Whether you drink coffee every day or not, you have probably encountered some old beans lying around that left you wondering, does coffee really expire? If so, how long does coffee last? The short answer is that you are generally safe consuming coffee past its expiration date as long as it is stored properly. The most crucial factor is storing it in an airtight canister, however, I will cover many other factors you should know about before you jump into brewing or drinking expired coffee.
So, keep reading to learn everything about why coffee expires and how to extend its shelf life as long as possible!
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Does Coffee Really Expire?
So, does coffee expire or is it just a myth? While coffee lasts longer than most food products in your kitchen, coffee is perishable and eventually goes bad. Coffee beans contain oils and organic compounds that will oxidize and lose flavor over time, especially when exposed to air or moisture. Properly stored beans will last longer, but I consider coffee to taste best within one month and to expire after 6 months.
Coffee expiration is also highly dependent on what form of coffee you are talking about—whole bean, ground coffee, brewed coffee, instant coffee, coffee pods, etc. So, throughout this article, I’ll explore when coffee goes bad in its different forms.
Is It Bad To Drink Expired Coffee?
So, can expired coffee make you sick? Yes, if there is mold or mildew involved you can definitely get sick. However, bacteria generally cannot grow in coffee beans so coffee doesn’t “spoil” in the way that perishable foods do. As such, drinking expired coffee is generally not harmful to your health.
However, the flavor and quality will degrade over time. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
- Coffee is safe long after the expiration date if stored in a cool/dry place. Coffee generally doesn’t grow harmful bacteria or mold if kept dry.
- Coffee pods and instant coffee can last for years if sealed in their original packaging. However, damaged or unsealed pods could expose the coffee to moisture, leading to spoilage.
- Brewed coffee is a different story, and can become unsafe to drink within hours due to bacterial growth, especially if milk or sugar is added.
The bottom line is that expired coffee is usually safe, but it may not be enjoyable to drink. If you’re a fan of bold, fresh flavors, it’s worth sticking to fresher coffee!
What Does Expired Coffee Taste Like?
Expired coffee typically tastes stale, flat, or bland because it loses its flavor and aroma over time. Especially with ground coffee, expect a slightly cardboard-like flavor because the natural oils in the coffee degrade over time. It will lack the vibrant, rich flavors of fresh coffee.
Of course, there are factors that can affect how bad expired coffee will taste such as roast level, time since expiration, and the coffee storage conditions. My rule of thumb is: if the coffee tastes sour, moldy, or completely off, it’s better to discard it, as it could indicate contamination past the usual old coffee flavors.
Coffee Expiration Date in Various Forms
One of the reasons it is hard to give a solid coffee expiration date is that it highly depends on which form of coffee you are talking about. So let’s explore more detail about when coffee goes bad in its various forms.
Whole Bean
Coffee in its unroasted form, known as green coffee, lasts for years. However, a roasted bean has a much shorter lifespan, first losing its freshness and eventually becoming unsafe. Roasted coffee beans often have an expiration date, and the better roasters will also stamp on the roast date. If you know the roast date, you can expect coffee beans to maintain optimal flavor within one month of roasting. You can make coffee last even longer by storing it in an airtight container like this Fellow Atmos Vacuum Canister.
How long does coffee last past the expiration date? While it is still safe to drink months after the printed expiration date, my primary concern as a coffee geek is that the flavor becomes lame and bitter due to oxygen and other elements.
Coffee Grounds
Ground coffee ages much faster than whole coffee beans because of its surface area. Before grinding, oxygen is primarily contacting the bean on the exterior surface. But ground coffee beans open up the interior surfaces of the bean to the forces of oxygen and will quickly age even fresh coffee beans. This process is even more extreme with a tiny grind size like espresso.
A roasted bean can taste great for a month or more when whole, but you should brew coffee grinds within a week for the best flavor. They are still safe for at least three months or longer, but you will notice the flavor diminishes greatly. Grinding coffee right before brewing is my best advice.
