Christmas K-Cup Packs

With only a few days until Christmas, how’s the last minute planning and gift shopping going?  Are all the gifts wrapped and under the tree, or are you a bit frazzled and still trying to pull together menus, not to mention still struggling to figure out what to get that mother-in-law of yours? (Trust me: We're all there!)

 

To help out, we tapped into some of our K-Cup® Ambassadors to provide a few tips to help you check off some of those final tasks. 

• Take a break.  Kelby of Type-A Parent says, “It is so easy to get caught up in your endless to-do list for the holidays (and unfortunately, holidays are on the calendar and come with a definite deadline). Take a break to do something holiday-related just for the sheer fun of it. Almost every town or city has some sort of holiday displays, events, festivals or even just holiday lights driving through neighborhoods. Take one day to just enjoy the holidays. Believe me, all the other stuff can wait one day (unless, perhaps, you are reading this on Christmas Eve). 

• Do-ahead appetizers.  When planning appetizers, Amber of Bluebonnets & Brownies says to always include a few dips that can be made ahead of time, and quickly too, like this homemade salsa recipe. Throw some tortilla chips in a bowl, and you're ready to go. It's my mother's recipe, and I serve it at every party we host, no matter the time of year. It's always a hit, and it comes together in the food processor in about 3 minutes flat. Add to that, it can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, and the flavors only get better the longer it sits."
• Hostess Gifts.  Julie from The Little Kitchen loves to give little gift baskets with coffee and cookies in them - or even a cute coffee mug with a little baggie with a sampling of your favorite K-Cup® packs and some homemade biscotti or cookies.

• Take a “Me Moment”.  Kristen of Dine & Dish carves out a bit of “me” time each day. “I do that by sitting down to a cup of coffee. There is a reason coffee is hot… it’s meant to be sipped and savored, not rushed.  I use that 15 minutes in my day to get a grip on the day and it truly does work.”

"Should I store my beans in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer? I've heard a few different theories. What do GMCR experts say?"

- Steven on our Facebook Page

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Great question - and one that we get a lot. Of course, the easy answer is to start buying K-Cup^® portion packs and not worry about it – they’re already sealed from coffee’s worst enemies: air, light, heat, and moisture. That's one of the reasons they're so popular. That said, I only grind and brew coffee in my house, so I'm in your camp: How do I best store my coffee?

The answer is really quite simple. I grabbed one of our bags of coffee off the shelf in the coffee lab and looked for guidance. Our humble 10/12 ounce bag says:

"Store in an airtight container, away from heat, direct sunlight, and moisture.”

See? Simple. If you protect your coffee from air, heat, light, and moisture, you’re golden.  However, if you want to get a little more detailed, there are only a few more things to add.

When you store your beans, there’s no need to take them out of the bag by pouring them into the container. An unopened bag, stored away from heat, sun, and moisture will last a long time (in fact, we guarantee it for 9-months).

Then there’s oxygen. Of coffee’s worst enemies, Oxygen is the ringleader.  The oxidization process stales the coffee, so an airtight container is your best option to elude this fierce predator. Moisture is oxygen’s right hand man – and your next opponent.  Best way to beat it: Don’t put your coffee in the refrigerator! The refrigerator is a moisture haven and is highly discouraged for coffee storage. That old tuna casserole will spoil a nice cup of coffee any day.

“But what about the freezer? I always put my coffee in the freezer,” you say.  The freezer is a great place to store unopened bags of coffee, but removing and refreezing an opened bag only helps the oxidization process (staling) along since the coffee is exposed to oxygen and moisture in the form of condensation (two of the big coffee enemies) each and every time you open the freezer door.

It's helpful to use the fish analogy when it comes to coffee storage. A nice brook trout you caught on a Saturday morning will be great for dinner Saturday night. If you're going to eat it Sunday night, you'd better put it in the refrigerator (or, in coffee’s case, an airtight container away from heat, sunlight, and moisture). If you want to save it for Christmas (say, 6-months away), you'd better freeze it. It won't taste as good as it did that same day you caught it, but it will still be tasty.

Here are a few easy tips about keeping your coffee as fresh as possible:

• Only buy and open what you can brew in a week to fend off coffee's worst enemies, see below.
  


• Oxygen is bad for coffee; airtight containers are ideal.


• Light, moisture, and humidity are bad for coffee; Dark, dry places are good for coffee.


• The refrigerator is bad for coffee; the freezer is okay for unopened bags of coffee.

Follow these tips as much as you can.   In the end, just drink good coffee and enjoy!