I Beg To Differ That Freezing Coffee Is Bad…




  • This is a discussion that will probably be discussed until the end of time… It’s the debate of freezing coffee or not. Depending on who you ask, some will tell you they are against freezing coffee, and some will also tell you they are for it. Some may even be on the fence about the idea.

    Freezing coffee is said to diminish the flavors of coffee, though from what I’ve read if done properly and left no longer than a month coffee can be frozen and remain relatively fresh.


    Everything, but Espresso by Scott Rao


    In one of the coffee books I am reading, Everything, but Espresso, the author Scott Rao mentions that “Freezing is a fantastic long-term storage method because it dramatically slows oxidation and loss of volatiles.” So if you want to freeze your coffee then “store them in a sealed plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible before freezing. Remove beans from the freezer only when they are to be brewed, and never defrost and re-freeze beans.”

    Heading to the other side, I found an article over at SeriousEats where the author Meister wrote an article titled, “To Freeze or Not To Freeze Coffee Beans.” In this article, Meister described frozen coffee from an experiment she did as “a vegetal, almost papery-tasting cup with a downright terrible aftertaste.”

    The only thing I am on the fence about in Scott’s book is the defrosting part. I wouldn’t want to put frozen coffee in my Baratza Grinder and have the condensation rust the burrs. Having said that, I defrost all my coffee before grinding. Its one experiment I will never be willing to test either. I’d be interested in reading more on why you shouldn’t defrost beforehand.

    As far as Meister’s article goes. I am not sure why her experience turned out so badly. Obviously there are so many variables that can affect the outcome so it would be hard to know what happened. Maybe her tastebuds are more experienced then mine… Who knows?! I guess it might come down to the simplest answer and that being that freezing coffee is just not for everyone.

    When it comes to freezing coffee, I use food saver bags. They are probably the best option out there to secure your beans and to ensure freshness longer. I like to split the coffee into 3 to 4 parts and leave just a little bit out and then freeze the rest in small quantities so that when I am ready for the next bag I only have enough to last me a day or two. Maybe even a few hours! I also aim not to leave any frozen coffee in the freezer longer than 2-4 weeks.

    I don’t buy extra coffee just to freeze, but with this site I do get sent a lot of coffee and have had times where I’ve felt overwhelmed trying to go through it all. This is where freezing coffee has helped me greatly. I do my initial testing and then pull out a bag from the freezer as I go along. This also lets me know if the coffee is degrading as I tasted it right before it went into the freezer.

    And this is where I beg to differ that freezing coffee is bad…

    I have yet to find any reason not to freeze coffee. Depending on what coffee book you pick up and read, or what article you find on the internet about freezing coffee, not everyone will have the same opinion. I hope you all will at least try it out before deciding that you are against it.

    For those who decide to freeze, I would not recommend buying coffee just to freeze, though if for some reason you need to buy in bulk then freeze your coffee and try not to let it sit longer than 4 weeks as you may start to notice a substantial difference.

    Feel free to comment in with your thoughts… I am curious of anyone else who has experimented with freezing coffee and their thoughts.



    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...


    September 2nd, 2012 | Jamie | 10 Comments | Tags: , , ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...

  • Paul Trumm

    I agree that freezing coffee does not hurt it. The volatile oils do not escape and coffee keeps for many weeks in the freezer. Right now my freezer has quite a few pounds in it. When you have coffee shipped to you, it is more economical to ship several bags. Keep the back-up in the freezer and rotate in as you need. Paul

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      Thanks for the comment, Paul! I felt I needed to share this as every time I talk about freezing coffee I kept getting people who said they thought freezing was bad, but had never tried it themselves. Hoping to open the doors and get people to at least try it before they turn their noses up at the idea.

  • Mark

    Jamie, You are right, this topic keeps popping up all the time.

    I haven’t done any systematic testing, but it’s certainly better to freeze coffee than to have stale coffee! Good for people that cannot get through a bag of coffee in a couple of weeks, or logistics dictates that they can’t get to a source of fresh coffee often enough. And I think the assumption in your article is that the coffee was freshly roasted when you bought it and also when you put it in the freezer. I like to use the analogy, if you put a loaf of stale bread in the freezer, how will it taste when you take it out? Stale, of course!

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      That is very true, Mark! I think anything is better than stale coffee. If you want fresh tasting coffee from the freezer then it has to go in immediately on arrival.

      Thanks for sharing that great analogy too!

  • http://twitter.com/OpenRoast Open Roast

    With all the fresh roasted coffee out there in the world why would anyone need to freeze their coffee? I used to know people that would freeze their specialty coffee for a good occasion so by the time they hit the end of the bag, it mine as well have been Folgers. Only freeze if your prepping for the Apocalypse otherwise get a smaller quantity. Its not like coffee plants take a year off from producing…

    You can try the freeze test with other things. Take a fresh piece of broccoli put it in the freezer wait a month then defrost it and taste it against broccoli that was just harvested. Even though its not coffee i think you’ll taste the difference.

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      I see your point… Why in the world would we need to freeze coffee? Some people have to because they can’t get good coffee where they are. And by buying in bulk it saves them money. Some might even do it just because they want to.

      I agree that you should buy only what you can drink, but if for whatever reason you need to buy in bulk then from what I’ve tasted, freezing isn’t bad for just a short period of time. And it also comes down to everyone’s tastebuds. Some may not like it, and some do!

  • Pingback: I Beg To Differ That Freezing Coffee Is Bad… | Javita - myjavita.com

  • Jennifer

    Hey Jamie, great blog! I like the way you present both arguments of the issue in this article, too. One thing i was wondering was whether the author Scott Rao mentioned more specifically (or in another area of the book) not to actually defrost beans before grinding them or if he just meant that you should avoid defrosting and ‘then’ refreezing after the defrosting has already occurred? Seems like grinding frozen beans would be as harmful as you suggested in terms of grinder stress!

    • http://thecoffeeadventures.com Jamie Ferguson

      I honestly can’t remember if he mentioned more on it, but I will go back and read it over to see.

      I don’t know if frozen beans would put stress on the grinder, though I know the condensation would just ruin your grinder rather quickly.

  • http://twitter.com/caldwa Andrew

    I do the exact same thing – actually I’m pretty sure I use the same brand as in your photo. I’ve found coffee that I’d forgotten about in the freezer for months in a vac sealed pac that comes out tasting fresh and full of acidity. There may be some slight degradation that occurs even when vac sealed and frozen, but to me its negligible – and the pros of being able to store coffee for long periods of time to 1) save on shipping and 2) save some of one’s favorite coffees for later in the year when they’re no longer available far outweigh the cons.

    With that said, its important to designate how the coffee was frozen – open up a bag of coffee and then merely sticking it in the freezer, still somewhat open to oxygen may prolong its lifespan some, but I think one would still see optimal flavors degrading far faster than if it was vac sealed.