FOR YOU COFFEE DRINKERS

As you know, the Elkmont Alabama blog has lots of stuff on being prepared, how to save money and becoming more able to deal with stuff that happens in your life.  This post is for you coffee drinkers.

It used to be that having coffee that was “good to the last drop” was good enough. Coffee drinking has evolved from watching it percolate on top of the stove to freeze-dried instant to drip brewing. Today, it seems like there’s a coffee shop on every corner and individual K-cup brewers in homes and offices. There are an ever increasing number of coffee drinkers in the world.

In 2013, the weather was great for growing coffee and there was a great harvest, more than was needed. The glut of coffee shoved the price down to $1.05 per pound. However, it is predicted that those coffee growing areas are going to have dry weather this year and the amount of coffee beans harvested won't be enough to meet what the world's coffee drinkers need.  Prices will go up so stock up before next fall before your cup of coffee costs you more. 

 

Thoughts on Storing Coffee from Preparing Your Family  

 

Storing Coffee For Less Than One Year 

Your options for storing coffee for under a year are actually pretty wide open.  You can use ground or whole bean coffee, stored in the original packaging. As long as you don’t open the original packaging, you’re good for a year or so with nothing other than storing it in a cool place with minimal temperature fluctuation.

I recommend that you stock up enough of your daily brew to last you that year, and rotate it throughout the year.  You’ll always have a good amount of coffee on hand, you can pick and choose when to buy it, and what to buy.

 

Storing Coffee For Longer Than One Year

This is where it starts to get interesting.  See, when you grind coffee and expose it to air, it starts to lose quality.  Even if you don’t grind it, it still slowly loses quality.

For proper storage, you want to portion the beans into smaller portions.  Shoot for portions you’ll use weekly or monthly. Once these are portioned out, put them in your mylar bags with an oxygen absorber and seal as usual. Put the mylar bags into your four gallon square bucket and store for several years.  Even if your coffee loses quality, if it’s not available at all, you’re not going to be all that picky!