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  • Bean Cellars

    Hi All,

    I've been considering buying bean cellars for single dosing. I currently weigh each dose before grinding but can't help but think dividing each 250g bag into single doses when I open it would be better.

    So far I've looked at:
    - Webber workshops glass bean cellars (really expensive but look great and the webber products always seem to get solid reviews); and
    - CoffeeGadgetsStudio (Etsy seller) lookalike of the Webber ones (about half the price of the Webber ones and look pretty similar but quality is probably a bit of an unknown).

    I've a few questions:
    1. If anyone has any experience with these bean cellars, could you let me know the pros and cons based on your experience?
    2. Are the Webber ones that special to justify the price?
    3. If anyone uses any other single dosing storage solutions I'd love to hear about them.

    Thanks!

  • #2
    i have the weber ones and have another one from etsy. They both do the exact same job at the end of the day. I only grabbed the weber ones as it was a package deal with the key grinder at the time so was a better price.

    Comment


    • JK4
      JK4 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks John.

      How do you find using them day to day? They seem like they'd improve workflow a little.

    • JohnA
      JohnA commented
      Editing a comment
      They do speed up your workflow day to day but its not by a huge amount to be perfectly honest unless you are making 2 or 3 coffee's back to back. Also if you RDT, you will most likely pour them into a dosing cup anyways. If you dont RDT, then yep you will love using them.

  • #3
    I’ve been using Vitavac tv0 containers for a number of years. Perfect size for single dosing, and vacuum sealed.

    I only have 5 at the moment, and would like to get a bunch more since moving to a single dosing grinder. There’s no great way of getting them here in Australia, however, so it seems the best way is via the manufacturer. I think it ends up being around $11 a container regardless of how many you purchase. Not cheap per se if you’re planning on having 20 or so, and a similar price to the bean cellars.

    I have the clear ones with a black lid. I’d like to have two different colours so I could have two beans on the go at once.

    Attached Files

    Comment


    • JK4
      JK4 commented
      Editing a comment
      They look really good. Odd how I haven't seen these mentioned anywhere before!

      I assume these are the 60ml version? Is there much headroom in them using an 18 gram dose?

    • JK4
      JK4 commented
      Editing a comment
      Comment Edited

  • #4
    Up to 22g no problem. Model TV0, the 60ml jobbie
    Attached Files

    Comment


    • JK4
      JK4 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks a mill for the photos, much appreciated!

  • #5
    TheBoneRanger JK4 These containers are available under a number of names. VitaVac, TightVac, MiniVac, CoffeeVac, and PocketVac are names I have seen them marketed under and there are likely others as well.

    First off, despite the manufacturer's claims to the contrary, these containers DO NOT create a vacuum inside the container. The mechanism in them is nothing but a 'spring' loaded plunger that has a softer piece of material on the inside end of it. When you press the button the plunger moves inward and the soft material is pushed away from the wall opening up a hole. When you release the button the plunger moves back towards the outside of the container and the hole is sealed by the softer material. That's it. That's all it has/does. No vacuum of any kind is generated.

    Not only do they not create a vacuum inside, a significant percentage of them are not even particularly airtight. Of the 17 of them I have here (All of them received at trade shows direct from the representatives of the parent company at their booth over a period of 8 years.) the lids can easily be lifted off of 6 of them with the plunger in the closed position. That's a failure rate of over 35%. Their quality control leaves much to be desired.


    Java "Can you say marketing hype?" phile
    Toys! I must have new toys!!!

    Comment


    • TheBoneRanger
      TheBoneRanger commented
      Editing a comment
      Ok, perhaps I’ve used the word vacuum incorrectly here. The air is not being sucked out upon closure. How about this:

      I own 5 of these. The lids are a very snug fit. None of them can be opened or closed without pressing the button, even with a very firm pull. This leads me to believe there is very little transfer of air occurring once the lid is closed.

