Keeping Coffee Fresh: Sipping the Best Grounds

Many people have many different theories as to what works and what doesn't. But just like for good wine, you need good grapes; for great coffee you need great beans!

My personal suggestion (coming from working with coffee for five years), the first major step is deciding how long you are going to keep the coffee. Are you an everyday drinker? Are you a three or four times a day drinker? Or are you just an occasional, sporadic drinker? Once you figure this out you are ready to head to the coffee shop to purchase your first pound of fresh coffee beans!

Finding them is the trick. Great coffee beans come into the United States by the bushel and are shipped all over the country! After deciding what kind of bean you like, whether its decaf, regular, flavored, dark roasted, or even organic, your best bet is Bucks County Coffee or Green Mountain, these companies offer a large variety of coffee beans.

While at the store make sure you look for vacuum sealed bags. These bags have valves that allow the coffee beans to emit their natural gases and seep out slowly. This also means that moisture and air are kept out; retaining the freshest quality of the beans. Vacuum sealed bags keep the beans fresh for about six months, until opened that is. Once they are opened, air and the moisture in the air are now allowed to seep in! What to do?

If you don't already have one, buy an air-tight container. These are good for the once in a while drinker.

If you are an every day drinker or a three times a day drinker, your best bet is to either buy whole bean and grind at home. Or buy grinds at the store. Buying whole bean will keep the beans fresh for about two months. If you are looking to stock pile your coffee supply, buy coffee grounds and store them in your freezer, also well for about six months. I do say "about" because there are different varieties of coffee and depending on the weather they were grown in, the packaging and handling, the roasting, and so on and so forth (you can see there are different extremities for keeping coffee).

Now sit back and relax and enjoy that cup of fresh coffee!