Coffee @lemmy.world Sunny' 🌻 @slrpnk.net 6 mo. ago

How do you store your grounded coffee?

Hiya, just quickly wondering how people store their coffee? Mine is in a tin box I got second hand, cos I thought it looked nice. Any rules regarding storing grounded coffee? I don't store much at the time, it's just if I grind a little too much and what not. I'm assuming the general thumb rule for this is to store it in a closed container.

Feel free to share pics of your containers 🌻

Edit: My grinder doesn't allow for selective ground mode, but a new grinder is defo on the list! Seems like keeping them as beans for as long as possible - is the way.

74 comments

I measure the beans before I grind. No way I'm storing ground coffee.
- Same I grind fresh every time I make coffee and I generally only have one bag open at a time so my beans stay fresh.
- Which is probably the best way for sure, keeps it fresh! 🌻
Usually I attach a copper wire from the tin box to the faucet to make sure it's well grounded.
- No, no. Not that type of grounded!
  
  He means the coffee was bad and he sent it to its room with no phone. You're grounded mister (coffee)!
  
  No no not that kind of grounded! They meant designating the coffee as unable to fly due to required maintenance, inclement weather, etc.
- If the building is built to code, the ground connector on the wall outlets should also be well grounded. Some new buildings have plastic water pipes so the faucets might not be as grounded as they used to be.
  
  Oh good to know! So then just put the wire in the ground hole of the electrical outlet?
- DON'T JOKE ABOUT ELECTROSTATIC CLUMPING.
- OP was curious enough to ask, but not curious enough to you know…
In the timeout corner 🤪

I’m no coffee connoisseur- but wouldn’t storing the coffee beans in ground form be more prone to static build up, humidity, etc etc than just storing the beans in whole form?
- Oxidation and loss of aromatic compounds are the big ones.
- I'd have to assume the effect is not that significant, given pre-ground coffee seems to be the most popular form https://www.statista.com/statistics/456310/coffee-grinding-method-among-us-past-day-coffee-drinkers-by-type/
  
  Probably mitigated by the part of that result which is instant coffee, though
  
  Oxidation (and other processes) do affect coffee flavor, and grinding it up increases surface area / exposure to oxygen, speeding that up. Putting it in the fridge seems to also worsen flavor, but the freezer seems to be pretty reliable. Here's a nice video discussing this by a weird coffee person (James Hoffmann): Should you freeze coffee beans?
  
  Also, KGLW, nice!
  
  Most people drive cars, therefore there is nothing wrong with cars
I weigh the amount of beans I intend to grind so I never have to store ground coffee.
I think most people here will be grinding their own coffee per batch. It's typically step 1 or 2 when getting into the hobby, the other being buying better coffee.

That being said, if you do have pre-ground coffee try to use it as quickly as possible as it will lose flavor much faster than whole beans. Store it in a dark, air-tight container.

That tin box you have was originally used for loose leaf tea and is widely available if you want more
- Ah this is great. My mom had the same tin box. I've seen that thing all my childhood.
In my coffee. Haha. I weigh out the amount of coffee I need before I grind it. That said, I also exclusively make cold brew, so I'm typically making enough for a few days.
I'll mix a pound (or whatever size they are now) of regular and a pound of decaf and store it in a big plastic Folger's container in the fridge.

I'm a heathen.
- What's wrong with that? Air-tight in a low-humidity environment?
  
  Ground coffee starts to lose flavor after about 15 minutes.
  
  Everyone here seems to like to grind their beans the day they use them.
Inexpensive electric burr grinder. Grind a single serving and Aeropress it. Works a charm. No complaints.
In my belly. Don't grind the beans until you're ready to make coffee, and only grind enough for that brew.
- You eat the grounds after brewing?!?
  
  Doesn't everyone?
I grind on demand, if I have a little too much I'll dip it like a wad of tobacco which is probably gross but I like it so don't @ me.
- Whatever flops your mop :)
  
  That's a good one 😂 I'm going to borrow it
I store whole bean in an airtight container and grind it daily.
Don't store ground coffee? Buy an inexpensive hand grinder from someone who's moved up to a more expensive model and keep your beans whole until you're ready to brew.

Coffee stales amazingly quickly and there's really no good way to prevent it, the longest I'd store ground coffee for is like half a day (if I'm taking some ground coffee to work to make a cup mid day.)

If you absolutely must store ground coffee an airtight container should work but it won't be terribly fresh after a day or two.
- Buy an inexpensive hand grinder
  
  Any suggestions there? I've looked in the past from recommended review sites but some of the ones I saw suggested online as quality started at like $80. Also does it take a long time to grind say 6-8 tablespoons of ground coffee?
  
