# coffee



## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

i got maxwell house large can for 5 dollars a few weeks ago. this last week it was 5.25. it is going up like everything else. i bought 12 cans to add to my stash. this was at dollar general. anybody else find a good bargain?


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I get my coffee at Costco. Just your run of the mill Yuban. I do have a few dozen cans of vanilla Melitta coffee just in case I run out of creamer...

I got those because I ran across some coupons that made them practically free.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Coffee has a limited shelf life. For prepping purposes I have instant coffee. It lasts forever.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

BillS said:


> Coffee has a limited shelf life. For prepping purposes I have instant coffee. It lasts forever.


Agreed. I do have instant but still keep a stock of regular on hand.


----------



## alwaysready (May 16, 2012)

BillS said:


> Coffee has a limited shelf life. For prepping purposes I have instant coffee. It lasts forever.


What if you seal whole beans in mylar with O2 absorbers?


----------



## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

does anyone know what actually happens to it? does it just get dry? 
I've noticed it going up in price as well...a can of the cheap is almost 6 bucks here on sale. When I buy it, I make sure to grab coffee in the metal cans as opposed to the hard paperboard container. I figure the can will be useful and maybe help preserve the coffee better. I'm useing 2 year old coffee from my stash now from a can and its fine...


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Hooch said:


> does anyone know what actually happens to it? does it just get dry?
> I've noticed it going up in price as well...a can of the cheap is almost 6 bucks here on sale. When I buy it, I make sure to grab coffee in the metal cans as opposed to the hard paperboard container. I figure the can will be useful and maybe help preserve the coffee better. I'm useing 2 year old coffee from my stash now from a can and its fine...


I noticed a while back that when I buy coffee from Walmart it comes in a cardboard can. I have to go to the ritzy supermarket to get metal cans. Even Yuban at Costco is in cardboard...

Coffee can lantern


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

alwaysready said:


> What if you seal whole beans in mylar with O2 absorbers?


Ideally you want the unroasted beans, though this is beyond what most people are willing to do. With unroasted beans properly packaged they will last a decade easily. Of course then you have to roast and grind them as needed, it isn't that difficult but mostly for people who really like coffee

With regards to what happens to coffee to make it go bad, it is the same things that makes almost any thing that is ground up lose flavour and nutrients over time.
The cardboard cans have an aluminum layers so they SHOULD be impermeable to oxygen and such but a metal can is a lot more sturdy.


----------



## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

Grimm: yea...I noticed the cheapest coffee is the walmart brand but I wont get it cuz of the container. We have a grocery outlet here that is basically like a regular market but overstock items from big box stores...a few things they purchase to keep consistant stock in their store but otherwise what they have always changes generally. They always seem to have the coffee in metal cans and its not much over the walmart price so I grab it.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Hooch said:


> Grimm: yea...I noticed the cheapest coffee is the walmart brand but I wont get it cuz of the container. We have a grocery outlet here that is basically like a regular market but overstock items from big box stores...a few things they purchase to keep consistant stock in their store but otherwise what they have always changes generally. They always seem to have the coffee in metal cans and its not much over the walmart price so I grab it.


I don't buy Walmart brand either. When I had coupons for Melitta I got a few cans at Walmart and they were in the cardboard can but the high end market had metal cans of Melitta!

The rule of thumb in this house is if coffee comes in a metal can you save the can! Glass jars too.


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Nabob Coffee (Canadian brand that goes way back) used to come in the nicest canning jars, we still have quite a few kicking around, great advertising imo, people looking at your brand name for 50 years or so. I still buy the instant coffee that comes in glass but more and more are using plastic, if only they packaged it in actual canning jars.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

alwaysready said:


> What if you seal whole beans in mylar with O2 absorbers?


This is what I found:

http://www.peakprosperity.com/forum...e-how-long-can-we-store-it-and-how-best/45656

"Coffee Freshness is determined by the time since roasting, as opposed to when the beans were harvested. In the right conditions, coffee beans will keep for years until they are roasted. Once roasted however, the flavorsome coffee oils are brought to the surface of the bean and will deteriorate and rapidly become rancid. Also after roasting, coffee beans produce coffee gasses (mostly carbon dioxide) for a little over week, with most of the gasses being released in the first 2-3 days. Once the gasses have been completely released, the coffee is stale. The method of coffee bean storage you use can delay this deterioration."


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Some time back my folks inherited several cases of Yuban in the metal cans. I have no idea how long our friend had owned this coffee but my parents haven't bought coffee in years. It still tastes fine to me.


----------



## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

Coffee in any shape is going to be a good barter item. I agree metal cans will store the best.


