This is a not easy to answer, highly debatable gourmet coffee issue.
We believe an OPENED bag of coffee will be best the first couple of weeks. It should be re-closed and if the bag is a zip-lock type (like we provide with all our roasted Kona Comfort coffee products) be sure and take the opportunity to zip it closed tight. Key points, is keep the air out, keep the sunlight away. Use bags of coffee that meet what you can use in a week if at all possible.
UNOPENED bags of coffee, we say freeze it. It will still be a very good product after several months. Some of our customers order enough to last them for six months and they swear it is the same as when they first receive it (we can’t verifiy that -- we ourselves have access to freshly roasted coffee all the time of course).
Our best advisers say freezing the coffee beans will help. We have taken the time to test this “freeze the roasted bags” theory and we think they are right. Any coffee bags you are not using, freeze them.
We have discussed storing roasted coffee beans under the topic “STORING ROASTED COFFEE: Are there preferred methods for storing fresh roasted coffee beans?” in this FAQ series, you can find this discussion when you press the TOPIC LIST button at the top of this page.
We go into more detail there and don’t want to repeat everything here so give that a quick read, please.
If you can’t order your roasted Kona Comfort coffee in small sized batches to match when you need to perk it -- (and that means you need to store coffee for extended periods of time) perhaps the very best solution for you would be to order Kona Comfort organic green coffee beans, and then roast your own. Since most home roasters are dealing with half cups or so, you would be more likely to need to roast frequently and essentially your storage problem might be a non issue at that point. A home roaster will likely make enough fresh roasted coffee for several pots. But Kona Comfort green coffee beans keep without the need of special bags and store well for months at a time. When you roast it, the same applies as when we ship you roasted coffee -- you would get the best flavor perking it within a week, and still good flavor perking it within two weeks.
Home roasting your own gourmet coffee beans adds another dimension or level to you Kona Coffee drinking experience, and if you have the time it would be a nice skill to acquire.
We talk about basic home coffee bean roasting in this FAQ series under the topic “GREEN COFFEE: Can I roast green coffee beans at my home easily?” in this FAQ series, you can find this discussion when you press the TOPIC LIST button at the top of this page.