Coffee — the fragrant, invigorating drink. That it kept the unique taste and aroma, it needs to be stored correctly. Storage methods for ground coffee and coffee in the bean are various.
How to keep coffee in the bean?
The usual fried coffee in the bean loses the taste and aroma during few weeks after roasting if not to undertake any additional measures. But the modern industry found a solution of this problem. The period of storage of coffee in the bean increases for several months by means of usual vacuum packing with the simplest unilateral valve by means of which it is possible to remove the gases collecting inside. In certain cases such packings instead of air contain special inert gas which allows to save coffee from various damages. In such advanced packings of coffee it can be stored without loss of taste and aroma up to three years.
The thing is that the fried coffee seeds emit carbon dioxide therefore it is periodically necessary "to pit" excess of this gas. Unilateral valves of extra packings allow to do it, without allowing bacteria and foreign smells to arrive inside. If you have no suitable sealed package, you can freeze grains. By the way, it is far simpler to grind the frozen grains, especially if you use a quern as cold does them by more fragile.
What to do with ground coffee?
Ground coffee without extras is stored even less. It should be protected from foreign smells as the high milling easily incorporates moisture and strong aromas. Ground coffee needs to be kept dry, for this purpose kitchen cabinets perfectly approach. Tin, ceramic or glass jars with densely closed covers will be suitable for storage of coffee of any grinding. Ground coffee can be stored in them several months, without losing aroma and taste. If in your apartment normal humidity, such banks it is possible to use also for storage of coffee in the bean, but it is important to open periodically for a while covers to get rid of excess of carbon dioxide. The spoiled ground coffee can easily be determined by appearance and a smell. It becomes several tones lighter and gains unpleasant friability (most often it means that the grinding absorbed in itself too much moisture). The smell of the spoiled coffee becomes sourish and musty. These changes are rather noticeable so even the fan can understand that it is time to buy new coffee. Consider if you grind coffee from grains independently, it is better not to reserve such coffee for the future, even in hermetic cans as it deprives process of sense.