  I see a lot of people recommending the Timemore C2 as a cheap first grinder. Look for one on AliExpress and it'll be cheaper than scAmazon. <$50 that sounds like the best option. I dug around a bit earlier and it looks like you can get one for ~$40 when they're on sale.
  
  I'm out of the loop here, you're better off making a new post and asking everyone. I ascended to a $200+ 1zpresso last year and I'm never going back. Someone on Reddit bought it and had buyers remorse so when I saw it listed for half price I couldn't resist.
  
  I can tell you not to buy the Hario Skerton or Skerton Pro though; both were incredibly inconsistent and I had a terrible time brewing using them. Even with stabilizer ring mods they both made a ton of fines and boulders, they weren't good for anything except very coarse grind cold brew.
  
  I added a link above
- I think this is the correct answer. When I went back to drinking coffee again a few years ago I bought a cheap hand grinder from scamazon. When money was available I bought the electric grinder I have now. I still use the hand grinder when camping.
  
  I keep my beans in the freezer. If I kept ground coffee around I'd keep it there too.
  
  ETA: I think this is the hand grinder I have: https://www.amazon.com/PARACITY-Grinder-Stainless-Aeropress-Espresso/dp/B08QRL9Q4Q/ref=sr_1_16
  
  I have a similar grinder, paid less than $20 for it, works great. I've been using it daily since 2019.
  
  Unfortunately it's not on Amazon anymore. I found it on eBay, but with a single 1 star review: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124212737537
Beans go in mason jars once I open a 1 Kg bag. Once it's ground, I'm drinking it.
Oooh man, that tin box! We had that as our cookie tin box when I was a kid.

Does anyone have any idea where that comes from?
- I had a bigger box than OP, and it always had tea inside for me. I guess it was a specific brand of tea but I may hallucinate this.
- Had no idea so many people would point out that they knew this tin hahaha. Kinda fun! Only recently picked it up for very cheap on a second hand market.
  
  Just like me! Except I choose the small one. I wanted badly to get the lot but I don't have enough thing to store to justify it.
- No idea, but it was my parent's box for loose tea leaves...
Not ground coffee, because I measure before I grind, but I have this jar that previously held instant coffee. It perfectly fits a bag of coffee, and I think it's probably more airtight than the bag.
- Be warned about that grinder you have, the basket the grounds deposit into is two separate pieces and will eventually fail, spreading coffee grounds all over your kitchen on your dog while you're hurrying trying to get ready for work and you overslept.
  
  I know from...... experience
  
  I've had that grinder for about ten years now and I bang that basket on the knockbox everyday and it's doing okay, but I get what you mean. The hopper lid has a crack in it from falling not very hard a while ago, so I think it might just be luck of the draw as to whether one gets a fragile plastic piece.
  
  Watch, I'm sure the basket will shatter tomorrow, now. But the good news would be that I don't think they sell replacement parts for it anymore, so I guess I'd have to upgrade.
- Also, it’s glass, which is nice.
I drink it. That's a nice tin, though. I have lots of beans, tea and mate that would feel honored to be in that tin.
- Thank you kind one :)
Nice tin. We grind a 1L Mason jar's worth at a time and use a French press. One jar lasts about 2 weeks and honestly, I can't tell the difference between a fresh grind and a 2-week grind, regardless of bean used. I'm sure some would disagree :)
I store mine in a plastic container with an air tight seal. I prefer to use fresh grounds, but my grinder seems more consistent with higher volume. I usually grind 2-3 brews worth at time.
- I also store mine in plastic container, I actually grind roughly a week to two weeks worth of coffee at a time. The flavor difference after it sits for a while is less noticeable to me than the difference from when I get a new bag of coffee beans.
ITT a surprising number of people who remember having these tins as kids, including me. I'll have to see if my parents still have theirs.
Wow, instant nostalgia from that tea tin. In the Netherlands these were definitely a thing in the last century. I don’t know where they came from but everyone had them. I’ve ordered some (they’re pretty cheap).
I loved seeing this. We had the exact same tin box in my childhood household. We used it to store tea. May all your future coffee brews be blessed with this mental connection
- <3
I have literally a couple of mason jars (the smaller variant ball jars). I have a hand grinder that fits the jars so it works out. Means my husband and I can both have ground coffee fairly fresh and without having to share (his coffee tastes like dirt to me). It works for us. We grind the night before usually.
I keep my old coffee bags with the little plastic vent thing in them, and use those to store my brewing grounds for the week.

I can't deal with grinding fresh every day.
- Yeah same here, currently grind only every other day - which still feels a lot hehe. Totally get that "keep it as fresh as possible", but I dont have the time in the mornings to go through the full process, so gotta cut the corners some places :P

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