The 5 Best Coffee Canisters of 2024, Tested & Reviewed

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Properly storing your beans is key to preserving coffee’s freshness and flavor.

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Serious coffee lovers know that — aside from choosing quality beans from the right origin and using the best coffee maker — how you store your coffee beans is incredibly important. “Once the coffee is roasted, it starts expelling CO2 and with it, VOCs, or volatile organic compounds,” says Ryan Sullivan, director of coffee operations at San Diego, California–based Mostra Coffee. As these compounds dissipate over time, it leads to a loss in flavor and depth, resulting in a lackluster cup. To keep coffee beans fresh and flavor longer, you'll need a proper coffee canister.

“If you’re buying specialty coffee from a reputable roaster, and the flavor of your coffee is important to you, then any storage method that helps to maximize the quality of the beans is worth using,” says Sullivan. When looking for the best coffee canisters, you want an appropriately sized vessel that keeps out oxygen, humidity, and light, all elements that make fresh coffee go stale. For best resullts, Sullivan recommends a vacuum-sealed coffee canister to remove as much air as possible.

Whether you're buying a single bag of beans to use with your small espresso machine or a stash to keep next to your programmable coffee maker, we recommend the coffee canisters below to get the maximum flavor and freshness from your beans. Both in-house testing and expert recommendations prove them worth your while.

Equipped with an integrated vacuum pump, this canister keeps coffee fresh with a twist of the lid.

It isn't good for storing ground coffee.

The Atmos canister by Fellow comes highly recommended by Sullivan, who cites vacuum sealing as one of the best ways to store coffee. Made of durable 18/8 stainless steel, the body of this canister is wrapped in matte silicone and uses an easy twist mechanism to remove air and prevent premature oxidation. You can refresh the vacuum seal by twisting the cap every 4 or 5 days to extend the life of your coffee.

After 8 days, our test coffee smelled just as strongly as it did the day we opened the bag. A batch of the same beans we stored unprotected smelled much more flat after the same length of time. Upon brewing, the beans stored in the canister had more subtle, fruity notes compared to the duller flavor of the beans stored without the canister.

The 1.2-liter model can hold a full pound of coffee beans, though it's not recommended to use with ground coffee; the small particles can damage the seal. While this canister isn’t dishwasher-safe due to the integrated vacuum pump, we had no problem wiping it down with a damp cloth. It's available in three sizes, in white, black, or clear glass, and if one container isn’t enough, you can get a custom three-pack in your choice of sizes and colors.

Capacity: 1.3 quarts | Materials: Stainless steel, silicone | Dimensions: 4.33 x 4.33 x 6.57 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: No

With an attractive appearance and smart design, this stoneware canister fits into a variety of decor schemes at a great price.

Without a vacuum seal, it doesn't keep coffee as fresh as others.

This glazed stoneware canister's contemporary shape and neutral palette allow it to blend into just about any decor scheme. We love the lid's design, which has a beautiful hardwood top and a near-airtight silicone gasket that protects from spillage and humidity. The best part of the design is the included stainless steel tablespoon scoop that fits right into a dedicated slot on the exterior.

The body of the Aspen canister is dishwasher-safe, though the lid and gasket are not. In our tests, we got a good seal but not one as perfect as models with a vacuum sealing function. The beans stored in the canister were slightly less fragrant than those fresh from the bag. With that said, it does a decent job in serious style — at a very reasonable price.

Capacity: 1.7 quarts | Material: Stoneware | Dimensions: 5.5 x 5 x 5 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Body only

Food & Wine / Greg DuPree

This stackable container keeps an airtight lid in place with the touch of a button.

The plastic construction isn't as durable as other canisters we tested.

OXO’s Pop line of food storage containers is a popular choice for storing pantry items of all kinds, but this one is designed especially for coffee, with a UV-blocking tinted plastic body, silicone-gasketed lid, and attached scoop. "I rely on the OXO Pop containers for dry goods for all baking and cooking purposes, and the set is perfect for keeping coffee beans fresh longer than any other container I’ve tried. The canister is durable, easy to clean, and still looks great on a countertop or in glass cabinets if you like having your coffee station on display. The little scoop is exactly 2 tablespoons and is perfect for measuring beans for everything from pour-over coffee and drip coffee to espresso," says commerce editorial director Megan Soll.

