How to avoid stale coffee at home

Do you love to start your day with a great cup of coffee? In recent years the means at our disposal for enjoying a cup of coffee in the comfort of your own home has grown immeasurably. Whether you’re using a French Press, V60 Dripper, Aeropress or an electric coffee maker, you’ve already discovered that using proper coffee is the best way to get delicious results.

In this article we aim to explain how to tell if your coffee is as fresh as can be, how to store coffee at home to keep it fresh, and what you can do to get the best flavours and value for money from your morning brew.

Why Coffee Gets Stale?

The factor behind stale coffee is oxygen, and your coffee undergoing a process called oxidation. Coffee grounds are full of various oils, chemical compounds, and acids. These compounds are collectively called solubles and are extracted from the grounds in the brewing process and give coffee its quintessential "coffee" taste, colour and smell. Once coffee beans touch air, coffee flavour and aroma immediately start to degrade as solubles oxidise — like iron becoming rusty when exposed to oxygen for too long.

How fast does ground coffee go bad?

Ground coffee is an agricultural product. Like any other fresh produce, it has a specific shelf life in which you have a perfect tasting cup of coffee. Coffee beans, in their whole form, have a longer shelf life. Some say that it can last for up to 12 months, when stored properly, though of course, you’d probably want to drink them way before that. However, as soon as the bag is opened the clock really starts ticking...

Whole beans stored in the correct conditions stay fresh for longer due to their lower surface area. But when exposed to oxygen, ground coffee goes completely stale within 20 minutes. The more it is exposed to oxygen, the faster it will decay. Unless you are grinding your coffee every morning, you are only getting one cup of fresh, flavourful coffee per bag. This is true even if your storage method is on point...and let’s be honest, most people’s isn’t.

How to Tell If Your Coffee is Stale?

You are probably not going to take a bite of a coffee bean, so the best way to know if your coffee has gone stale before you drink it, is if all that comes out of the coffee maker is a dark black liquid.

Coffee that has gone stale will be solid black. Coffee that is not stale will generally have some foam appearance or a layer of crema on top, or will bloom (produce bubbles) once water is added in a filter' method. If your coffee is not giving full flavour and a great aroma it is also an indicator that the coffee is stale.

How to Keep Your Coffee from Going Stale Too Quickly?

Coffee will lose its flavour over time and eventually go stale. There are a few things you can do to keep your coffee as fresh as possible for as long as possible, though.

Keep Them Away from Heat, Moisture, and oxygen

If you have stored your coffee away from your stove and oven and in a room temperature area, then it will stay fresher for longer. The pantry is great for this, as is a cabinet that’s away from heat. Moisture is the second enemy of coffee. So, to keep your coffee beans away from moisture use a proper airtight container for storage.

Ground coffee instantly

However, good storage doesn’t solve everything. A freshly ground and brewed cup of coffee is unbeatable in terms of aroma and complexity of flavour. For quick grinding, use Wilfa Svart Coffee Grinders and enjoy every sip of your coffee from the first to the last bean. It is hard to compare the freshness of pre-ground coffee and freshly ground coffee if you have never experienced a fresh cup of whole-bean coffee when ground just minutes before being brewed. The aroma and flavour of the fresh brew are highly noticeable. What’s more, Wilfa Svart grinders solve every home-coffee-drinkers’ troubles by offering pre-set grind options for a whole range of coffee brewing methods. Within a few easy clicks you can swap effortlessly between any of your coffee-making methods.

When you buy pre-ground coffee, you’re getting coffee that was ground before it was packaged and stored on the shelf.

When you buy whole coffee beans, you can control its whole uniqueness by grinding it by yourself at your home considering quality control, flavour, texture, and versatility, and this means that your coffee can have the best flavour possible and be fresh every time you flip on the kettle.

About Wilfa Coffee Grinders

Wilfa Svart Coffee Grinder (Silver) is an incredibly affordable grinder to use, especially considering its function. It gives a variety of brew methods for its users such as the filter, french press, Aeropress, and percolator, to produce a highly consistent grind.

With an easy-to-use interface, Wilfa Svart Aroma Precision Coffee Grinder (Black) brings out the best coffee flavours with the pleasant smell of the ingredients you’re using. With a slightly different motor, the Aroma Precision grinder can work slower, reducing heat transference to the beans, keeping a truer flavour as the roaster intended.

Enjoy a cup of fresh, flavourful coffee every morning with these cost-efficient coffee grinders.