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[orrinoconnor]

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[bruceb]

Avoid moisture, high temperatures and light, whereby moisture is the most offensive variable.. Green coffee beans are very robust and generally quite insensitive to environmental variables. The containers in which you store them probably will depend upon the amount you have. 60 kg can be left in the original jute bags. Plastic waste bins are popular and practical for amounts larger than a kilo or two. Smaller amounts can be kept in paper sacks. If the beans and environment are dry they can be stored in plastic bags.

Of course the beans must not be stored near any aromatic materials from which they might pick up an odour. Greens are considered to be stable for 2-3 years, but I have some Guatemalan and Ethiopian beans that are from the 2005 harvest and they are still excellent.

[motoman]

I once lost a couple of 5lb jute bags of LaMinita from America, my cave can get very damp and I forgot to ensure the box I stored them in was tightly closed. Green beans, green bags and green slime. Broke my heart, thought of washing them but the smell told me it was a waste of time.
Bruce is right, keep cool, dark and well protected from damp.

[CakeBoy]

I once lost a couple of 5lb jute bags of LaMinita from America, my cave can get very damp and I forgot to ensure the box I stored them in was tightly closed. Green beans, green bags and green slime. Broke my heart, thought of washing them but the smell told me it was a waste of time.
Bruce is right, keep cool, dark and well protected from damp.

That is a heartbreaker. Sorry to hear that

[orrinoconnor]

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[bruceb]

So vacuum packing would probably work well with keeping them in a cool dark place!

Edit: Please take the following with a grain of salt as it is based on a single incident and should not be considered anything more than that. It was pointed out below that vacuum packing greens is advantageous by people far more knowledgeable about the subject than I am. I apologise for this inadequately substantiated statement.


Vacuum packing coffee green or roasted is questionable at best. If you think about it you probably will come to the conclusion that a vacuum will withdraw volatile compounds from the beans, possibly changing or even damaging their flavour. With greens there is a more serious problem. Vacuuming will dry the beans and dry greens do not roast properly. I was sent some green beans in a vacuum pack a few years ago and when I went to use them a few months later they never underwent first crack and wound up burning. I think that there was not enough moisture in them to cause the chaff to pop off. I put the rest of the beans in water overnight, then dried them in the sun until they felt dry and they roasted normally, however the taste was rather disappointing. In my opinion vacuum packing is not a good idea.

[lsjms]

I don't see how vac packing dries out greens, I know it does not dry out steak. There is still pressure on the green, just a lot less than the atmosphere.

COE coffee, Deterra and lots of other quality stuff is vac packed in Mylar.

Personally, if I have a lot to store in questionable conditions I will go to the butchers and get them to vac my stash in 2kg wraps.

[Bombcup]

There's nothing to fear with vac-packing. It's an excellent way to provide an inert environment for your green coffee which isolates them from any outside influences, most importantly keeping humidity levels stable. It's something which roasters pay a fortune for and proves worthwhile when contracting a large lot which will be warehoused off site for several months.

Quite how you can suck out aromatic compounds from unroasted coffee with a vacuum pump I'm not sure. By that rationale you better make sure you keep the green out of draughts in case the flavour blows away.

[bruceb]

Quite how you can suck out aromatic compounds from unroasted coffee with a vacuum pump I'm not sure. By that rationale you better make sure you keep the green out of draughts in case the flavour blows away.

What? Did I forget to mention draughts?

[orrinoconnor]

Quite how you can suck out aromatic compounds from unroasted coffee with a vacuum pump I'm not sure. By that rationale you better make sure you keep the green out of draughts in case the flavour blows away.

What? Did I forget to mention draughts?

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[motoman]

When you take your greens from their vacuum pack, please hold your breath to avoid sucking out the flavours or blowing bacon and egg breakfast breath on to them.

I know for a fact the Bruce wears a divers helmet before attempting a roast and living in Germany he also packs several Dachshunds around the doors to keep out drafts.

Bombcups association with the European Aerospace industry allow the unfair advantage of keeping his beanss in constant orbit 300Km above the Earth. The coffee tastes like crap but it does give him bragging rights.

Orrin now knows that I am the only sane one here and is sure to follow my advice.

[orrinoconnor]

Orrin now knows that I am the only sane one here and is sure to follow my advice.

I think you are all quite nutziod around here,,,,,as matter of fact I know I am the only sane one.
I include my a certificate to prove it.

I know now how I am going to store all those Machacamarca beans anyway.
Each will be individually hermetically sealed in it own pouch and stored in a clean room kept at a constant 4C, naturally it will be filled with CO2

[GreenBean]

Orrin now knows that I am the only sane one here and is sure to follow my advice.

I think you are all quite nutziod around here,,,,,as matter of fact I know I am the only sane one.
I include my a certificate to prove it.

I know now how I am going to store all those Machacamarca beans anyway.
Each will be individually hermetically sealed in it own pouch and stored in a clean room kept at a constant 4C, naturally it will be filled with CO2

Or.... equally effective, you could do what I do. I just put them in brown paper bags, 4 kg per bag. I do not store the bags in damp conditions and have had no problems storing them like this for two years.

[orrinoconnor]

I just put them in brown paper bags, 4 kg per bag. I do not store the bags in damp conditions and have had no problems storing them like this for two years.

]

Excellent, that sounds like a plan, I think they will arrive on Monday!

[motoman]

Of course you have to use sodium thiosulphate free paper in order not to fix the bean, this will prevent them from turning brown when roasted.

If anyone believes this, my work is done.