One of the hot topics is how to best maintain the quality and flavor of coffee over time, or simply put, how best to store it.

This is another topic where everyone knows the "right" answer. But to understand how coffee beans should be stored, let's look at what causes coffee to get "old."

Attacks on fresh coffee beans are as numerous as those in political ads. It's really a shame that innocent little coffee bean has to put up with so much.

Oxygen

Let's start with David's Goliath. Probably the biggest contributor to staling coffee is oxygen. Oxygen attacks the bean in a relentless way. Initially, the bean has a natural defense. Once coffee is roasted, it begins emitting CO2 at very high levels, fending off oxygen. It puts up a good fight for a limited time. This is why you see the one-way valve bags. If a bag of coffee was sealed air-tight, it would eventually burst from the copious amounts of CO2 being produced. Valve bags releases CO2 out without letting oxygen in.

Temperature

Another enemy is extreme heat or cold. Many people brag how they keep their coffee in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve flavor. Please don't. Besides the danger that cold introduces, coffee also acts like baking soda in the sense that it absorbs other aromas around it. Just think of all those refrigerator odors, manifest in a cup of coffee " yuck!

Moisture

Moisture is another factor that can degrade the quality of the coffee bean. Just one more reason that storing beans in the fridge or freezer is a bad idea. Changing temperature that much and that often will alter the bean's moisture content.

Light

You might not have thought of this one. That's right, don't let your beans out to sunbathe. Along with light, there is usually the addition of heat as well. Don't keep your beans baking next to the window like you do your house plants. Give them a