For me, one of those little luxuries that can help a severe supply disruption not feel so crisis-y, is coffee. The conventional wisdom on long-term storage of coffee said you had to buy and vacuum-sealing green coffee beans, then roast them as needed. Call me lazy, but that sounded like a lot of work and energy consumption at a time when that might not be a good idea. Instant? Do I have to?
How long would already-roasted whole coffee beans last, I wondered.
Five years ago, I acquired several bags of whole-bean coffee that were past their Sell By date. I repacked them into quart and pint Mason jars and vacuum sealed them (FoodSaver attachment) I recently opened some of them to see how well they did. Had the oils gone rancid?
Not that I could tell. I ground the beans and brewed many pots of coffee with them since. I’ll grant you that I’m not a coffee gourmet who can pull out those “flavor notes” of key lime pie, or persimmon, etc., so maybe I’m not the best judge. I thought the coffee tasted just fine. I call the experiment a success.
So, I have continued to repackage and vacuum-seal “excess” coffee I come across. With rotating stock, I’ll have coffee for at least five years out. Come some crisis, I’ll have my coffee!