What is the shelf life of coffee?

[Outside]

Yo everyone ... how long do sealed cans of coffee grounds last?

[shastacles]

Yo everyone ... how long do sealed cans of coffee grounds last?

Not long. You should really consider buying green coffee beans, and learning to roast them. Green coffee lasts for virtually forever, especially if you seal it with a vacuum sealer. Get yourself a good stovetop roaster, that you can use on a coleman camp stove or something similar. Then get a good coffee mill, like a zazenhaus. I have a good electric grinder but a hand operated mill is in my plans. I want to rely on electricity as little as possible.

ETA: to answer your question...the shelf life is somewhere around 4-6 months depending on brand, for already processed coffee, but will start to taste crappy much earlier.

[SheWoff]

I've got some we opened the other day....it was 5 years old. Tastes just fine to me! Maxwell house and Folgers both on the shelf. We haven't had a problem with it yet.

She

I've been buying chase and Sanborn cans at Menards on sale for $0 after rebate. I have about 10 cans stored. I certainly hope the shelf life is at least 5 years.

I drink starbucks/ caribou/ Fresh ground bean coffees daily- buy a bag of beans and grind/brew. But if supply suddenly goes south I want some sealed cans for backup. :wink:

[cryhavoc]

We've had good luck as well with the Kirkland(Costco) brand coffee in the #10 cans. Waited as long as 2 years with no discernable taste loss.

Not sure about the already 'freeze-dried' instants though....

cryhavoc

[momof23goats]

I have cans of coffee, i have had for a couple ofyears, opend one, and it was just fine.

[Mimmy]

Here is a link to a cupboard/storage chart that says unopened coffee is good for about 2 years.

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_fnut/HRAP/STORAGE/cupstor.htm

Personally, I wouldn't know, we have trouble keeping coffee in the house for any length of time :lol:

[momof23goats]

I freeze mine for a couple of months first ,then it stays just fine.
The coffee i am drinking right now, is from a can i have had a couple of years, and it taste great.

[Chuck]

We've had Kirkland brand for 5 years as long as the cans are sealed they will fine. Once they have been opened I can't say.

[momof23goats]

I( think as long as they are sealed it is fine. I think this is correct, because i have some that is like over 2yrs, old, an dI just opend some it is good. and I had some that was older, that i also used.

[BigFootsCousin]

I just drank some tarry, burned looking MRE packets of coffee these past weeks (hunting) and they seemed to get the job done. It was nasty looking and I might have three-headed children sometime in the future, but I REALLY needed some caffeine!

BFC

[SheWoff]

you really did hijack the entire board didn't you? :D

[BigFootsCousin]

you really did hijack the entire board didn't you? :D

Well shoot- SOMEBODY's got to do it! :lol:

BFC

[lillybear]

While I am too lazy to actually do this...

I have read that if you flip the coffee container over every couple of months, it retains its flavor longer. The principle being the oils settle to the bottom of the container and are unevenly distributed.

- Lilly

[just me]

My DH is the only coffee drinker in the house and he finally finished up the last of the coffee I had stored before y2k and he said it tasted fine.

Now I am not happy about several companies going to plastic containers because they won't keep as long. I have had issues with other things in plastic containers instead of glass or metal.

[Bookem]

I have a lg can of Maxwell House that I just opened. I purchased it 4 years ago. Tastes great.

[Sassafras]

When we cleared out my grandmother's basement several years ago, she had large cans of Folgers that were marked $1.49. The price will tell how old the coffee was. I brought home about a dozen, which took us several months to use and never did we find the taste dissatisfying. It tasted like the newer, fresher cans that cost much more than the price she paid.

I agree with the plastic cans and the foil seals. I have concerns about those. For storing coffee I try to find whatever brand I can that uses the tin can that needs a can opener, but it seems everyone is going for the plastic and foil these days. It might not be my regular brand, but I figure if SHTF I'll just be grateful to have coffee.

[Roadrunner]

Just thinking if you haven't had any in a long while anything would be better than nothing.The smell alone would be worth it even if it was a little off.. :lol:

[kelee877]

We have stored instantcoffe, perk coffee and tea bags

the instant is maxwell house(the only kind I drink) and it is about 2 years old and it is fine..the perked is folgers and maxwell house, we just opened a tin from couple years ago and it is fine...

I have stored about 2000 tea bags and to date no problems with them eighter and they are 2-3 years old....

if in doubt freeze coffee for as long as you can, we also have a cooler climate..and very little humidity up here

[garnetgirl]

I hope that coffee will last a while - I think I just purchased about a year's worth with a great sale. One of our local grocery stores had New England Coffee bags B1G1 Free which made them about $2.75 each (they usually run about $5.50). I had coupons for $1.50 off/1, so that made them $1.25 each! They are going into the freezer first, then into storage.

I used to buy organic whole bean coffee through our co-op. DH has to drink decaf now; I still want/need regular. We loved that coffee, but it got too expensive, so we cut back to buying it at the store on sale. You know what? We haven't even missed the old coffee. We adjusted really quickly. I now buy whole beans or already ground - whatever is on sale, usually a bagged type.

garnetgirl