What's the best way to store ground coffee at home? Is the refrigerator an option to consider? Here are some useful tips
Isn't it wonderful that moment when we open a new coffee package and an intense and inviting aroma is released immediately? Here, better enjoy it to the full, because avoiding the dispersion of the fragrance that until then was perfectly protected from vacuum packing it's a real challenge.
Let's start from an assumption: once it comes into contact with the air, the grinded coffee it is much more subject to deterioration than coffee beans, which instead guarantee maximum aroma thanks to the grinding carried out on the spot. But not everyone decides to have a coffee grinder at home, a precious tool that also needs proper maintenance.
To limit damage and store coffee correctly, it is necessary to better understand what damages it.
False myths and enemies of coffee
As pointed out by the Gaggia coffee experts, "the worst enemy of aroma is humidity. Coffee reacts immediately to cold, heat, changes in temperature, humidity and oxygen while losing some of its characteristic scent ".
When on the package we talk about storing coffee in a "cool and dry place", it certainly does not mean the fridge. Have you ever used the coffee trick to eliminate bad smells from the fridge? This is enough for you to understand that that type of environment does not help to keep the aromas alive, but rather favors the absorption of all other smells by the coffee.
Furthermore, it temperature gap to which it would be subjected every time you prepare an espresso would lead to the formation of condensation and therefore humidity inside the container.
Speaking of humidity, according to some urban legends, to keep it constant at the right point it would be enough to put a Cork or one apple peel in the coffee jar. Very wrong: any foreign element within the mixture contributes to altering its flavor and properties.
To ensure proper storage of the coffee, it is therefore necessary to keep it away from sources of humidity, heat, light and above all from the air. Let's see how.
How to store coffee
Coffee maintains its organoleptic qualities unaltered at a temperature between 15 ° C and 25 ° C, with a humidity of about 50%. How to get as close as possible to these conditions?
First, use a hermetically sealed container of non-transparent glass, but dark enough to limit contact with light. Even the size make the difference, both those of the packages to be purchased and those of the container. Better to prefer smaller packs, so as not to keep them open for too long, and avoid larger jars than the amount of coffee they will have to contain.
Where to store the coffee? The ideal is a closed cupboard, protected from light and sunlight, away from the hob, oven or radiators.
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