Are You Storing Your Coffee Wrong? Here's How To Make It Taste Better And Last Longer

There’s a good chance you have strong opinions about which coffee you buy to brew at home. But have you ever given much thought to how you store your coffee? Or why you store it this way? If not, you may be surprised to hear that coffee storage is pretty important and has a big influence on coffee freshness. And there’s a chance you’re not doing it right — especially if you’ve made a habit of tossing your coffee grounds or beans in the refrigerator.

Given that there’s a whole lot of debate around coffee storage out there, we reached out to the experts who could quickly help us separate the truth from the myths. Here’s everything you need to know about storing coffee to maximize freshness and flavor, and why your storage method matters.

What’s the best way to store coffee?

Coffee storage may seem complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple as long as you keep a few rules in mind — you want to keep your coffee in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place, and away from direct sunlight.

The goal is to protect the coffee from anything that ages it more quickly, which includes humidity, air temperature, light and oxygen.

“I jokingly say that all the things good for humans are bad for coffee — like air, moisture and light,” said Jiyoon Han, a Q grader , barista and co-owner of Bean & Bean Coffee . “Proper storage is crucial to maintaining the quality of the coffee.”

The same principles apply to both coffee grounds and coffee beans, but ground coffee will age more quickly than coffee beans no matter how it’s stored, simply because the greater surface area of ground coffee means more of the coffee is exposed to the air.

“Because you want to limit air exposure, whole bean coffee has more of a natural barrier against the