# Defrosting beans



## bronc (Dec 10, 2012)

In light of all the recent developments regarding particle size, freezing, etc. what would you say is the best way to deal with frozen beans? If I freeze a whole bag should I defrost it when I'm ready to dig into it or should I portion directly out of the freezer? I'm mostly worried about controling moisture but understand there might be some benefits to grinding from frozen.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Try grinding my from frozen, assuming you can single dose?


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## bronc (Dec 10, 2012)

I single dose so that's definitely an option. I'm a bit concerned with taking out the bag of beans from the freezer 2-3 times a day. I don't have the option to predose in single containers right now.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

I do that and not had any issues. Bag is out for


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

I think it depends how obsessive you are - if you're Doug from Orphan Espresso, every second counts.


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

My set up and tastebuds can taste no difference with grinding from frozen or defrosting ... I guess with the lack of moisture in the bean, they are more "really really cold" than "frozen"


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## christos_geo (Feb 9, 2016)

Can grinding from frozen have any detrimental effect on your grinder? I'm using a Baratza preciso so slightly worrying about the plastic components..


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I freeze single doses and grind from frozen for what it's worth


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> I freeze single doses and grind from frozen for what it's worth


It's worth a lot&#8230;.


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## birchgra (Jun 28, 2016)

How long can an unopened bag of beans be kept in the freezer before it affects the quality of them?


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

Seemingly a year if you go on the decaf I just opened .... But then the quality of the taste of decaf is somewhat lacking compared to the unabused bean


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

birchgra said:


> How long can an unopened bag of beans be kept in the freezer before it affects the quality of them?


Pretty subjective to be honest ....I don't freeze as a way of preserving bulk buying - merely to facilitate grinding finer .


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

birchgra said:


> How long can an unopened bag of beans be kept in the freezer before it affects the quality of them?


The mighty Scott Rao reports coming across some Kenyan AA beans that he had frozen (in his mother's freezer) six years previously. 'I eagerly brewed a pot. It was really good.'


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## birchgra (Jun 28, 2016)

Phil104 said:


> The mighty Scott Rao reports coming across some Kenyan AA beans that he had frozen (in his mother's freezer) six years previously. 'I eagerly brewed a pot. It was really good.'


That's encouraging to know and helpful to tell the wife who thinks that anything that has been in the freezer for more than 6 months should be binned!


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## matisse (Jul 21, 2010)

just a thought, but the paper on grinding say nothing about whether this is better for brewing. We have little conclusive evidence yet that we need a tighter grind profile.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

matisse said:


> just a thought, but the paper on grinding say nothing about whether this is better for brewing. We have little conclusive evidence yet that we need a tighter grind profile.


Most brewed methods use coarser grinds, which would typically mean proportionally less sub 100um particles than espresso, for a given grinder. The paper doesn't consider the grind distribution by volume or weight, so tighter/wider profile is hard in the commonly accepted sense is hard to determine. For drip it's easy enough to over-extract with just about any functioning grinder (& to hit high side of the box extractions, with good flavour) it's less sensitive to distribution than espresso, immersions probably less sensitive than drip. Even so, it would be interesting for someone to test it out for drip.


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## Dorian (Sep 5, 2016)

Hi Guys,

Just joined the forum, sorry to bump this thread after 2 months. I have a Gaggia classic (actually a Gaggia Classic Coffee), 18 years old, bought it second hand and cleaned thoroughly ( and took it apart as solenoid was clogged!).. got myself an Hario mini and learned how to brew espresso. I am Italian and I did not think it was so complicated!!! I got sick of hand grinding and steps on the Hario are not precise. I keep chasing a good extraction,so I just ordered a Graef cm 702, which is stepped but I am on a tight budget ( got it for 77 GBP shipped from Alernate.co.uk btw).

I buy Lavazza crema e aroma 1 kilo bags and I am freezing the beans. So far so good as I am taking out single doses. With the Graef I d like to keep the beans in the hopper... what do you think will happen if I put all the frozen beans in the hopper? Will the moisture create issues?

Any advise is very welcome









Thanks,

A.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

if the lid is put on the hopper then they shouldn't attract moisture - I do put about 100g a time in my hopper from the freezer , I'm not sure the lavazza beans will be helping though, there reputation is not high, had you thought of ordering from an independent roaster, there are a lot of quality espresso blends out there, imho - cheers Jim


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I grind from frozen btw


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## Dorian (Sep 5, 2016)

Thanks for the replies guys.

@Jim, actually i found the Lavazza to be very good, forgiving and with a lot of cream.(to be clear I use beans for commercial business, not the one from supermarkets) I live in Ireland and the moment, not in Italy and Lavazza taste reminds me pretty much an Italian espresso, but I guess is subjective. If you have any suggestion about good independent roasters in Ireland I d love to hear them.









Many thanks,

A.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

@Dorian - what machine are you using for your commercial business ? Given your using Frozen bulk lavazza , I presume coffee is a sideline as opposed to its main focus ?


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Miaow!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jon said:


> Miaow!


Woof....harsh but fair I felt


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

Knocked it out of the park with that one boots!


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Stomped Boots.....I bet Anthorn felt that one.


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## Dorian (Sep 5, 2016)

@Mrboots2u I have a '98 Gaggia Classic Coffee...I don t have any business, I wish, I meant I use Lavazza beans which are meant for restaurants and bar, the big blue package.

