I’ve been wondering if something sitting on top of the beans in the hopper (eg a bag of rice) would stop new oxygen reaching the beans as their level drops. Ideally, the hopper would be cylindrical and the object a simple disk, but mine is the usual conical shape. Or am I over-thinking this?
Moving coffee outside of the bag in which it came almost certainly will introduce more oxygen than leaving it alone.
Leaving coffee in a hopper open to atmosphere on bottom and storing a highly porous material on top (ie bag of rice) exposes it _constantly_to a fresh supply of oxygen.
Best place to keep coffee is, broadly, in the bag in which it came, inside a plastic zipper bag if it’s not a foil lined bag, and grinding to order.
The Sage built in grinders have a switch to close the bottom of the hopper and a lid, but I wouldn’t use it for storage, myself.
I would think that a plastic bag of rice is anything but porous.
IME storing beans in a foil bag that I open and re-open every day accelerates oxidation even though I roll the top to expel all air. I suppose this is less noticeable if the bag runs out very quickly.
I’m in the ‘put in the hopper the amount you intend to grind’ camp, but Lance Hedrick (youtuber) had a video recently where he discusses ways to manage oxidation that might have tips for you. I learned I should be taping over the co2 hole on my bags
I have been doing this and it made things worse because I had to open the bag to get more beans out more often. Expelling the air every time should help though. The best method I’ve seen is vacuum packing single doses of beans but that’s a lot of work.
Still better than the hopper. In short yes you are over thinking it. It’s not a bad idea, but coffee bags do a pretty good job at keeping beans pretty fresh and brief opening for dosing shouldn’t ruin your beans. If you want to go to the next level, predosing in vials and keeping them in the freezer is the next step (doubt you’ll notice a difference though). I think vacuum packing is over rated and seems to suck some of the volatiles out rapidly and can actually flatten flavor profile a little. If you are fixated on the hopper solution and think that it’s well sealed enough that something on top of beans would make a difference I would just spray some argon on top.
Maybe just subdividing a little? I was thinking of, like instead of separating out each single dose, separate the bag into 4 day jars, so it’s less work on the dividing side but also less oxidation of the beans overall? For you, I think you gotta just try it with the rice and report back. You gonna use a sealed bag on the rice like a ziploc? Or something stretchy but permeable and rely on the rice mass and displacement to slow the air?
I just use this for storage, and minimize the amount of beans in the hopper since they will be exposed precisely for this reason.
You could probably just make an airtight gasket on the lid of your hopper but that seems like more trouble than it’s worth
That’s the principle I had in mind. Applying that to the hopper is the poor man’s version and there is no need for further interaction with the beans until you have to refill the hopper. When you open your canister fresh air gets in but I suppose pushing it out seconds later minimises exposure to oxygen. Using a bag and rolling the top before you seal it should achieve the same thing at zero additional cost.
Might slow it but I don’t think any hopper that’s specifically designed to do it is going to be airtight from the bottom where the coffee is ground, so new air will enter from there.
The smaller opening would help, of course, but a complete seal isn’t gonna happen without the cooperation of that end.
Ah, there is another idea for an entrepreneur. Sealing the bottom between uses. I haven’t tested this, but instinctively I think not much air will push its way up compared to the air sucked in from the top as beans drop.
Seal the lid a bit with a gasket?
That assumes that a gasket would create a vacuum in the hopper over time. I think fresh air will find a way in anyway. Filling that space with a balloon or a bag is simpler. I will be surprised if this hasn’t been done already by a grinder or accessories maker. There are plunger canisters already.
vacuum? What. No it just limits where new air can get in. Fresh air will always get in yes.
I have a small jar that keeps about a weeks worth out of the bag, and then I grind dose daily.