Freshly ground coffee
If you have ground the coffee, it will be unuseable within three months. This is the maximum time during which volatile compounds and essential oils of coffee will fall, and the drink obtained from the remaining powder will be quite little resemblance to the original taste.
The problem of storing ground coffee is not only that the volatile compounds in it apart by themselves, an additional difficulty is that the powder and actively absorb all the odors and moisture contained in the air. So, if you keep ground coffee in regular pack or a jar on the shelf in the closet, it will become worthless even faster: within two weeks. The same can be said about coffee that is stored directly in the grinder are often coffee lovers to grind and leave powder directly, using as needed.
To extend the shelf life of ground coffee to three months, it is recommended to place it in foil and wrap. Will also fit the factory packaging on the basis of metalized film, if you can close it. You can put coffee in a ceramic or glass jar and tightly close. Then a container of coffee should be placed in the refrigerator: this will allow the ground beans to retain its moisture and to hold out three months.
It is best, if possible, do not store ground coffee using the coffee grinder every time just before making the coffee.
If the shelf life has expired
Even if the date is out, this does not mean that he was unhealthy. Just aroma and flavor properties of the drink, characterized by the concept of "kofeol" lost and coffee will not be as tasty. In any case, the drink is safe for consumption.
The shelf life of coffee in the original packaging
In packaging ground coffee can be stored a little longer. The shelf life depends largely on how the coffee was processed after roasting. Correctly processed grains in special conditions can almost not lose its properties for up to 5 years!
If a pack is sealed, by GOST provides the following periods of storage of the ground coffee. In plastic film and covered with paper bags of coffee will be stored for 6 months, paper with polymer coating will keep it for 9 months, aluminum and metalized foil, and vacuum packaging – 18 months. Vacuum packing is the best, but if you open the coffee and start to use it, then the taste will disappear after 10-14 days, it is the same time coffee loses its flavor after grinding.
However, true coffee lovers prefer to buy it fresh. It is better if the retention period will not exceed two times shorter period than allowed by GOST. Ideally, if you manage to get a coffee, roasted, not later than a month or two ago in a vacuum pack.