Freezing Coffee Beans

To freeze or not to freeze... that is the question.

Fact: If you freeze coffee beans in an airtight container, you will preserve approximately 95% of the bean’s flavor for about two weeks.

First and foremost: Keep the beans cold.

If you do your research on this topic, you will find arguments against freezing as well as for freezing (or even refrigeration).  One reason for the argument against freezing and refrigeration concerns the potential for moisture getting to the bean by condensation.  Warm air contacting cold beans can and will cause issues.

This is a cause for concern, but this can be minimized if, for example, you used the zip-lock bag method and took care to remove it from cold storage only long enough to dispense the quantity of beans to be ground. You would then immediately return it to cold storage after sealing the bag shut and expelling all the air.

The second argument is that of the scientific molecular changes that occur specifically to the coffee oils at low temperatures.  The case is that these changes result in an alteration of chemical properties and that the coffee's flavor will be altered.  It may be a scientific chemical fact but most people will not detect any change in flavor as long as the storage method is either air-tight vacuum method or the storage of beans properly frozen in a heavy, air tight, food grade, polyethylene bag.

So, now you have both sides of the argument but ultimately, the choice is yours: to freeze or not to freeze.