I recently wrote an article on turning coffee into coffee cubes and all the things you can do with frozen coffee. As I dove into that topic I came across all of these questions about storing brewed coffee in the refrigerator to reheat and drink later.
Can you store brewed coffee in the fridge?
You can store brewed coffee in the refrigerator for up to one week. However, the coffee will quickly lose its flavor and it won’t taste as fresh once it’s reheated. Since coffee is a deodorizer it may also pick up odors from other foods if the container is not sealed properly. It’s best to store the coffee in a glass container that will have an air tight seal.
How To Store Brewed Coffee In The Fridge
If you’re not familiar with how to store coffee beans you want to store them in an air tight container that is dry and not a transparent material. You want to keep the inside dark. However, if you’re going to keep brewed coffee in the fridge it’s best you use a glass carafe, and the container should still be air tight.
So why is glass OK here if it’s not recommended when storing coffee beans? You need to remember that when you close the refrigerator door that the light goes off. So at that point you need to worry about keeping the air out.
I want to reiterate how important it is to use glass and not another material. Other materials such as plastics will transfer some of the odor and tastes of the plastics into the coffee. Especially, if the containers aren’t BPA free. It would also be bad if the plastic containers were also used to hold other beverages as those smells and tastes could transfer to the coffee.
You should only save black coffee in the refrigerator. If you add milk or other creamers you’ll run the risk of the coffee going bad quicker and you even begin to introduce mold and yeast into the picture.
Does Brewed Coffee Go Bad In The Refrigerator
The refrigerator doesn’t do anything to brewed coffee that wouldn’t have happened anyway. Coffees biggest enemy is oxygen. From the moment you open that air tight bag and oxygen is allowed in you’ll start to have a deterioration of the coffee.
Have you even opened up a fresh bag of coffee and the wonder smell overwhelms you? But then as time goes on the smell isn’t as impactful. The same process occurs with brewed coffee in the fridge. The process might be slowed down if you’re doing the right things such as using a glass air tight container. However, the process of the coffee deteriorating has already begun.
If you store your brewed coffee correctly you’ll have about a week to reheat and enjoy it before it goes bad. However, you’ll notice a difference in taste and freshness as early as the next day.
Here’s Why I won’t Store Brewed Coffee In The Refrigerator
So if you can store coffee in the refrigerator and it’ll last in there for over a week than you might be wondering why I won’t do it. Well, the answer is that there’s a better and easier solution. And I led off this article with the solution of storing coffee in the freezer.
There’s a lot of benefits to storing brewed coffee in the freezer. It lasts much longer than putting it in the refrigerator, and it’s also more versatile coming out of the freezer. You can use the ice cubes for your iced coffee, use it in recipes, and you can even still reheat it to make hot coffee. Again, the taste and freshness are impacted but you’ll have more longevity coming out of the freezer.
So if your intent is to save the coffee to not throw it out than why risk having to throw it away in a week when it’ll last in the freezer for up to 2 months? For those reasons I’ll never store brewed coffee in the refrigerator.
Final Thoughts
Now that we know that we can save brewed coffee in the fridge and what it takes to do it the question is do you want to do it? If you’re going to save it and drink it within a day or two there might not be too much damage to the taste or freshness of the coffee.
But as the coffee deteriorates in quality I would begin to focus your efforts from storing in the refrigerator and moving the coffee to the freezer if you want to save it. It’ll last longer in the freezer and there’s more uses for the frozen coffee.