Recommendations for coffee beans storage container

[wavinwayne]

At work, we drink a lot of coffee, that we coffee drinkers pitch in and pay for; the company doesn't provide coffee (govt contracting rules, different colors of money, reasons, blah blah...). We want to start buying the big bags of beans at Costco to save money, but we don't have a good way to keep the beans fresh for the length of time it takes to finish a bag. We drink so much that the smaller bags at Walmart, Target, etc. are gone in no time and they're expensive. What would you all suggest for a storage solution? Assume it would take us 4 weeks to go through a big bag of beans. Thanks.

 

[mclasser]

Any non-plastic container should be fine.

 

[Kira]

Why non-plastic? serious question. I cue up my beans in large spice containers.

IMPORTANT ?: I've read to never freeze coffee beans. How 'bout the fridge?

Are glass jars OK?

 

[JavierH19]

How big are these bags. Would a 2 or 1 gallon glass jar work?

 

[JavierH19]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Anchor-Heritage-2-Gal-Hill-Jar/16486707?classType=VARIANT&from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Anchor-H...assType=VARIANT&athbdg=L1103&adsRedirect=true

This would make it easy to pour the beans right into what I assume is a coffee maker with a built in grinder like the one I have.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstay...Jar/5796890454?classType=VARIANT&from=/search

 

[Hermann]

Airscapes for the win. Keeps beans fresh for months. I've had mine for a year and it holds about 4 lb of beans despite what the ad says. It will also preserve ground coffee well in a closed bag.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W6RKJV..._5&amp=&crid=3JYBPEUMI7DNC&sprefix=airsc&th=1

 

[wavinwayne]

Regardless of the container material, how important is it to keep the beans away from light?

 

[wavinwayne]

Airscapes for the win. Keeps beans fresh for months. I've had mine for a year and it holds about 4 lb of beans.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W6RKJV..._5&amp=&crid=3JYBPEUMI7DNC&sprefix=airsc&th=1

I really like this. Leaning this way.

 

[Hermann]

I really like this. Leaning this way.

Try it, it is returnable. I returned a smaller one to get this one for only a few dollars more.

 

[Danno]

Go K-cups, bean self-storage in a convenient pack.
Everyone brings their own.
I like the Costco Breakfast Blend and at about 35 cents a pod, quite reasonable in cost, imo.
120 pack per box.

 

[JavierH19]

Regardless of the container material, how important is it to keep the beans away from light?

Google says uv exposure is kinda bad for the taste but how much sun light is it exposed to?

 

[KrisZ]

I would get a large tin can. It will keep the light out and won’t shatter if dropped. Whole beens are much more forgiving for storage than ground coffee. In four weeks the coffee beans should be fine.

If you have a fridge at work, then storing coffee in a cold place also helps.

 

[Geekhead]

At work, we drink a lot of coffee, that we coffee drinkers pitch in and pay for; the company doesn't provide coffee (govt contracting rules, different colors of money, reasons, blah blah...). We want to start buying the big bags of beans at Costco to save money, but we don't have a good way to keep the beans fresh for the length of time it takes to finish a bag. We drink so much that the smaller bags at Walmart, Target, etc. are gone in no time and they're expensive. What would you all suggest for a storage solution? Assume it would take us 4 weeks to go through a big bag of beans. Thanks.

I go thru a bag every 5-6 weeks but I just roll/tape it closed and grind every 4 days what I need, seems to keep fresh in our cupboard.

 

[Spro4Life]

Why non-plastic? serious question. I cue up my beans in large spice containers.

IMPORTANT ?: I've read to never freeze coffee beans. How 'bout the fridge?

Are glass jars OK?

Hardly the case with freezing... now the fridge is actually far from ideal because of moisture/odors, but vacuum packing/deep freezing FRESH whole bean is fantastic if done in a decent manner. As in use quality glass, only thaw out what's needed as in not dumping some, putting back in freezer, etc. Until I designed my home roasting setup I used to buy quality roasts in 5 lb. bulk, would let it degas 4-5 days, vacuum pack/deep freeze in wide mouth Mason jars and just thaw each when needed. Coffee that was 6-7 weeks old still behaved like it was 5 days post roast. Used for espresso which is by far the most demanding of all methods without question. Anyone that claims freezing coffee is a terrible idea obviously doesn't understand the process and/or used stale coffee and of course it came out of the freezer more stale. Some shops even hopper feed the grinders with frozen whole bean.

 

[KrisZ]

Coffee beans don’t really freeze as there is very little moisture in them. But the cold temps will obviously keep the aroma longer. I’ve put beans directly from the freezer in to the coffee grinder many times. There is no difference from room temp.

 

[wavinwayne]

Go K-cups, bean self-storage in a convenient pack.
Everyone brings their own.
I like the Costco Breakfast Blend and at about 35 cents a pod, quite reasonable in cost, imo.
120 pack per box.

The guys don't like the K-cups. We have a Keurig sitting next to the drip coffee maker and nobody uses it.

 

[wavinwayne]

Google says uv exposure is kinda bad for the taste but how much sun light is it exposed to?

No sunlight just office light.

 

[UncleDave]

Stage 1 flip top glass jars in the fridge/freezer

Stage 2 vacuum seal bags in the freezer.

 

[Spro4Life]

Stage 1 flip top glass jars in the fridge/freezer

Stage 2 vacuum seal bags in the freezer.

You can do a Stage 3 by using wide mouth Mason jars with the FoodSaver vacuum attachment.

 

[wavinwayne]

We will likely go with the recommendation made by @Hermann of the Airscape. Looks like it will do exactly what we want. Thanks to everyone who commented.