Btw a friend of mine just brought me over 250 grams of the unfamous Caffe' Mauro from Calabria, once I get my hands on the Graef I ll try it


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Dorian said:


> @Mrboots2u I have a '98 Gaggia Classic Coffee...I don t have any business, I wish, I meant I use Lavazza beans which are meant for restaurants and bar, the big blue package.
> 
> Btw a friend of mine just brought me over 250 grams of the unfamous Caffe' Mauro from Calabria, once I get my hands on the Graef I ll try it


that's the spirit - keep trying new beans


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

Seems to be quite a perplexing subject! For the "ordinary" low use home user, why not just buy less a bit more frequently and just store the unopened packets in a cupboard?

Any suggestions for a someone who just makes one or two maximum, espresso's per day. I only buy small 200/250g packs at a time, and it gets very humid here too?


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

nicholasj said:


> Seems to be quite a perplexing subject! For the "ordinary" low use home user, why not just buy less a bit more frequently and just store the unopened packets in a cupboard?
> 
> Any suggestions for a someone who just makes one or two maximum, espresso's per day. I only buy small 200/250g packs at a time, and it gets very humid here too?


I freeze because I want to drink different beans throughout the day which means I have to single dose - freezing allows me to keep the beans for longer nearer to their optimum. If I just stuck them in the cupboard over time they'd go stale, however stick them in the freezer on the perfect day since they were roasted and I can enjoy them for much longer at their prime - while there's debate around if they degrade noticeably in the freezer, I certainly can't tell, but even if they do that can't be as bad as leaving them in the cupboard.

No reason why you couldn't do something similar, just get enough beans out of the freezer to last you for a few days.

In an ideal world I'd just buy to order, but shipping charges don't make that economic at the volumes I drink at home.

You might also want to think about ordering more than 250g at a time if you're changing bean type, I find 500g minimum better as that allows me enough to dial in properly and then enough left over to enjoy them.


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

Phobic said:


> I freeze because I want to drink different beans throughout the day which means I have to single dose - freezing allows me to keep the beans for longer nearer to their optimum. If I just stuck them in the cupboard over time they'd go stale, however stick them in the freezer on the perfect day since they were roasted and I can enjoy them for much longer at their prime - while there's debate around if they degrade noticeably in the freezer, I certainly can't tell, but even if they do that can't be as bad as leaving them in the cupboard.
> 
> No reason why you couldn't do something similar, just get enough beans out of the freezer to last you for a few days.
> 
> ...


Thank you Phobic.....I've just popped my recent delivery from UK roasters into the freezer and will "decant" just a few days supply at a time. You're right, no reason not to do this. I take it you freeze the beans in the packaging they are delivered in, and I assume single doses means weighing small plastic bags of 16/18grams and freezing these, and just taking out one at a time? I ask just if I get round to doing this in the future.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I freeze single doses in small tubs makes my work flow easier and stops

Me having to open bags and let moisture in . I don't defrost - I grind straight from frozen


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

nicholasj said:


> I've just popped my recent delivery from UK roasters into the freezer


I let mine rest 1st before I freeze them.



nicholasj said:


> "decant" just a few days supply at a time. You're right, no reason not to do this. I take it you freeze the beans in the packaging they are delivered in, and I assume single doses means weighing small plastic bags of 16/18grams and freezing these, and just taking out one at a time? I ask just if I get round to doing this in the future.


I think it depends on how specific you want to be, some people freeze individual doses likes Mr. Boots, others freeze in batches which are enough for a few days (4-8 doses), some freeze in tubs just decanting out what they need for single doses at a time.

Others freeze the entire bag of coffee, if you do make sure you cover the valve up with tape as it can freeze open - useful for buying a bigger order from a roaster to make the shipping more cost effective.


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> I freeze single doses in small tubs makes my work flow easier and stops
> 
> Me having to open bags and let moisture in . I don't defrost - I grind straight from frozen


Thank you too. Point taken re moisture.......it get very humid and damp here. Going forward I'll look into the little tubs. But that's a lot of small tubs for single doses from one or two packets of beans.


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

Phobic said:


> I let mine rest 1st before I freeze them.
> 
> I think it depends on how specific you want to be, some people freeze individual doses likes Mr. Boots, others freeze in batches which are enough for a few days (4-8 doses), some freeze in tubs just decanting out what they need for single doses at a time.
> 
> Others freeze the entire bag of coffee, if you do make sure you cover the valve up with tape as it can freeze open - useful for buying a bigger order from a roaster to make the shipping more cost effective.


It takes a couple of days for the post to get here from UK. So that's them rested!! I'll go the 4 to 8 doses route. A good compromise for the present. Thank you for this.

edit.......I've just gone and taped the over the valves!!.


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

nicholasj said:


> It takes a couple of days for the post to get here from UK.


some beans will need longer resting, have a search in the beans section 7 days+ isn't uncommon


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> I freeze single doses and grind from frozen for what it's worth


Can I ask please what type of containers you (and others) use for storing your single doses in?

edit....I've seen some small plastic jars with tops in Amazon. Quite cheap. What sort of size (ml) for storing up to say 20 gram?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Wilkos


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## Apr1985 (Apr 18, 2020)

Sorry to revive an old thread. But I have ended up with a couple of kg of coffee ( to many good offers at the moment )

So I need to do some freezing. My plan is to freeze in 125g ziplocks and decant into barista pro hopper or a co2 canister when fully defrosted. My question is how long do people find the defrosted coffee lasts. Is it vastly different from before it was frozen?

i get through about 125g in about a week between espresso and v60. 
cheers!!


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