    • Javaphile
      Javaphile commented
      Editing a comment
      My comments were more about how the manufacturer/seller of these products are presenting them. In their marketing materials they label them as a "Vacuum System" and state flat out that a partial vacuum is formed in the container when the top is put on which is a blatant lie: https://www.amazon.com/vdp/38cb62a3d...5df5302308edf6

      If you're lucky enough to get containers where the lids don't easily pull off with-out pushing the button congratulations, enjoy your good fortune.


      Java "No vac" phile

    • TheBoneRanger
      TheBoneRanger commented
      Editing a comment
      Damn anti-vac-ers everywhere…

  • #6
    I use 50ml plastic centrifuge tubes from AliExpress. Depending on the quality you want and the quantity you buy, they cost between $0.35 and around $1.00 each. I also have 10x of the V1 plastic WW Bean Cellars with the O ring and 10x of the V2 plastic WW Bean Cellars. The WW ones are no better performing than the AE ones, although being thicker they may fair better in the freezer without a second layer. I use a large zip lock bag over the AE ones as plastic is oxygen permeable and a second layer really slows that down.

    Comment


    • JK4
      JK4 commented
      Editing a comment
      Cool, thanks. I'll look them up.

    • level3ninja
      level3ninja commented
      Editing a comment
      My favourite for best quality/price combo have blue lids. You also want to make sure you get self-standing tubes or you'll need a rack to fill them. A 22mm plastic sausage funnel cut down to go into the tube about 15mm is a great filling funnel.

  • #7
    I used to use 200ml glass jam jars from the $2 shop.
    Put in my freshly roasted beans, put them into a vacuum container, attach the hose from my vacpacker and suck the air out.
    This sucks some air from the jar, the safety dome is compressed and the jar goes "whoosh" when you open the lid.
    I then stored them in a dark drawer until use.
    In the end it was too much faffing around for very little perceivable benefit.
    Now I just use the bags from BB.

    Comment


    • JK4
      JK4 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for sharing your experience

  • #8
    Originally posted by level3ninja View Post
    plastic is oxygen permeable and a second layer really slows that down.
    Not so fast. Different plastics have very different levels of oxygen permeability and LDPE, such as used in zip lock bags, is amongst the highest O2 permeability film plastics around. This is because permeability to O2 and to water vapour generally oppose one another, LDPE is chosen for its very low water vapour transfer rate so things don't dry out.

    If the bag has a significant effect it probably means that you haven't sealed the tube properly as the O2 barrier properties of the bag are much lower than that of the tube: CF tubes are usually polypropylene which is a bit lower than LDPE and the tube's walls are much thicker.

    If you want to make this more effective seek out oxygen barrier bags such as are used by "survive the apocalypse" nutjobs worldwide: there are plenty of websites set up to profit off these peoples' paranoia that will sell you as many as you need. They usually feature a low permeability polymer (eg PVDC) or a metallised layer since the permeability of the metal is orders of magnitude lower than polymers.
    Last edited by Lyrebird; 26 September 2022, 09:03 PM.

    Comment


    • #9
      I've always said the best way to learn something on the internet is to confidently post an incorrect statement.

      I haven't noticed a huge effect, mostly because I haven't got any tubes that have been there for more than a month or so. I'll have to see if I can find some large oxygen barrier ziplock bags.

      Comment


      • Bosco_Lever
        Bosco_Lever commented
        Editing a comment
        I use Heavy Duty 220µm Aluminium Foil food bags with a zip lock. They hold about 250g of roasted beans. I freeze beans in them and find they work well. A smaller bag is also available, but I find it a bit too narrow. No valve.

    • #10
      JK4 I use small plastic food containers of 50ml. They are 45mm deep and 48mm across. I single dose and am straight out too cheap to buy the Weber units, though like the appearance. I think they look great and so considered Ninja solution of centrifuge tubes. After some testing at home, decided narrow tubes required some effort to fill even with a funnel (probably why Weber has a funne includedl), so went with the wide mouth containers. I can literally use the container to scoop the beans, then adjust with two or three beans to get 18 grams. It is amazing how good you get at judging 18 grams and this system is very quick.. The 48mm diameter is a good match for my Lagom 64, might not work so well with grinders which need a narrower feed such as Honne Hedone etc. These containers stack easily. The containers are clear PET, I will let Lyrebird tell you if it is any good, for all I know it is minced up dogs and cats.

