Storing beans

There's a time and place for everything.  For coffee, the time is now and the place is... I think it'll take a bit of explaining.  Read on.

Raw beans

Before roasting, raw (green) coffee can be stored in sacks, bags, barrels... it hardly matters.  Unroasted coffee will keep for months in moderate storage conditions.  In fact, why not fill your basement with green coffee and swim through it?

Roasted beans

After roasting, however, care must be taken to ensure that the beans don't lose their flavor or oils.  Store your beans in an airtight container twelve hours after roasting -- any sooner and the container may explode due to carbon dioxide release from the beans.  (This is why freshly roasted vacuum-sealed coffee has to include one-way valve in the packaging.)

It's also vital to keep coffee at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.  If coffee gets too hot it will lose its aroma.  On the other hand, don't put your coffee in the freezer or it'll collect condensation and you'll be left with soggy beans. Eww!

According to The Joy of Cooking, there is another reason that coffee beans shouldn't be refrigerated or frozen -- they will absorb smells.  Before baking soda was used to absorb the stench of rotting leftovers, people used coffee.  My, isn't coffee versatile?  So if you kept your coffee in the fridge for a week and now your espresso comes out smelling like garlic and pizza sauce, you'll know why.