Espresso is your instant pick-me-up in the morning. The thing that gets you going. Containing more caffeine than your average cup of coffee, either a single shot espresso, or a double espresso, is sure to get you up and rolling.
But how long does espresso last in your body and the fridge? If you like espresso and prefer to make a lot at once rather than making individual cups, how long will your espresso last in the fridge?
How Long Does Espresso Stay Fresh?
Typically, an espresso shot is 1oz of water to 2oz of ground coffee. This should leave you with roughly 212 milligrams of caffeine in your typical espresso shot. Dark roasted coffee beans are most commonly used to infuse greater flavor into the shot.
If you like to brew your espresso in large quantities, you can expect your espresso to stay fresh for up to a day after the initial brew. Brewed espresso should be kept in an airtight container to maintain the freshness of the brew.
Conversely, regular coffee (or instant coffee) can stay fresh in the fridge for up to three or four days. Either brewed coffee or espresso made with hot water should be left on the counter to cool before entering the fridge.
Why Does Espresso Expire?
A shot of espresso or double shot will start to expire after a day in the fridge. Unless you’re trying to produce cold espresso, most people will drink their espresso hot.
Part of the problem is that espresso is a highly concentrated coffee, and it packs a lot of flavor into a small cup, which will become bitter after about a day as the chemical compounds begin to change.
Like all coffee, after the roasted coffee beans are ground, they begin to lose their flavor, which is true of regular coffee and instant coffee. Espresso has a shelf life of around a day until the ground coffee begins to settle, reducing the effects of caffeine.
How Long Can You Keep Espresso in the Fridge?
People who enjoy cold espresso should keep their fresh espresso in the fridge for about a day. After that, you’ll notice a bitter taste in your cups of coffee.
How Long Does Espresso Last in Your System?
The typical shelf life of caffeine in human body system is usually about five hours. This means you’ll likely still be feeling the effects of caffeine for about ten hours after drinking an espresso. This elongated period of time that you’re feeling the effects of caffeine is because of the high amount of caffeine in a single shot of espresso – about 212 milligrams.
The average caffeine tolerance of the average adult without feeling too many adverse effects is roughly 400 milligrams per day. This is usually about four cups per day for regular coffee drinkers, and a double shot of espresso just about exceeds that limit.
How Long Does Espresso Take to Wear Off?
The average shelf life of hot espresso in the human body is eight to ten hours. You’ll likely feel an extra energy spurt for an hour or two. Espresso stays in your system for so long because of the amount of caffeine packed into such a small amount of brewed coffee.
Can Espresso Keep You Awake?
Most people who drink espresso prefer to do so in the morning. This is because espresso drinks achieve maximum flavor due to their brewing method. Having one shot of hot coffee in the morning, then making the rest of your espresso coffee last the rest of your day (as cold coffee) is the best way to use your leftover coffee.
Espresso has a shelf life of eight to ten hours in your system. So, it would be best to stretch your espresso over two days or only have a single shot before mid-afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Know You’re Buying Fresh Coffee Beans?
The most important date on your bag of fresh coffee beans is the roast date. To make sure you’re getting fresh coffee, you’ll want to buy beans that were roasted no more than two weeks ago.
There are many different types of coffee beans, but two of the most popular types are Robusta and Arabica coffee beans.
Robusta coffee beans contain more caffeine than Arabica coffee beans. Ideally, you should buy your beans whole and grind them yourself each time you make to ensure you maintain the freshness and aromatic qualities of the Nectar of the Gods.
How Long Does An Iced Coffee Drink Stay Good?
Iced coffee will keep better for longer due to the fact that the caffeine is extracted at a slower rate from coffee grounds that are kept in cold water. Cold brew coffee usually stays good for three or four days post-creation. Meanwhile regular brewed coffee will last a day or two.
Can Different Types of Coffee Last Longer?
In general, yes. Depending on the type of coffee, some will keep better than others in the fridge. The most important thing about keeping coffee in the fridge is that it’s kept in an airtight container. Oxygenation will cause the coffee to go bad faster.
Brewed coffee generally keeps for at least two weeks in the fridge – the same is true for cold brew coffee.
Espressos only last two days in the fridge – so if you’ve made a double shot, but only drank half, drink the other half within the next 24 hours.
If you want to ensure that your coffee (no matter which type) lasts as long as possible – do not add milk! Keeping your coffee black will stop any milk messing with the freshness, taste and quality of your coffee after refrigeration. Milky coffee of any type can be stored for around 2 days in the fridge, but will need to be drank after that.
How Can You Make Espresso Last Longer?
Because of the amount of caffeine in an espresso and the chemical processes that take place when it’s poured (highly pressurized water forced through ground coffee), your espresso should be drank within a day of being made, even if kept in the fridge.
The only way to make your espresso last a little longer is to keep it in an airtight container, and even then, you should drink it within 48 hours of brewing it.
Can Coffee Be Reheated?
Yes! Almost all coffee can be reheated – however, reheating coffee changes the flavor by rearranging the chemical profiles – releasing more acidity from the already brewed coffee by breaking down the acids found within the coffee oils.
You can reheat brewed coffee once per day without compromising the taste too much. However, it’s not a best practice and certainly not something that leads to a desirable caffeinating outcome!
