We often get asked about where and how to store coffee to make sure it retains its wonderful taste and aroma. Coffee has 4 major enemies in retaining its optimum freshness. These are air, moisture, heat and light. Coffee begins to lose freshness almost immediately after roasting and probably peaks within the first 6 weeks. Ground coffee should be consumed within the first 3 weeks of roasting, whilst beans doubles this time.

At Belfast Coffee Roasters we pack our retail coffees in bags that can be resealed after opening, this is a great way to store but any air-tight, opaque container that will keep out the enemies described above will work.

Fridge or Freezer? Honestly neither, lets cover each individually. Firstly fridges are where you store food, the aromas of which are held in the moist air within your fridge, these will infiltrate your coffee, and who wants to drink coffee that tastes weird. Freezers are a bit of a moot point within the coffee industry and we are not convinced by some saying that you can freeze and use beans directly from the freezer, we still feel that once the coffee is removed a considerable amount of condensation is added to the coffee, which alters the taste, structure and aroma of the coffee.

Summer ready cold brew

As the temperature starts to rise cold brew coffee is the ideal way to get your caffeine fix and have a refreshing drink at the same time. Let me stress from the start that we are not talking about the coffee shop chain style of cold coffees, these tend to be created using hot brewed espresso coffee poured over ice. Cold brew is in essence cold coffee, brewed slowly over 18-24 hours, steeping ground coffee in cold water. This slow process produces a concentrated, flavoursome coffee that is low in acidity, sweet and mellow. There are many kinds of cold brew kit available but you can use a french press, Aeropress or our favourite the Mizudashi cold brew jug.

What you'll need

Coarse ground coffee (80g per 1000ml/g)

French Press

Tablespoon / scales

Cold water

Method

1. Weigh out your ground coffee using your scales or tablespoon (approximately 5g per spoon) and put it into your french press.

2. Add your water to the ratio as above .

3. Stir and leave to steep in the fridge or a cool place for 18-24 hours.

4. Press your plunger down, at this time you should maybe decant your mixture to a jug or bottle.

This mixture should last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

To use, simply drink as it is, over ice or if its too strong dilute to taste.

Pour over milk for a cold milk based drink.

Over ice with Irish whiskey and soda or tonic water (personal favourite)