A few things to unpack here:
First – entertain getting a Bluetooth or wifi enabled thermal receipt printer. There are options well under $100. I put one in the kitchen on a whim and use it all the time. I can print photos at low but acceptable resolution and notes from any document editor on my phone. They are ultra-fast and many can automatically snip the note for you – no messy tearing necessary. They especially excel over a pen and stack of post-its when you want to create multiple copies. Also, I have horrendous handwriting (like can’t read my own notes bad sometimes), so printing a quick “don’t forget lunch in fridge” note is fast and easy. I’d love to figure out a way to get a voice assistant to automatically print notes for me but haven’t found a reasonable solution yet.
As for the actual coffee stuff, the best info I’ve ever seen on freezing coffee is already available here so I’m not going to rehash all that – but definitely worth reading if you’ve never seen this before. I don’t decaf often, but sometimes I’ll do a 50/50 blend of decaf and regular in the late afternoon or just really want to brew a late night cup. The only decaf I’ve been able to tolerate is Ethyl Acetate or Methylene Chloride processed, but these are tricky to come across. I prefer to buy locally, but all my local roasters use Swiss water process. Since I’m not brewing it often, my decaf will start to expire, and I quickly lose interest in mixing stale decaf with a fresh roast of the week. Freezing is easy. While it’s also acceptable to just throw the bag in a ziplock and put it in the freezer, the vials save time on the brewing end. You’ll need a funnel to load these. I also love these for throwing in the freezer at work where I only brew occasionally and need it to be very fast.
i read that the thermal paper contains bpa/bps which are linked to health risks
They also fade to unreadability in about 6 months to a year.
Well I’m not framing any of these prints. Frankly I wish this were more true. It would be at least a little bit of an automatic security feature and also an indicator when foodstuff has been around too long. Unfortunately the freezer where I’m keeping these minimizes any fading.
don’t eat it then?
even handling is a concern
Most have removed BPA. BPS risk is theoretical. It would be nice to see a safer alternative though. These types of receipts are still in wide use and the impact on health if any is not clear. I can understand wanting to avoid it though. A lot of people here won’t even brew their coffee with high end thermal resistant plastic, so the tolerance for perceived risks is probably on the low end in the speciality community.
Edit; it’s been awhile since I’ve looked into this. I went back and have found there are now many completely phenol free options. Mine has always been bpa free, but my next batch will be totally phenol free.
Tape over the one way valve and toss it in the freezer. Done. Under FIFO for use means it’s in the freezer no more than 2 months before I use it. I’ve been doing this for a couple years now and have seen no signs of water vapor crystallization or noticed any freezer odors.



