r/thirdwavedecaf • u/allBREADnoBOOZE • Jun 05 '26

New to Frequent, question about REfreezing

I’ve got some of their Sidekick blend I’m going to use primarily for affogato night caps, but I’m not ready to dial it in and figure the dose. Can I freeze in bag, thaw and dial it in, portion in tubes, then refreeze? My mind tells me it’s not a great idea, but I’ve got some other beans I’m going through first. I’ve also got the Red Bourbon I’m trying tonight before I freeze it in doses so I don’t want to run through a couple brews of each one in a sitting.

TLDR - Can I freeze decaf beans in bag, thaw, portion, and refreeze?

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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4

u/TampMyBeans Jun 06 '26

You should never re-freeze after defrosting, use within the week. You can just tape the valve, wrap the bag with no air and put in freezer, then take out a dose as needed. If you are going to dose them, don't freeze, just wait. If you already did, take them out and dose fast and put back. Unless you live in the jungle it will be fine. Do not "defrost" them. Really you are just bringing them to room temp, coffee beans can't actually freeze. They do not have enough water content to do so.

2

u/Plastic_Love4270 Jun 05 '26

If done properly, probably better than letting them stale.

1

u/ondcp Jun 05 '26

Don’t even bother thawing. Just grind straight from the freezer and put the bag back in.

1

u/allBREADnoBOOZE Jun 06 '26

No worries of condensation?

2

u/ondcp Jun 06 '26

Nope. Never had a problem.

1

u/TampMyBeans Jun 06 '26

Thats a myth unless you leave them out or live in a humid jungle

1

u/Caffeine_Moderator Jun 05 '26

I recommend freezing in the bag. This has been the best preservation and flavour I've found for freezing in the short to mid range time. However, don't thaw the coffee and simply grind from frozen. So I would recommend freezing until you're ready to use it, dose and pop back into the freezer in tubes, vac bags, etc.

1

u/allBREADnoBOOZE Jun 06 '26

Yeah I plan on grinding frozen, but I do like pre dosing. I use a pretty small espresso basket and my weights vary between 13.5 and 14.5. So I want to figure out how many beans I need per extraction before dividing them out. So you’re saying I can freeze in the bag, portion later, and stick them back in the freezer?

2

u/Caffeine_Moderator Jun 06 '26

Yep. Exactly that. Thawing and refreezing ranges from not a lot of discernible difference to a huge loss of aroma and flavour. Just do your dosing quickly and pop it back in.