Mike wrote:
On Jan 11, 1:04 am, rw wrote:

jeff miller wrote:

rw wrote:

Wolfgang wrote:

One day last week, Becky stopped by with some freshly roasted and
ground Colombian caranavi.

You should get whole beans and grind your own as needed. Ground coffee
loses its freshness quickly. Keep it in the freezer in a sealed
container.

the freezer thing isn't a good idea in my opinion.

That's what the sea;ed container is for.

I have no interest in roasting my own beans, or growing them for that
matter.

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Actually, it does not seem to make a difference.

Maybe I wasn't clear.

The freezer is for the whole roasted beans -- NOT for ground coffee.
Freezing slows down chemical reactions. Increased surface area
(grinding) accelerates chemical reactions.

If you grind coffee and don't use it right away, throw it away. The
coffee is to be ground just before you brew it. Hand-held,
electrical-powered grinders of many brands work just fine, but they're
not uniform. You have to get used to a particular grinder to get a
consistent grind.

I store the beans in the freezer in the 1 lb sealed bags they come in
until I have to open one. I put the remainder of whole beans, which
lasts about the rest of the week, into a sealed container and into the
freezer. Plastic freezer bags work fine. It's important to keep water
away from the beans -- freezer burn. This isn't nearly as important with
whole beans as with ground coffee (which should be thrown away anyway).

I'll wager that I can store 1 unopened lb of premium beans in the
freezer for one year, and tested against a "fresh" batch you wouldn't be
able to tell the difference.

BTW, my ideal average ratio is 1 oz of coffee for 6 oz of water, but it
depends on the product and your particular preferences.

All this is IMO, of course.

In the morning I grind enough for two large (1.5 cp) mugs in the morning
and that does me for the day. When I was working I drank a lot more. :-)

I'm not a coffee snob. I drink it black, loathe the fancy recipes, and
I'll gladly drink convenience-store coffee if I need a jolt. But when
I'm making it for myself I'll take the easy minimal steps necessary to
do it right.

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Cut "to the chase" for my email address.