How to store mushroom coffee and how long a pouch lasts
Mushroom coffee is a dry, water soluble powder, which makes it one of the easiest things in your pantry to store and one of the easiest to spoil by accident. The rules are short. This article covers where to keep it, what the date on the pouch means, how to recognise a pouch that has gone off, and the arithmetic of how long 30 serves lasts.
Where to keep it
A cool, dark, dry cupboard, in the original pouch with the zip pressed shut after every use. That is it. Heat speeds up the loss of aroma in the coffee and colour in the matcha, light does the same, and moisture is the thing that actually ruins the product. The pouch is foil lined and resealable for that reason. Do not decant into a glass jar on a sunny bench; it looks nice and it is the worst place in the kitchen.
Why the fridge is wrong
People put coffee in the fridge because they have heard beans keep better cold. For a dry powder the fridge creates the one problem you are trying to avoid: condensation. Every time the pouch comes out into a warm kitchen, moisture forms on the cold powder, and the coconut milk powder and MCT oil in the coffee blend will clump. The freezer is worse. Cupboard only, unless you live somewhere the cupboard is over 30 degrees for weeks, in which case the fridge inside a sealed container is a compromise and you should let the container reach room temperature before opening.
The wet spoon
The most common way a pouch goes bad is a scoop that has been in a wet mug going back into the powder. A little moisture at the bottom of the pouch turns to hard lumps and, over weeks, a stale smell. Keep the scoop dry, or keep it in the pouch, and never scoop with a spoon that has already been in your drink.
What the date means
The best before date on a Mello pouch is a quality date, not a safety date. Unopened, the powder is stable well past it because there is almost no water in it; what changes is that the coffee tastes flatter and the matcha loses its bright green. Once opened, aim to finish the pouch within about three months for the coffee and two months for the matcha, because matcha in particular fades quickly once air is in the bag. At one cup a day, a 30 serve pouch is gone in a month, which is well inside both windows.
How to tell it has gone stale
Smell first. Fresh coffee blend smells of coffee and a little coconut; stale smells flat or faintly of cardboard. Colour second, for the matcha: bright green is fresh, khaki or yellow green is oxidised. Texture third: free flowing powder is fine, hard lumps mean moisture got in. A stale pouch is not unsafe, it is disappointing, and it will make a cup that tastes bitter or thin whatever you do to it. Our taste guide assumes fresh powder; if you have followed it and the cup is still flat, the pouch is the likely reason.
How long a pouch lasts at your pace
One cup a day: 30 days. One cup on work days only: about six weeks. Two cups a day: 15 days, and a three pack makes more sense. Two people sharing at one cup each: 15 days. A half serve, which some people prefer for a lighter cup: 60 days, though we would rather you used a full serve and drank fewer of them, because the flavour balance is built around a 6g dose. The cost per cup page has the price for each pace.
Buying ahead
If you have found a pace you like, buying a three pack or subscribing does not create a storage problem, because unopened pouches keep well for months in a cupboard. Open one at a time. Keep the others sealed and out of the light, and rotate so the oldest date is used first. Do not open a second pouch to try the matcha while the coffee is half done unless you will finish both inside their windows; that is the most common way two pouches go stale at once.
Batching and iced
A batch of iced coffee or matcha made ahead and kept in a sealed jar in the fridge lasts about three days. The powder settles, so shake before pouring. Do not keep a made up hot cup for later; it separates and the coffee turns sour within hours, as any coffee does.
Travelling with it
A pouch survives a suitcase fine if the zip is sealed and it is inside a bag in case of pressure changes. For a shorter trip, a small airtight container with a week of serves is easier than the full pouch. Our travelling article, which publishes this week, covers planes, hotel kettles and what to do when there is no hot water.
The caveat
Storage does not change who should drink it. Anyone with a mushroom allergy should avoid both blends. The coffee blend contains coconut milk and MCT oil, so a coconut allergy means the matcha or neither. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or managing a medical condition should check with a GP or pharmacist first. What the research does and does not show for each mushroom is on our research pages. Both pouches are 30 serves, ship free Australia wide and carry a 30 day money back guarantee.