Just discovered the shelf life of coffee!

[Anne in TN]

We stocked up on coffee back in 1999. Each year we added to our stock. We had enough to last for 3 years. So, we now have been drinking coffee from 2003 until tonight when we just ran out of it. It tasted very good and we were well satisfied with it. I thought we were ready to start on the 2004 batch when hubby showed me that we had overlooked a box of 6 cans of coffee from 2002. There was an expiration date on the cans of "May 2005."

I brought up the 2002 coffee tonight and brewed it. Gag! It was awful!!!

So now I can tell you from personal experience that, as far as I am concerned, the palatable shelf life of coffee is a max of 2 to 3 years!

If you have decided to buy it for bartering as well as for your own use, you might want to keep that in mind.

I suppose if real hard times came upon me, I would be happy to have the 4 year old coffee just as a smoker will be grateful to have a 4 year old cigarette if that is all there was.

Anybody else out there using 3 year old coffee or older?

 

[Loon]

I wonder if you put it in the freezer if it would keep fresh longer? I know when I used to smoke years ago I used to keep my cartons of cigs in the refrigerator and I think they stayed fresher longer.

 

[JohnGaltfla]

Just curious Anne, was that coffee in the vacuum packs or in tins? I'm holding a tin for one more year as a test vs. the vacuum pack and want to see which tastes like coffee still after 5 years....

 

[Anne in TN]

John,

The coffee is in cans also known as "tins."

 

[Seabird]

Just curious Anne, was that coffee in the vacuum packs or in tins? I'm holding a tin for one more year as a test vs. the vacuum pack and want to see which tastes like coffee still after 5 years....

Vacuum pack lasts longer. We had several vacuum packs of Maxwell House in a bin in the garage (in the South Florida heat, no less) from '99 until 2003 when we moved to North Florida. The bin was one of the 18 gal. tote bins that actually are air-tight when there are other bins stacked on top of it. The coffee was perfect.

*note, the bin on top of the coffee bin had 5 lb. bags of flour in them (in the Florida heat) and the flour was as good as the day we bought it. There were boxes of books on top of the bins, which were heavy enough to lock them tight.

 

[JohnGaltfla]

John,

The coffee is in cans also known as "tins."

Duh. I've been travelling too much. Sorry.

That's a dissappointment. I was thinking that the tins of coffee would last longer than the vacuum packs.

Ah well, might as well drink it now I guess.

Rats.

 

['plain o joe']

put the coffee in a mini grinder and regrind it. If you were using coarse ground before, instead of 1 scoop per cup, use 3/4...

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Vacuum packed or packed with oxygen absorbers is the way to go and the cooler the better, the much better.

I've got six year old coffee in the freezer that still tastes good to me.

.....Alan.

 

[eXe]

Thats funny because I just opened a can from 2000 that was just as good as fresh, I think it has to be the way its packed.

I have also heard of 'plain o joe's idea of re-grinding the coffee.

 

[rafter]

It could depend on the climate it was stored in. Is it somewhere it can get really hot in the summer?

 

[Birdlady]

We've just used some too,(overlooked), exp 8-2002.
It, canned, (tins) was stored in our pantry, room temp (Houston: humid, but with some a/c), and it was fine.
It was "generic" store brand. Go figger?

 

[Warthog]

I wonder if you put it in the freezer if it would keep fresh longer? I know when I used to smoke years ago I used to keep my cartons of cigs in the refrigerator and I think they stayed fresher longer.

Exactly what I do Loon. I put all my coffee in the freezer and it keeps very nicely.

 

[bleep2u2]

Have used lots of 1999 coffee. As long as the can is still vaccum packed it should be ok in normal storage. At least thats been my experience.

 

[fruit loop]

Vacuum packed and freeze dried should be fine

I've used both after five years. Tastes fine...and I also use Maxwell House.

Fresh-ground coffee should be used ASAP or it does lose its flavor