This has the most straightforward seal design of all the canisters we tested. You simply press the button to activate the silicone gasket and seal the lid in place, then press it again to release the seal and unlock the lid. We recommend this for anyone with strength or mobility concerns. The tight seal easily preserved the delicate aromas in our beans; control beans from the same bag smelled much more flat and stale. This translated into flavor, too: the coffee stored in the canister tasted richer and smoother. When it comes time for cleaning, the body and removable silicone gasket can go in the dishwasher, but you'll have to wipe down the metal lid by hand.

This canister is impressively inexpensive, but it's not as well-built as others. The plastic just isn't as durable as steel, ceramic, or glass and might crack or warp over time.

Capacity: 1.7 quarts | Materials: Stainless steel, silicone, plastic | Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.3 x 6.3 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Silicone seal and body only

A heavy-duty body and easy-to-use accordion seal make this an excellent choice for travel.

The lid is difficult to get on and off, especially when the small canister is full.

If you’ve ever wanted to BYOB (bring your own beans) while on the go, this canister from MiiR can help with that. It uses an accordion seal that you press into the stainless steel canister before screwing on the lid, keeping the container airtight and up to 12 ounces of coffee fresh and protected from light. The lid makes a serious seal: We had some trouble screwing it on and off initially, and it really took some strength to push down into the beans — our 12-ounce bag of coffee wouldn't all quite fit.

"If you're looking for a portable coffee canister that's easy to pop into your travel bag and hit the road, I highly recommend this stainless steel canister from MiiR. I've taken this airtight coffee canister with me on plenty of road trips upstate and camping trips. It hasn't dented or scratched despite being banged around next to other camping gear, including my dog's crate and hard coolers," says senior editor Danielle St. Pierre.

Capacity: 0.8 quarts | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 4.5 x x 6.8 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: No

The plunger design creates a tight seal that keeps air, moisture, and light away from a lot of beans at once.

It takes up a lot of space.

Although Sullivan does not suggest buying coffee beans in bulk since there's a higher risk of exposure to humidity and light, sometimes you still need to stock up. As you may guess from its name, this large canister by AirScape can hold up to a kilogram — 2.2 pounds — of whole beans (or up to 3 pounds of ground coffee).

We felt like the Kilo had one of the best seals in our tests. Its lid has a plunger design with a two-way valve that pushes out all the air, and the woosh sound when you release the seal lets you know it worked. On top of that, the acrylic outer lid provides extra protection against moisture and oxidation. When we reopened the canister in testing, we were surprised at how fresh and fragrant the coffee smelled. Our test brew from beans that had been stored for over a week tasted just like the fresh coffee. The plunger and acrylic lid are not dishwasher-safe but are easy to clean with mild dish soap and a non-abrasive sponge.

You just might not need a canister this big if you don't go through much coffee or have a small kitchen. It takes up a lot of room on the counter, and we wouldn't recommend it for cramped spaces.

Capacity: 5 quarts | Materials: Galvanized steel, acrylic, silicone | Dimensions: 7 x 8 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Body only

We recommend the Fellow Atmos Vacuum Coffee Canister as our best overall pick due to its sleek vacuum-sealed design that keeps coffee fresh with a simple twist of the lid. We recommend the stackable and versatile OXO Steel POP Coffee Container for a more budget-friendly option.

We started with 14 coffee canisters and put them through a series of tests to assess design, ease of cleaning, durability, performance, and value. To keep the tests as fair as possible, we purchased two bags of the same coffee with the same roast date for each canister.

After testing, we revealed the canisters' prices to assess their performance for the cost. At the time of testing, the least expensive canister was $17 and the most expensive was $75, with an average of about $40.