Instant Coffee
Because of the freeze-drying process that dehydrates the product, instant coffee can last for years, even when opened. For safety, you should probably consume an opened package within 18 months. Surprisingly, a sealed instant coffee can last for up to twenty years.
Coffee pods are sealed and do last quite a while. However, because they are not freeze-dried like instant coffee, you should only expect them to be good for 8 months after expiration.
Brewed Coffee
Compared with coffee beans, brewed coffee goes bad quickly, especially with milk or sugar. Even black coffee will develop a stale flavor within a few hours. The flavor of hot coffee changes once it reaches room temperature, usually taking on an acidic and out-of-balance taste. If you are a coffee lover and value that fresh smell and taste, it is always worth throwing out the old coffee and brewing more.
But in terms of safety, leftover coffee will be safe to drink for a couple of days, as long as you store it in the fridge. Cold brew coffee can last up to two weeks in the refrigerator, and it is a convenient way to quickly make iced coffee during a busy morning.
Read More: What Is The Difference Between Iced Coffee And Cold Brew?
How Long Does Coffee Last in the Freezer?
Coffee professionals debate whether you should freeze coffee—usually, the debate is about what effect it has on the flavor. But like any other perishable, there’s no denying that freezing coffee will delay the aging process and make the beans last for years.
To do it correctly, the key is to avoid moisture and air. Use an airtight container, preferably one that you can vacuum seal so that they are not in contact with any air or moisture. Lastly, be sure to fully defrost them before breaking the airtight seal.
How Long Do the Effects of Coffee Last?
So, how long does caffeine last in your system? Depending on your caffeine intake and general tolerance for the drug, drinking a cup of coffee too late in the day can negatively affect your sleep. A safe assumption is that it will affect you for up to six hours.
But if you have trouble sleeping, and since everyone is different, assume a longer time frame and see if that helps improve your sleep routine.
How To Spot Bad Coffee: Look for These Signs
Okay, so you now know that coffee does go bad eventually. But how can you tell when it is expired…I mean really expired? In this section, I’ll cover some classic signs that your coffee beans have gone bad.
Check the Bag
The bag is the first data point that tells you whether coffee will be good to drink. Most bags have an expiration date, a roast date, or both. With whole coffee beans, you can safely go at least 3-6 months after the roast date. Even a few months after the expiration date is usually fine, as long as you store the coffee in an airtight container.
You should be more suspicious of ground coffee since the timeline is significantly shorter.
Appearance
When it comes to appearance, you should mainly be looking out for any signs of mold or mildew. Be particularly suspicious of mold if the coffee beans or grinds are exposed to moisture.
The smell can be a guide on this front as well. Bad coffee sends to smell rancid, whereas coffee beans that are fresh smell amazing–unless it’s a super dark roast, there is usually a distinct richness and sweetness to the smell.
Taste
If the appearance seemed okay and you went ahead to brew a cup, your last line of defense against bad coffee is your taste buds. Coffee just past its expiration will likely lose any delicate tasting notes of acidic sweetness, and the aroma will be dulled as well.
However, signs that you should probably not drink coffee would be any kind of rancid smell or taste. While coffee can sometimes have subtle sour-tasting notes, super sour coffee has likely gone bad and you should not drink it.
How To Keep Coffee Fresh: Avoid These 4 Things
Here are my general tips for storing coffee in a way that maximizes flavor and freshness. If you can avoid these flavor-stealing elements, your coffee will taste fresh for at least 3-4 weeks. I mean, if you’re investing in specialty coffee beans, you might as well take the extra effort!
1. Keep Oxygen Away with an Airtight Container
Oxygen is the main reason why most food products spoil, and the same is true of roasted coffee beans. And while coffee beans are more durable than most of the other perishables in your kitchen, oxygen will slowly change the chemistry of the beans and ruin the flavor.
