Gushers after holiday

[gonzob]

I left my Silvia and Baratza Preciso at home for a week while I went to Philip Island for the classic bike races. I'd left maybe 100g of beans in the grinder hopper. I got back, made a coffee, and found that I could only produce gushers. When I used fresh beans from the same roasting batch (which I store in glass jars in the cupboard) it was back to normal. I usually have 1 to 1-1/2 days worth of beans in the hopper, but, obviously, they're only left there for a day or so.

I expected maybe a stale taste after a week, but not such a difference in extraction.

Gonzo

[Dimal]

Yep...

Amazing what a little O₂ can do over a few days, coupled with heat, humidity, etc....

Mal.

[Rocky]

It's been very hot and humid here recently and I have been struggling with my pours which have been too fast and blonding quickly.
I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with my machine (nothing I'm doing differently), I hadn't thought about ambient temp and humidity.

[Dimal]

G'day Rocky...

Been having the same issues here too. Humidity has been horrendous plus of course, temps of 37C+ don't help much either....

Mal.

[noonar]

Same here in WA. One way valve bags are fantastic but constant 36s shorten shelf life for sure... so much so I have pondered on a thermo controlled wine cooler for storage, or someting similar.

[TampIt]

Same here in WA. One way valve bags are fantastic but constant 36s shorten shelf life for sure... so much so I have pondered on a thermo controlled wine cooler for storage, or someting similar.

Hi noonar

In an effort to save you some grief, storing beans below (say) 10 degrees Celsius will give you all kinds of problems. Not the least of which is the pick up of every bit of moisture in the room when you open the bag to load the beans into the grinder.

Best seems to be a basement at around 19 - 20 degrees Celsius or anything reasonably stable in terms of temp up to (around) 25. Worst is a metal doser in a domestic kitchen near a stove (seen a lot of them).

TampIt

[Yelta]

Guess we're fortunate, live in an old stone home, store my roasted beans in the kitchen, the temp never gets above the mid 20's, even during the summer months.

Makes life easy.

[Rocky]

Hi Dimal & Noonar,
It's always a bit of a relief to hear that others have the same problems.
I was thinking "What the hell...???" as my pours are usually very consistent.
I was going to inordinate lengths to reduce the heat a bit (shorter heat-up/long flushes/abbreviated pours etc.)
My beans live in the fridge (have to up here) and the bag is open for only about 5 seconds and then the air squeezed out before reseal, but obviously you still get some moisture in the bag when the humidity is 60+.

[Dimal]

Sounds ideal Yelta...

Our Green Beans are safe enough but it isn't convenient to store the roasted in the same location unfortunately. I love those old sandstone homes in S.A., just beautiful....

Mal.

[gonzob]

I've decided I'm going to break my 300g roasts into 100g lots and store them in small sealed glass jars in the cupboard (max mid 20s). Then I'll just dose the grinder with a fresh batch (=5 espressi) every 1-2 days. It will reduce the exposure to air/humidity. I'll also empty the grinder before going away for any perod of time.


Gonzo "I like resolutions"

[noonar]

Hi Rocky and Tampit,

I keep my beans in one way valve bags in a (normally) reasonably temperature stable pantry (20-24). I only open them to make a 3 days worth blend into a fourth bag kept in the same spot. Challenges can occur when temperatures remain in the mid to high 30s for extended periods which results in a general warming of the whole house including the pantry. That's rare I know - but I still pondered on - "isnt there a thermo controlled wine fridge available that operates within an acceptable range for storing beans during extended weather extremes"? Sounds like Yelta has nailed it by living in one! Thanks CSers.

[Dimal]

"isnt there a thermo controlled wine fridge available that operates within an acceptable range for storing beans during extended weather extremes"

I've noticed that Aldi and a couple of other places have them on special from time to time; usually a full size one and a small 'bar fridge' sized one. The latter would be worth considering I s'pose...

Mal.

[MrJack]

I've decided I'm going to break my 300g roasts into 100g lots and store them in small sealed glass jars in the cupboard (max mid 20s). Then I'll just dose the grinder with a fresh batch (=5 espressi) every 1-2 days. It will reduce the exposure to air/humidity. I'll also empty the grinder before going away for any perod of time.


Gonzo "I like resolutions"

Only thing to watch there is air left in each jar. I have found that my small popper roast batches (~100g) stale quickly, which I suspect is related to a higher air:coffee ratio in the bag and also less CO2 (relative to the bag volume) to displace any air.

So probably best to find jars you can pack full!

[TampIt]

I've decided I'm going to break my 300g roasts into 100g lots and store them in small sealed glass jars in the cupboard (max mid 20s). Then I'll just dose the grinder with a fresh batch (=5 espressi) every 1-2 days. It will reduce the exposure to air/humidity. I'll also empty the grinder before going away for any perod of time.


Gonzo "I like resolutions"

G'day gonzob

Further to the other posts, I use plain "very slightly / lightly waxed (I think - been using them from the same place for years)" paper bags (meant for coffee) without a one way valve. I express all the air out of them, use their inbuilt ties to "semi-seal" them and place them in my coffee tins and then into my cool dark pantry cupboard. The bags are not a perfect seal & neither are my tins - although either of them would have minimal airflow.

Why? Apart from keeping the enemies of light, heat, humidity and airflow at bay it is essential to allow freshly roasted coffee to degass. Don't believe me? Just place a fresh roast in a sealed plastic bag with all air expressed out and then (for safety) place the whole thing in a much larger "fairly sealed" container (like a large esky). After a day or two the plastic will be massively stretched as the post roasting CO2 gasses off and increases the "airspace" substantially. Leave it a bit longer and there will be a mini explosion and the bag will burst and the flying beans may even mark the inside of the esky when they hit it at speed.

Why not one way valves? Most of them are either alfoil or plastic lined and I can taste it in my coffee. AFAIAC, they are great for people who do not store their coffee well, however there are better answers for CSr's.

Your sealed 100g glass jars - hopefully they will let a little gas out if needed.


TampIt

[kbilleter]

I've seen a wine keeping gimmick that worked by spraying argon gas into the top of the open bottle. As it's heavier than air, it should just sit on top and prevent oxidation. A bit expensive but cute :-)