We tend to think of our morning coffee not as a plant or a crop but as a shelf-stable good and, for true coffee lovers, an essential part of our day. But as a crop, coffee is subject to the whims of ...

Southern Living on MSN: How To Store Coffee Beans For Maximum Flavor, According To Experts

Storing coffee beans properly can make all the difference in the quality in your cup.

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes.

Cold brew coffee is made by slowly steeping coarsely ground coffee beans in room temperature water for at least six hours (it can be as much as up to 24, but it depends on how strong you want your cold brew to be, many choose to do it overnight).

Check out the lifecycle of coffee to learn more about coffee’s journey from planting seeds to recycling used coffee grounds. While most coffee cherries have two beans, in about 5% of the world’s coffee, there is only one bean. This is called a peaberry (or a caracol, which is “snail” in Spanish).

Dark roast coffee isn’t just about looking bold and tasting smoky — it’s a craft of time, temperature, and bean choice. While many believe it packs more caffeine, the truth is the difference is ...