How long can brewed coffee be kept in the refrigerator

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a coffeemaker that brews about 10-12 cups, but I’m the only one who drinks it. So instead of making a full pot or even a half pot I just drink the coffee at work at their coffee station. Plus it saves me $20 by not having to buy a 1-4 serving personal coffee maker.

But what if I brew coffee in my full size coffeemaker, than save the rest in the refrigerator. If I do that, a single pot would last me about 3-5 days. Does anyone know if there are any health or flavor issues from storing brewed coffee that long?

I’ve been reading online, apparently coffee stored overnight in the fridge then reheated tastes better to a lot of people than fresh brewed. But I have no idea about coffee stored for several days.

2

You can store it in the fridge like you want to, for 5 days or so. You will have to determine how many days you prefer based on how it changes flavor over each day in the fridge. You can also just brew 2 cups in your coffeemaker. Two rounded tablespoons of drip-ground coffee per 6 oz of water.

You can also cold brew a concentrate to keep in the fridge, from which you can make iced coffee or dilute and heat up for regular hot coffee. Here’s a super-simple recipe and instructions.

3

I save leftover coffee in the fridge to make iced coffee. I usually use it the next day but occasionally it’ll sit in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. It always tastes fine chilled but I’ve never actually heated it back up. Give it a try and find out.

As far as health concerns, you could probably keep it in there for months with no ill effects. It’ll start to taste nasty way before you need to worry about that. Let me guess; you refrigerate your leftover pizza and don’t eat yogurt after the expiration date? :slight_smile:

4

I am addicted to iced coffee, so I make a big pot and refrigerate it. Next morning I add sweetener and milk, and add a few ice cubes to ever mug full. It lasts about 3 days. And I agree, you could probably leave it in the fridge for a long, long time.

5

The storage of brewed coffee in an airtight container in the fridge is not as big an issue as reheating it, and not because of the myth that killer chemicals of some kind are released in knife-weilding gangs to take over entire cities.

Coffee compounds start breaking down almost immediately after brewing - particularly if the coffee is left sitting on a heating element. Old, reheated coffee will has a bitter taste, and lacks aroma. Anyone suggesting otherwise is in the process of having their meds adjusted. And just to make your previously made coffee that little bit more disgusting, use a microwave to do the dirty deed. This is why pre-brewed, single-serve coffee pouches from the fridge section of your local supermarket are not a commercial sensation.

Splash out on that twenty-buck, smaller cup coffee maker. For the sake of the little coffee beans potentially in peril.

6

If you cold brew it rather than percolate it, you’ll have no problems. It will keep for quite a long time, and heating it doesn’t affect the taste.

7

My coffee maker in my shop kick off after 2 hours. Sometimes it takes me 3 days to finish a pot, I just leave it on the coffeee maker and turn the burner back on when I come in the morning. Takes about 15 min to reach temp. It still tastes fine to me and I am the oly one drinking it. If you decide to use the micro wave for a quick starter cup don’t get it too hot tastes like crap.

8

Were you by any chance in the Navy in a former life? :smiley:

9

Oh gosh, the other day I accidentally made too much coffee, and I’m the kind of guy who feel real anxiety/angst when throwing things away. So, after been standing on the coffee maker heater for almost an hour, I poured it over to a thermos that I put in the fridge. This was the day before yesterday. Now, I remembered, and I thought to myself, will this fly.

I Google’d the answer, looking to find an answer on some web bulletin board in my own country, but it was all threads about people who discussed if coffee (that had not been brewed yet) could/should be stored in fridge or in a dry place like a pantry/larder.

Then, I tried my search in English, and landed in this thread. Now, after reading the entire thread, I must say that I haven’t laughed this much for the entire week. You guys are hilarious, how you’re subtly poking each others inputs, and all, hehe.

Anyway, finally, since I’m not a big fan of ice coffee (yet) I did the (according to you guys) worst thing; pouring the coffee from the thermos into a glass, it was like >4 dl, so I filled up a big glass. Then I put it on 850 watts in my microwave oven, letting it heat for a bit longer than 90 seconds. Took it out, tasted. It was kind of okay, actually.

I guess that a coffee expert could probably tell that the coffee was ~48 hours from it’s making, but to me, it was definitely okay, and I could do it again. Actually, I’m feeling kind of rushed from this 4 dl of coffee, I’m at Central European Time right now so it’s kind of late anyways.

Cheers!