Whole-bean coffee tastes its best from a few days to about a month after it was roasted. Once you open the bag, aim to finish it within about two weeks. Ground coffee fades faster still: use it within about a week.
None of these is an expiry date. Old coffee is safe to drink; it just tastes flatter, with less aroma and sweetness, and the change is gradual rather than sudden. The numbers below tell you when the decline becomes easy to taste.
How long each kind of coffee lasts
| Coffee | Best within | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Whole beans, sealed bag | A month from roasting | Fades slowly for months |
| Whole beans, opened | About 2 weeks | Flat after a month |
| Ground coffee, opened | About a week | Flat within a few weeks |
| Frozen beans, sealed portions | A month or more | See freezing |
| Cold brew concentrate, chilled | 7–10 days | Flat and dull |
| Brewed coffee on a warming plate | About 30 minutes | Stewed and bitter |
These are rough windows for good coffee at home, not lab results. A loosely closed bag or a warm kitchen shortens them; a well-sealed bag and a cool cupboard stretch them.
Read the roast date, not the best-by date
A roast date tells you when the clock started. Specialty roasters print one on the bag, and it is the most useful number on the label.
A best-by date is what most supermarket coffee carries instead. It is often many months after roasting, so it tells you when the coffee stops being sellable, not when it stops tasting good. If a bag has only a best-by date, you cannot tell how old the coffee is.
When you can, buy coffee with a roast date, and buy an amount you will finish within a few weeks. A 12-ounce bag makes about 22 cups; see how much coffee per cup to work out how long yours will last.
Coffee can also be too fresh
Freshly roasted coffee gives off carbon dioxide for days afterward. Brewed too soon, it bubbles so hard when the water hits it that the water struggles to reach all of the grounds evenly, and the cup can taste sharp or thin. Espresso is the most affected, because the gas gets in the way of an even shot.
Most coffee settles down within a few days. Many roasters suggest waiting at least a few days after the roast date for filter coffee, and a week or more for espresso. Coffee from the supermarket is almost never too fresh.
How to tell if coffee is stale
- It smells of very little. Fresh coffee smells strongly as soon as you open the bag, and even more when you grind it.
- It barely blooms. When hot water first hits fresh grounds, they puff up and bubble as the gas escapes. Stale coffee just darkens and sinks.
- It tastes flat or papery, like cardboard, however you adjust the recipe. If grinding finer or coarser changes nothing, freshness is the likeliest culprit; see the troubleshooting guide.
Throw coffee out only if it has been damp, smells musty, or shows any mold. That is the one case where old coffee is not just dull.
How to store coffee
Coffee goes stale because of air, heat, light, and moisture. Keep it sealed, cool, dry, and out of direct light, and you have done nearly everything that matters.
- The original bag is usually fine. Many bags have a zipper and a one-way valve that lets gas out without letting air in. Press out the air, seal the zipper, and put the bag in a cupboard away from the oven and any sunny window.
- Use an airtight container if the bag does not reseal well. Choose an opaque one: clear jars look good on a counter but let in light.
- Buy whole beans if you can. Grinding multiplies the surface exposed to air, which is why ground coffee fades so much faster. If you do not own a grinder yet, buy ground coffee in small bags, or ask a roaster to grind it for your brewer.
- Grind just before you brew. Even a few hours make a difference you can smell.
You do not need a vacuum canister or any special equipment. A sealed bag in a cupboard and a sensible amount of coffee do most of the work.
Should coffee go in the refrigerator?
Usually no. A fridge is damp and full of food smells, and coffee absorbs both. Taking the bag in and out every day also makes water condense on the cold beans. A cupboard is better for coffee you are using now, and the freezer is better for coffee you are not.
Freezing coffee
Freezing is the best way to keep beans you will not use for a while, such as a second bag or a large one. Sealed portions keep well for at least a month, and often much longer, so let your own tasting decide when to stop.
- Freeze beans, not ground coffee, and freeze them as soon as you can after buying.
- Divide them into portions you will use in a few days, in airtight freezer bags or containers with as little air as possible.
- Take out one portion at a time. Either grind it straight from the freezer, or let it come to room temperature before you open it, so water does not condense on the beans.
- Never refreeze. Moving the same beans in and out of the freezer is how condensation gets in.
Pre-ground coffee
Ground coffee is sealed in the factory, often in cans or bags flushed with nitrogen, and unopened it keeps for months. Once opened, it fades faster than beans. Keep it sealed, buy smaller bags, and aim to finish each one within about a week.
Drip machines are the most forgiving brewer for pre-ground coffee, because most of it is ground for them. If you are deciding whether to buy a grinder, see what to buy for your first coffee setup.