Although coffee grounds will never really go bad that doesn’t mean that you should store them for years in the garage. Over time you coffee beans and grounds will lose freshness and start to taste stale.
For the most part it’s easy to ensure you always have fresh coffee on hand if you only follow these simple tips.
Coffee beans will stay fresher when they are kept in an sealed environment away from light, moisture and air. Whole bean coffee can stay fresh for a month and good for a year if stored properly. If you open a package of coffee beans they will slowly oxidize and start to take on a stale quality. This oxidation speeds up when you grind the coffee beans.
Of course some people think that storing coffee beans in the refrigerator will help and others think pre-ground beans and beans that you grind yourself are the same thing too and both of those are fallacies.
Also, freshness is a concept a matter of opinion that can be different to most people.
A keen sense of taste can tell the difference in freshness between coffee beans ground two days ago and two months ago and most anyone can tell the difference between pre-ground coffee and whole bean coffee right out of the package.
There are actually a lot of factors that go into how quickly a brand new, unopened package of coffee will oxidize, lose freshness, and go stale so let’s dive deeper into the issue.
Related: Does Instant Coffee Go Bad?
How Quick Does Ground Coffee Go Bad?
Dry ground coffee never really goes bad but it loses it’s best flavors quickly. Some coffee professionals are actually able to consistently identify coffee that was brewed hours ago vs coffee that was only ground minutes ago and that’s why it is always advised to grind your coffee immediately before you intend on brewing it.