Storing coffee beans properly requires protecting them from both air and moisture with a tight seal. Most models have a flexible silicone gasket that squeezes between container and lid to make a seal that significantly reduces the amount of air that gets in and out but isn't completely airtight. Higher-end coffee canisters have a vacuum sealing mechanism to remove as much air as possible from the inside before closing the container. This is the best way to preserve delicate and nuanced flavors.

Ideally, you want your coffee canister as full as possible every time you open a new bag of beans. An empty canister contains more air, which is the enemy of coffee flavor. Confusingly, however, coffee canisters measure capacity in volume, while coffee is sold by weight. A pound of whole beans takes up a little more than a quart of space, but the exact volume varies depending on the exact beans and roast level. Containers with vacuum seals look larger than their actual capacity, so double-check the internal storage before buying based on external measurements alone. If you're not an avid coffee drinker, consider buying smaller bags if you find your beans going stale before you empty your canister.

Stainless steel is a common material for coffee canisters: It's durable, blocks light, and is easy to fit gaskets onto. However, it can cost more and be bulky. Glass and clear plastic allow you to see how many beans you have left, but since coffee can be degraded by light, they must be stored in a dark place. Ceramic and stoneware are opaque and keep light out, but like glass, they can shatter if dropped. Almost all of our top picks are steel; it excelled in our tests for its versatility and durability.

“The general rule of thumb is that coffee beans should be kept away from moisture, air, heat, and light as much as possible,” says Sullivan.

Sealed in the original bag is the best way to keep coffee beans fresh, but after the bag is opened, a canister is better. Sullivan suggests placing your coffee in a vacuum-sealed or air-tight canister and storing it in a dry, dark area like a pantry or cabinet.

Coffee also should not be stored in the refrigerator. Temperatures below 50°F can mute and degrade its flavors, and the high humidity inside can accelerate rancidity.

“Coffee's peak freshness is within a few weeks of roasting,” says Sullivan. “A coffee canister can help prolong that shelf life by reducing light and air and inhibiting the oxidation of flavors so that as time passes it loses the good stuff less rapidly.” But a coffee canister is not magic. Even the most carefully protected beans will be stale and lose flavor after 2 to 3 months in storage.

“For most people at home, buying in bulk isn't recommended due to the rapid aging process of coffee and the better taste when coffee is brewed freshly after roasting,” says Sullivan. But, he notes, if you have to buy in bulk, keep the same philosophies listed above, and keep coffee away from moisture, air, heat, and light as much as possible. Grind as you go, if possible, to preserve the flavor and aroma of your coffee.

Coffee canisters with rubber or silicone gaskets and lids with airtight seals are fine for ground coffee. Ground coffee deteriorates faster than whole beans, but protection from air, moisture, and light slows the process either way.

However, vacuum sealed containers are not a good match for ground coffee. The small bit can get stuck in the pump or disrupt the seal, preventing it from sealing properly or possibly damaging the lid.

Le Creuset Stoneware Canister ($66 at Amazon)

This canister is beautiful and easy to clean, but for the price we would have liked to see a vacuum seal. It performed well but we couldn't justify the cost for the simple design.

Coffee Gator Coffee Canister ($20 at Amazon)

We liked the handy date dial and thought this canister was a good deal for the price. However, we weren't wowed with its mediocre performance at preserving flavor.

Ankomn Turn-N-Seal Airtight Storage Container ($30 at Amazon)

The grounds from this canister were very fresh, but the lid was a bit difficult to use. We weren't impressed with the seal overall, so it wasn't one of our favorites.

Of the rest of the canisters we tested, most didn't make our list because they just didn't keep our coffee as fresh as we'd like. If the coffee from the canister didn't have a marked difference from the beans stored in the bag, we couldn't recommend it. Others came up short due to difficult-to-use lids or faulty seals. Still others performed well but were too expensive for us to feel like they were worth the price.

Bernadette Machard de Gramont is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer specializing in food, wine, and kitchen products. After a two-year stint at Williams Sonoma headquarters in San Francisco, she now researches and tests a variety of cookware, bakeware, and wine tools, and interviews field experts for their insight.