----------



## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

BillS said:


> "Coffee Freshness is determined by the time since roasting. [A]fter roasting, coffee beans produce coffee gasses (mostly carbon dioxide) for a little over week, with most of the gasses being released in the first 2-3 days. Once the gasses have been completely released, the coffee is stale."


That would mean that all of my coffee I buy at the supermarket is stale. It is all roasted and ground, and then takes weeks to get to my house. Even if you assume the packaging stops this process, and it starts back up when you open it, again, most of my coffee would be stale since I don't brew it all within 2 weeks of opening...and yet it always tastes fine to me. That site's comments don't sound right to me.



Grimm said:


> Even Yuban at Costco is in cardboard...


I buy the Kirkland brand in the metal can. $9.99 for the dark roast, 3 lb. can. It is more than the Maxwell House / Folgers / Yuban cans, but it is also 48 oz., where the others are much smaller.


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Tacitus, what BillS quoted is right imo, but that is from a "connoisseur" perspective. Regular ground coffee will be drinkable after years and for most people that is fine. If anyone has tasted freshly roasted coffee, it is very different in flavour, kinda like the difference between real and instant. Unroasted beans will keep better though, just for most people it probably isn't worth it.


----------



## cazetofamo (Mar 18, 2012)

what are the enviromental requirements for growing coffee??


----------



## Moby76065 (Jul 31, 2012)

How to roast green coffee beans


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

cazetofamo said:


> what are the environmental requirements for growing coffee??


Humidity, indirect sunlight, most places in North America it needs a greenhouse or in a pot brought in for part of the year. A quite a bit of labour in the harvesting of beans as well.


----------



## Moby76065 (Jul 31, 2012)

http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php


----------



## cazetofamo (Mar 18, 2012)

cowboyhermit said:


> Humidity, indirect sunlight, most places in North America it needs a greenhouse or in a pot brought in for part of the year. A quite a bit of labour in the harvesting of beans as well.


it might be worth it, just to develope the skill for when the SHTF. heck, the taste of the homegrown coffebeans themselves might be worth it


----------



## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

Java Juice is a good liquid coffee extract. I also store a lot of instant, as well as beans and ground. Whenever I see a sale I pick some up. Save the canned and beans in vacuum bags and instant and drink the rest as fast as I can. There is no tomorrow.:beercheer:


----------



## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

Any recommendations on instant coffee as far as good taste?

I have heard that Europeans have gourmet instant which is actually quite good--again, so I am told.

Maybe instant has improved in the past 10-20 years. I just remember it being...not so good.


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Tacitus said:


> Any recommendations on instant coffee as far as good taste?
> 
> I have heard that Europeans have gourmet instant which is actually quite good--again, so I am told.
> 
> Maybe instant has improved in the past 10-20 years. I just remember it being...not so good.


I think your memory still holds true
I don't see much if any change in the taste of instant coffee in the last few decades. I "like" plain Nescafe in glass jars, fwiw. They make a lot more flavoured and sweetened ones these days that people seem to like.


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Starbucks makes a good instant in small foil packets. These are just perfect for a hotel room size coffee pot. They are a bit expensive but since hotels universally seem to hate coffee drinkers I bring my own. 

For a brand in the jar Tasters Choice is okay. As a bonus it makes great Kahlua.


----------



## MDsapper (Mar 12, 2013)

as far as brewing coffee, what would yall suggest for someone who'll be on the road a lot?


----------



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Not sure if you meant the type of coffee or how to make it but I have found the travel mugs with the press in them to be quite handy, useful for coffee, tea, or herbs.


----------



## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

MDsapper said:


> as far as brewing coffee, what would yall suggest for someone who'll be on the road a lot?


Well I swear by dunkin donuts coffee. And I swear if I don't get dunkin donuts coffee. I pick it up at costco in a 3 lb mylar bag. I've had some in the basement for over a year (I went bananas when it went on sale) and it tasted just fine. Its a tad more expensive than regular coffee but it gives you lots of caffeine without the shaky jitters feeling. We also have the nestle espresso maker. The coffee comes in sealed pods and stays fresh a long time. Did i mention we like coffee????


----------



## BlackDogWV (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm a coffee roaster by trade. The above link is correct as far as flavor freshness goes. While the best flavors degrade quickly it's still drinkable for a long, long time. Coffee doesn't harbor bacteria so even old stuff is safe to drink. It just doesn't taste as good as fresh roasted. Most people are used to it, though. All canned coffee must be staled prior to packaging due the fact that the off-gassing of CO2 would swell the packaging if sealed. You may notice that bagged coffee has a one-way valve to allow the gas to escape without allowing oxygen back in. This helps slow down staling but doesn't stop it.


----------



## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

Now Yuban comes in a cool plastic container that is very useful for storing stuff. I keep enough on hand for about 6 months.


----------

