Unroasted coffee does best in moderate humidity, mild temperatures, and ventilated storage conditions. If you have these conditions, then storing the beans in breathable containers should work well.

The best storage conditions for raw coffee is probably in your basement, or somewhere that is not subject to large shifts in temperature and humidity.

If you can get cotton cloth or burlap bags, use them. Coffee needs to breathe so moisture cannot condense around it, so don’t lock it up in an airtight vault, tomb or cedar chest. Direct sunlight is not good either.

You should be able to store for at least 3 years this way. Although some people claim to be able to store green coffee in the right conditions up to 10 years – this may be pushing it a little.

Other coffee affecianados would state that if you store it for over 3 years you could consider it an “aged” coffee, but you will need to treat it to special care if you want to have aged coffee – it needs to be on a process of rotation which takes place within an environment similar to where it was harvested so it does not dry out.

So, bottom line is let it breathe somewhere with a constant temperature, out of sunlight, and use by 3 years or so.