9 best coffee canisters – stylish ways to seal your coffee to keep the flavors fresh

Never underestimate the humble coffee canister. You can dream big – buying lavish beans, grinding them in a premium grinder, and using them in an expensive machine – but if you don't store your coffee grounds or coffee beans properly, it's all time and money wasted. 

The best coffee canisters cover all the essentials for storing ground coffee at home: they're airtight, UV-resistant, and spacious. However, it's also important that they offer extra luxury touches and stylish finishes. 

I'm a firm believer that all coffee bar essentials can look good whilst working effectively too. That's why I have hand-selected this collection of coffee canisters. They've got form and function expertly balanced. You could even buy a set for your loose-leaf tea, cookies, and sugar too.

The best coffee canisters

How we research coffee cannisters

Normally, our experts have in-person experience with everything we recommend to you. However, in this instance, we couldn't get our hands on every coffee canister. In the absence of our normally rigorous tests, our experts spent hours researching and selecting the best coffee canisters on the market. We looked at the standard measures: UV protection, seal, humidity, as well as price, capacity, and appearance. 

Once a canister had passed these tests, we looked through all the customer reviews online, checking, double-checking, and triple-checking the claims that a brand makes about each canister. We've chosen these because we think they represent the needs of a range of coffee drinkers. However, if you see one that you like and it's not on our list, let us know. We're always interested in recommendations. 

I, a former barista, have come across more coffee canisters than I could count. All of them were good, but these are the nine that really stood out (and which have a wide appeal). If you're interested in learning more about the process, we have lots more information on our page for how we test.

How to choose the best coffee cannister

Coffee canisters come in all shapes and sizes, so it doesn't really matter how they look. You can't use any random jar or container for your coffee beans, because they need to be kept in very specific conditions.

The best coffee canisters are airtight, UV-resistant, light-resistant, and humidity-free. These are all elements that will degrade your coffee quickly, so it's important to keep beans away from them. If you can keep your coffee in a vacuum-sealed, opaque container, it'll stay fresh for months.

Beyond those simple functionalities, there are some other important factors to consider:

Capacity
Whilst it doesn't matter if your canister is too big for your coffee beans, it does mean that they'll be exposed to more air and so will likely degrade quicker. Try to match your canister capacity with how many beans you'll have in one go.

Aesthetics
In your kitchen, coffee canisters are really useful. People often buy a set for various grains, cereals, and drinks, so picking ones that match your kitchen style is crucial. You can choose between marble, glass, stainless steel, and plastic options. As long as they still cover the essentials, you can choose whichever canister you like.

Dishwasher safe
Every canister in this list is dishwasher safe because I think it's important that they're easy to clean. However, not every option on the market is. Always double-check.

Price
You can spend hundreds on coffee canisters if you want to. Equally, a set from West Elm won't cost you more than $30. If you're on a budget, you shouldn't need to compromise. When you're spending more than $40 on a canister, you're really paying for a brand name.