do this!
I've been replacing all my plastic with glass, even the flask I bike with. Plastic is nasty.
Thank you for such an informative video!
I actually bought both the Miir container and the Fellow, and found that I gravitated towards the Miir out of convenience. To twist the Fellow tight every time I wanted to make coffee ended up being very cumbersome to me. I definitely appreciate the comments from others about storing batches of smaller coffee to reduce the amount of opening times which I never thought of. Thanks for all this great content!
I seal them in a wine bottle and get them out with a coravin that replaces the air with neutral argon gas. It's a bit hard getting the beans through the needle but eventually it works. Coffee will stay fresh for years with this method.
That's pretty interesting, did you get that equipment specifically for coffee storage or do you normally use it for wine?
Argon? Amateur. Anyone should know to use nitrogen. Tsk.
@@Mikey-ym6ok Nitrogen is for parties bruh
@@Mikey-ym6ok right? I use xenon
Guess my Mason jar is a no go 😂😂
"You gotta do the awkward pumping thing.... You don't really know when you're done."
More like: you don’t really know how much longer it will take. Lol
Pronto haha. Feedback isn’t always accurate.
Just pull it twice, then relax (general rule).
I think the original coffee packages are good for storing coffee. They usuallly have zip locks
This would have been a good control for James to test
Jakub Szymański I purchase my coffee direct from roaster and use canisters to reduce waste
Thomas Hakes That’s a good idea. BYOC. 😎
if the zip lock's good you can really just take off the air by hand, seal, then chuck somewhere in a cabinet. Either way, with any bag, you're still one piece of scotch tape from having an "displacement storage solution".
I always assume these are for people who purchase in larger batches?
I came up with an extremely superior and dirt cheap method for roasted coffee storage about 15 years ago. Clean out your favorite wine bottle-champagne or a slightly wider mouth is best-make a simple paper funnel and use a rubber, hand pump, air extracting wine saver cork. Your coffee will stay fresh twice as long as any of these.
Came across this one late, but I would like to say I have used the Coffee-Vac for 10 years and it's still my go to storage container.