RULE 18

Fresh coffee lives in nice packaging.

Freshly roasted coffee likes living in a cool, dark place.

If you come across a barrel of coffee with a scoop in it, steer clear! Those funky plastic bins in your grocer’s bulk section? That’s where potentially good coffee goes to die. Or at least get stale and bland. Freshly roasted coffee likes living in a cool, dark place. It doesn’t like to be presented in a clear container, open to the light, repeatedly exposed to the air as patron after patron opens the bin, nor does it like rubbing up against a plastic bin coated in layers of oily residue from its previous residents. The best coffee is usually safely stored in tins or bags, portioned for use within a couple of weeks, and sealed from the air and light.

If you don’t have the luxury of visiting your local roaster for a scoop of some freshly roasted stuff, stick to the prepackaged bags with a roast date in the grocery aisle.