      PS were cheap, $26 for 20

      Comment


      • Lyrebird
        Lyrebird commented
        Editing a comment
        PET is quite variable but they are all reasonable oxygen barriers: between 100 times and 500 times better than LDPE.

      • 338
        338 commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks Lyrebird, reassuring

      • JK4
        JK4 commented
        Editing a comment
        I'd say 50ml is perfect. I just picked up some 55ml jam jars (silicone type lining inside the lid so form a pretty decent seal from what I can tell). There's a small bit of headroom above my 18g dose but shouldn't impact too much as all doses are typically consumed in 4 days (5 days max). These were pretty cheap too, approx €20 for 12 jars. This way I can try the workflow out at little cost. If it works I may just stick with the jam jars as my station is on a big sideboard with drawers so I can keep them in a drawer. I can always upgrade to one of the fancier options like the webber cellars if I feel the need.

    • #11
      Originally posted by amberale View Post
      Now I just use the bags from BB.
      Yep, the coffee bags in BeanBay are PET (Coke bottle) lined to make them food safe, they then have a layer of aluminium foil to stop air/water/light (this is the bit that actually does the sealing) and the outside of the bag is recycled paper to hold it together because foil isn't very strong.

      Gotcha is the zip seal, it will let some gas past but mostly out, not in. If you heat seal the bag it's pretty bullet proof storage.

      It all comes down to your personal math on effort vs reward and if you care about the difference.

      (I'm a coffee roaster, beans don't sit around long enough to worry here!)

      Comment


      • JK4
        JK4 commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks Andy

    • #12
      Thanks for all the replies. Given so many different options work for everyone I'm trying small (55ml) jam jars as a starting point as the cost is pretty compelling. They seem to form a decent seal as there is a silicone type lining in the lid. I can always upgrade to one of the nice looking glass cellar displays in the future if I still feel the need.

      Comment


      • tompoland
        tompoland commented
        Editing a comment
        If we don't see pics it never happened. We held a committee meeting and agreed that 14 days should be long enough for you to provide photographic evidence.

      • JK4
        JK4 commented
        Editing a comment
        Ubderstood haha. Out at the moment but will sort the photo when I'm home.

    • #13
      As requested, here's photos of the jars I went with.
      Attached Files

      Comment


      • Whorl
        Whorl commented
        Editing a comment
        Love it!

        Im using some really small Tupperware containers that fit a 19g dose perfectly with minimal headspace. Airtight for sure. Shame about the pastel colours (blue, green, pink, red), but they are functional. And stay in the coffee cupboard until I need them!

      • JK4
        JK4 commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks. Today was their first day in use and definitely found the workflow better than weighing each dose, particularly when making two drinks together.

        That's the beauty of having a drawer or cupboard at your station, doesn't matter what the containers look like once they work.

      • Blues1143
        Blues1143 commented
        Editing a comment
        I use these too for the freezer - happy with them so far.

    • #14
      Well, I'm starting to feel like a real cheap skate now, as I use the recycled plastic tube containers that the Hydralyte and Swisse magnesium effervescent tablets come in. They hold 24 grams, have a reasonable sealing lid, and, you know, the price was right.

      Comment


      • #15
        here are my 3 units

        1 holds my blended roasts
        1 for my single origin espresso roast
        and 1 for my filter roasts

        Just so happens that its also one for each grinder

        Click image for larger version

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        • JK4
          JK4 commented
          Editing a comment
          Very impressive collection John.

        • tompoland
          tompoland commented
          Editing a comment
          I like your style JohnA! Very elegant.

        • JohnA
          JohnA commented
          Editing a comment
          tell you what though, value for money, those etsy ones are hard to beat, which is the 3rd one with the la marzocco logo etched into it. The caps have a one way valve and hold 20g easily. The only down side to them, is they are a little narrower then the WW ones so a little harder to fill
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