Coffee Break

I’m a total sucker for those As Seen on TV type ads. They catch my attention every single time. So last night, I’m sitting here minding my own business - that is to say, I was playing a little Bejeweled Deluxe to numb my brain before bedtime, when my concentration was broken by …

STALE BITTER COFFEE?? NOT AGAIN!!

It was an ad for the Friis coffee storage system - a canister with special inset that “releases the carbon gasses” that your coffee gives off without letting in the “harmful air” that destroys its freshness. The plastic canister costs $19.95, plus $6.95 shipping and handling, but if you “order right now!” you can get another one free, just pay the additional $6.95 shipping and handling blah blah blah. Can you tell I was not impressed?

Fresh coffee isn’t rocket science, kids. It’s pretty basic. When coffee is roasted, the sugars inside the coffee bean are caramelized and essential oils are released. Those essential oils degrade when exposed to heat, light and air. The best way to have fresh coffee is to drink it within a few days of roasting it. If you must store roasted coffee for more than a couple of days, the following rules apply:

1. Whole bean coffee retains its freshness longer than ground coffee. Don’t grind till you’re ready to drink.
2. Store roasted coffee beans in an airtight, opaque container kept in a cool, dark place. That will keep oxygen, light and heat away from the beans, and those are the three things that will degrade your coffee flavor.
3. Never refrigerate your coffee.
4. If you buy more than you can use in a week’s time, freeze the remainder in one-week packages in your freezer. Be sure to wrap it well to keep it from absorbing other freezer odors. Once you take a package out of the freezer, do not refreeze it.

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