To keep your coffee as fresh as possible, store them in an airtight container if possible. Unless your coffee bag reseals, storing whole bean coffee in the original bag more quickly creates stale coffee. Below is a comparison of the top 3 coffee containers I usually recommend to people:
- Premium stainless steel & zero-BPA
- Airtight seal with CO2 release valve
- Track Freshness
- Perfect coffee lover gift
- Vacuum-sealed canister
- Powerful silicone ring that stops air, moisture, and odors
- Food-safe 304 18/8 stainless steel material
- Sleek/minimalist design
- Simple airtight top
- BPA-free plastic resists odors and stains
- Dishwasher safe
**Note: if you order green coffee beans to roast at home, freshness is much less of a concern. Unroasted coffee keeps its freshness for years. After roasting, coffee begins losing its fresh flavor and complex taste within a month.**
How Long Does Ground Coffee Last?
Pre-ground coffee has an even bigger problem with oxidation and going bad. Because coffee grounds have way more surface area, the inside of a ground bean is no longer protected from oxygen. The air contacts ground coffee much more readily and can ruin the taste.
So, I will repeat my standard advice until I sound like a broken record: if you want delicious coffee at home, invest in a grinder—it will be the single best coffee investment you can make!
**Note: There are plenty of budget grinders that still produce a decent grind quality.**
2. Avoid Light
Light can negatively affect many perishables, and coffee is no exception. Sunlight especially will speed up aging and deteriorate the good flavors in coffee. So it is best to store coffee in a dark place. For this reason, I generally avoid storing coffee in glass jars, unless I’m sure they will be in a dark pantry.
3. Avoid Heat
You should avoid storing coffee at high temperatures for the same reason you store food in the fridge—perishable products deteriorate faster at higher temperatures. Just like food left out on the counter will grow mold much more quickly than in the fridge, coffee stored in a warm environment will age quickly.
4. Avoid Moisture
After reading the previous tip about avoiding heat, you might be wondering, should I store coffee beans in the fridge? And the answer turns out to be no, and the reason is because of moisture. Think about a cold drink from the fridge when it contacts room temperature air. Moisture forms more easily during these temperature changes, and moisture will definitely speed up coffee’s aging process.
So while coffee does not want to be around heat, a cool room temperature environment that is also dry is the ideal storage for coffee.
Final Thoughts on Coffee Expiration
I hope you now have a much clearer idea about how long coffee lasts and the various factors involved in calculating that.
And remember that if you have an old bag of ground coffee and you feel bad just throwing it away, there are plenty of great ways to use coffee grounds in your garden. And for brewed coffee, use your instinct and play it safe. When in doubt, it is always better to make more fresh coffee and enjoy its complex taste!
FAQs
How long does ground coffee last unopened?
While whole beans will always stay fresher longer, unopened ground coffee kept in airtight conditions typically lasts 3-5 months past its best-by date if stored in a pantry, and up to 1-2 years past its best-by date if kept in the freezer.
How long does coffee last after brewed?
Brewed coffee left uncovered or in a regular pot starts losing its flavor, becomes stale, and potentially has bacteria growth after 4-6 hours, perhaps 12 hours if left covered. It can last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Can coffee creamer go bad?
Liquid dairy creamer usually lasts until the expiration or “use-by” date on the package and will otherwise last 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator after opening. Powdered coffee creamer can last unopened for 1-2 years if kept in a cool/dry place and 6 months to 1 year after it’s opened.
Do coffee pods go bad?
Coffee pods, like other forms of coffee, don’t necessarily “go bad” in a way that makes them unsafe to consume, but their quality and flavor degrade over time. Unopened pods are usually good for 6-12 months past their best-by date when stored in a cool/dry place.
Do coffee beans go bad?
Like all perishable products, coffee beans will eventually expire and be undrinkable. But the good news is that it takes a long time, usually for a few months past the printed expiration date.
Can you drink coffee brewed yesterday?
As long as it is stored in the refrigerator, you can drink day-old coffee without a problem. However, know that brewed coffee can grow mold and bacteria within hours at room temperature.
Is expired coffee dangerous?
While expired coffee is usually safe from a food safety perspective, it is not likely to have the bold/fresh flavor of unexpired coffee. However, if it tastes moldy or sour, it may not be safe to drink and it is best to just throw it away.
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