The $21 Coffee Accessory I Couldn’t Live Without

You can buy all sorts of coffee accessories. A creamer that’s shaped like a cow? Yup. A mug that connects to your phone and keeps your coffee heated to a specified temperature? Of course! A mold that’ll make ice cubes that look like coffee beans? Obviously! While of these accessories may be nice to have, they’re not always all that necessary. But I’d like to take a minute to talk about one that is 100 percent necessary: OXO’s POP Container that’s made specifically for coffee beans and coffee grounds.

If you’re not familiar with the brand’s POP Containers, let’s back up a sec. Perhaps the most iconic products in the brand’s entire portfolio, the POP Containers really do POP when you open and close them. Push the button and you’ll hear that satisfying sound, which assures you the airtight seal is working. The containers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and home cooks and professional chefs alike love them for storing shelf-stable pantry ingredients.

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Now, back to the coffee version. It’s just like the normal SteeL Containers (which are POP Containers with stainless steel lids instead of plastic), only it’s tinted to block more than 99% of UV rays. Why do you care? Because sunlight can cause your beans or grounds to go stale. Before you scoff, know that I’ve kept my coffee in a regular ol’ clear container before (out of curiosity) and I really could taste the difference in a side-by-side brew comparison!

Why don’t I just leave the coffee in the package it comes in? I buy Aldi’s German Roasted Regular Ground Coffee. It’s $5 a bag, bold, and tastes like something a million times fancier. The problem is that the bag isn’t resealable, so while it comes in a foil-lined bag, once I open it, I have to decant it into something else. (A complaint I’ve taken straight to Kitchn’s Aldi contacts!) And even, say, the Dunkin Donuts bags that have a built-in twist tie aren’t exactly airtight. So whether you chose to grind your own beans or you like to buy the pre-ground stuff, this container offers the protection you need.

How do you store your coffee? Do you buy beans or pre-ground coffee?