The packaging you choose for your coffee is essential for preserving freshness and enhancing the coffee experience for customers. Selecting the right materials and features ensures that your coffee remains enticing and fresh.
Materials + Storage
Generally speaking, while compostable packing is better for the planet, it does not preserve coffee’s freshness as well as aluminum foil-lined coffee bags. With technological advancements, and the need to make compostable packaging better at maintaining coffee freshness, we are optimistic that compostable packaging will be comparable to aluminum foil-lined coffee bags in the future.
To learn more about coffee freshness, check out this video from Dr. Samo Smrke from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
Should my customers store roasted coffee in the freezer?
In general, storing well-sealed roasted coffee in colder temperatures, like a freezer, will slow down the chemical reactions that stale coffee. There are many articles written saying that storing your coffee in the freezer will encourage the formation of water crystals on the coffee. However, current research suggests that there is not enough water in roasted coffee to form water crystals, and as long as the coffee bag is sealed well, whether you freeze slow or fast, placing your packaged coffee into a colder environment will keep it fresher for longer.
Packaging
Every roaster has their own method for choosing bags and packaging materials. Here are a few brands we recommend:
Or if you’re looking for compostable bags, we recommend:
Labels
Here are a few companies that make custom labels and stickers:
Alternatively, you can print and alter your own labels for about 20c each with the upfront investment of a Primera Printer. The LX500 Color Printer is the one that we recommend.
Packaging + Labeling FAQs
What does it mean to rest or degas my coffee?
Roasting on-site means that you will have incredibly fresh coffee. After you have roasted, you can bag your coffee immediately, but you will need to allow the freshly roasted coffee to degas for 3-5 days before serving. Your coffee will be able to degas in a sealed bag or a lidded container.
When you roast coffee, gases like carbon dioxide, form inside the bean. These gases escape from the freshly roasted coffee after roasting and, particularly for the first couple of days after roasting, interfere with the flavor and extraction. Don’t worry, carbon dioxide in your beans isn’t a bad thing: it has an important role in coffee quality, as an indicator of freshness.
Can I bag my coffee immediately after roasting it?
Yes, you can. After you have roasted, you can bag your coffee immediately, but you will need to allow the freshly roasted coffee to degas for 3-5 days before serving.
How do I keep track of my coffee bags and labels?
Be sure to clearly mark your roasts. Make sure to include both the type of coffee and the roast date.
Can I say or label that I am serving or selling organic coffee if I am not a certified organic facility?
Great question! It would be best if you kept up to date on current rules and regulations by following the guidelines set forth by the USDA. Here’s a great place to read more.
For the roasted coffee to be labeled certified organic, the coffee needs to be roasted and handled in a certified organic facility. This often includes a completely separate roaster, packaging, etc., dedicated to organic coffee production. For organically certified coffees, you can say “organically grown,” but the packaging cannot stay “certified organic” or use the USDA organic seal.
Another thing to note is that if you purchased a marketplace coffee in boxes, it is no longer considered organic. However, anything in full bags will still be considered organic since it has not been broken down and processed. As a roaster, though, you technically need to be certified by a certifying body to sell the product as organic certified.
Are there any federal guidelines for packaging coffee?
Yes. Beverage and food labeling requires producers to follow strict regulations. Luckily for coffee manufacturers who produce and sell 100% pure coffee, they are exempt from the complex nutrition labeling process.
Here is a link to an article that has a little more information about this. To learn more about coffee labeling and packaging visit the FDA.gov
Do I need to think about Barcodes?
Barcoding is required if you are considering selling to a grocery store or similar business. UPC codes are unique to every product on earth, and they are all controlled by a central registry of codes.
Some people will ‘resell’ their unused barcodes for a discount.
We recommend checking out buyabarcode.com, which will sell distinct, never used UPC codes that are guaranteed to work at multiple retailers. You can print them from your home or office printer onto label paper that can be purchased from an office supply store.
Every type of coffee will need its own UPC code. For example, if you have two blends and two single origins, you’ll need 4 UPC codes. Each bag will need a sticker.
Again, this is only in the event you want to sell to grocery stores or a similar business that requires it. Cafes and other retailers won’t require it.
Bag Sealing/Impulse Sealer Recommendations + FAQs
When you start to bag your own coffee for retail, you will need a sealer to seal the bags. A tabletop hand-operated bag sealer works perfectly well. This 8-inch hand-operated impulse sealer is a great tool to help get you started.
If you require a sealer that can handle a little more volume and is a little faster, here are a few options:
- IMPAK Foot-Operated Impulse Sealers $225-315
- Metronic 12 Inch Impulse Sealer $62
- Sealer Sales WNS-200D Table Top Direct Heat Sealer $875
What’s the best setting to use on the heat-sealer provided in the new customer welcome kit?
We always recommend following the instructions included with the heat sealer you received. In our experience, setting the dial on the heat-sealer to 6 works best. Seal the bag by placing it into the heat sealer and pressing down and holding for 3 seconds. If dial number 6 does quite seal your bag, turn the dial to 7 and try again. Repeat until your bag feels sealed.
Scales + Weighing
Scales for weighing your roasted coffee for serving or filing your retail bags are relatively easy to find, and most scales will do the trick. However, if you are weighing out 5lbs bags of coffee for bulk or wholesale consumption, you might need something with a little more weighing capacity. Please note, making sure you are filling your bags with advertised weight on your packaging is required by law.
Here are a few suggestions of scales that are suitable for weighing your roasted coffee:
- Accuteck ShipPro Digital Scale $39.99 (110lb weight limit / 2g or 0.1oz accuracy)
- Acacia Pearl $150 (11lb weight limit / 0.003oz or 0.1g accuracy)
- Gator Coffee Scale $27 (6.6lb weight limit / 0.003oz or 0.1g accuracy)
To read more about scales recommendations for specific purposes around a coffee business, please check out our Coffee Business Supplies article.
Roasted Coffee Storage + Containers
For your roasted coffee, it’s convenient to have buckets that you can easily label, stack, carry, and scoop from for bagging. Here are a few that we suggest:
- Rubbermaid Brute 10 Gallon $22.82
- Cambro 5.5 Gallon Pail $15, (Lid For Pail $1)
- Baytec 5 Gallon Food Safe Bucket with Lids 3 pack $89
Coffee Scoops
We suggest using separate scoops for your green and roasted coffee because it is best to avoid cross-contamination of green and roasted coffee beans. Green coffee dust can end up on roasted coffee, tainting the flavor. Either a metal or plastic scoop will work. It’s nice to have a larger scoop for weighing out green coffee in preparation for roasting like these:
For bagging or weighing roasted coffee, it’s a little easier to have a couple of smaller scoops handy like these:
- Winco AS-24oz Aluminum Scoop $13
- Barista Basics Scale Scoop $32
- Update International 24oz Aluminum Scoop $13
Blending Equipment
Blends can be a significant offering to any coffee business. To read more about blends and blending coffee, please check out our Blends + Blending article.
Whether you are planning on pre or post-roast blending, it can often be very handy to blend the coffee in a separate device to make sure the coffee is blended properly. Here is one blending device we suggest: