The importance of coffee packaging

I maestri della tostatura media
Packaging: an aspect that is always underestimated when it comes to coffee.
They seem like a trivial thing, but packaging is just as important as its contents!

Depending on their characteristics, we will get more or less quality coffee.

Don’t you believe it?

Let’s find out together now why packaging is so important!

Packaging is precisely important because they are the ones that allow us to extend the shelf life, that is, the expiration date, of the coffee.

Coffee, especially roasted coffee, is very susceptible to environmental conditions. In particular, it has four main enemies:
  1. Oxygen
  2. Heat
  3. Moisture
  4. Light

These four elements have the power to completely ruin our coffee, causing it to be rancid in the cup at times, or moldy and watered down, thus lacking fragrance or intensity.

An excellent package must therefore be able to protect the coffee from all its enemies and at the same time make it “breathe” . We will return to this last point in a moment.

So what should an ideal coffee package look like?
  • Not transparent , to shield the grains or milling from light;
  • Hermetically sealed , so that oxygen has no way of coming into contact with what we want to protect;
  • Stored in a dry place, with dry air and never too hot.

At this point, however, we must also consider another aspect: the packaging must also be designed for storage.

In this sense, it must therefore have the most compact measurements possible, to allow for optimization of space in the warehouse, but also to optimize space at the bar or in the end consumer’s home.

In addition, a packaging with a well-thought-out space and volume makes it possible to optimize both storage costs and transportation expenses and consequently also reduce pollution and waste materials.

At this point, understanding the importance of packaging, let’s go and analyze Ernani’s packaging specifically!

Below I show you both the 1 kg and 250 g packages in photos:

As you can see they are different from each other, but thought of in exactly the same way.

Both have as their outer color a beautiful deep and bright yellow, which has a dual function:

  • Communicate: essential to make it immediately clear to the customer what coffee is being talked about and who produced and sold it;
  • Protect coffee from light: coffee is not affected by direct sunlight.

Along with this, there is also etiquette: essential!

In fact, in them we enter all the information required by law, such as V.A.T. and C.F. of the manufacturer, address, lot, expiration date, weight and so on.

But not only that!

It is also important for us to convey information about the world of coffee and our modus operandi, to be able to convey passion and knowledge to everyone.

  • That is why we include along with the name of the coffee a brief description of it, because every coffee is different!
  • We list all the single-origins present within the blend;
  • We explain medium roasting;
  • We remind you where you can communicate with us and find out more, namely on our website caffeernani.com, facebook, instagram, linkedin and youtube .

Last step: the one-way valve and controlled nitrogen atmosphere.

As you can see for yourself from the photos, there is a small one-way valve on our packages.

It sounds trivial, but it is a very important and technologically advanced element.

In fact, it prevents oxygen from coming into contact with the coffee, thus ruling out oxidation. It thus performs the same function as the hermetically sealed vacuum, that is, it isolates the coffee from the external environment.

But it is a step up from vacuum, as at the same time it allows the coffee to continue degassing.

What does it mean?

Coffee once roasted produces gases, especially carbon dioxide. Immediately after roasting, in fact, it is not consumable, as we would have hints of extreme freshness and herbaceous aromas in the cup.

That is why it is essential to let it rest in silos before packing it.

After the degassing time in the silos, the coffee is packaged, continuing to produce gas, but to a much lesser extent. With our one-way valve, these gases can escape, but without letting outside air in.

Finally, in combination with the valve we find the controlled nitrogen atmosphere, another step up from vacuum.

Another curiosity you may not yet know is that coffee loses its aromatic intensity very easily, especially when ground. In fact, about 15 minutes after grinding, the coffee loses 60 percent of its flavor.

Do you therefore understand the fundamental importance of placing the mince in an environment suitable for its storage?

In fact, food-grade nitrogen is an odorless and tasteless gas that is extremely useful for keeping all the aromatic characteristics of coffees intact.
To sum up: packaging is as important as its contents!
If you get a package design wrong, the coffee can never be of high quality because it is poorly stored!

Marketing, E-commerce e Social Media Manager
Coffee Lover

Author

Martina Mazzoleni

Marketing, E-commerce e Social Media Manager Coffee Lover

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

torna su
Apri chat
1
Bisogno di aiuto?
Ciao 👋
sono Martina, come ti possiamo aiutare?
Risponderò a qualsiasi tua domanda dal lunedì al venerdì, dalle 9.00 alle 18.00! ☕️💛