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New coffee jar has that plastic seal inside of it to keep the coffee fresh:

However, to this day I never found a way to remove it without leaving some of it stuck to the rim of the jar:

See what I mean? It's ugly, and sometimes small pieces fall into the coffee itself which is highly annoying.

Any hacks to remove that seal in its whole?

So far I've usually tried:

  1. Pealing off the seal with my hand. Result: what you see in the second image above.
  2. Using scissors or knife: more elegant, less chance of pieces falling to the coffee but it would still always leave something behind.
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  • Not a perfect answer, but it peels better when warm. BTW, this is even more of a nuisance on bottle with liquids, e.g. hydrogen peroxide, where the label may contaminate the liquid.
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 16:24
  • @DrMoishePippik sounds reasonable, but the question now is how you make it warm? If you have answer for this, this might be worthy of an answer IMO. :-)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 16:27
  • Put it near an oven, or, for the OCD, use a hair dryer ;-)
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 16:38
  • 1
    hehe, near oven sounds good enough. Why not in the oven?
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 18:34
  • does leaving a rim of seal and cutting around itinleave the coffee fresher when putting the lid back on?
    – user9401
    Commented Sep 11, 2015 at 11:39

5 Answers 5

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Personally, I like to use a knife. You can just stab the knife in the packing, right on the edge of the can's circular top. Then, you can just go around the edge of the can, cutting through the seal. This will leave a ring around the top of the can, but you can remove that by cutting a small line in it and then just peeling it off.

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8
  • The last part never really worked for me (just peeling it off), it always leave something behind, with a knife sometimes even worse than by hand.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 16:19
  • You should add things you have tried to your question @ShadowWizard
    – michaelpri
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 16:22
  • Thought LH was different on this aspect, but will add.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 16:24
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    I've used this technique successfully, however you do have to have some restraint; getting distracted and cutting off the entire top of the bottle just leaves you with a new problem.
    – Shog9
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 18:09
  • @ShadowWizard You don't have to, but it makes for a better question, and will also prevent you from getting answers you already tried ;-)
    – Shokhet
    Commented Jan 26, 2015 at 19:47
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Just switch containers after opening the one the coffee came in. Use a clean, opaque, airtight container to store the coffee instead of the one that they provide you. Also from what I can see, the container they give you is clear which is not ideal for coffee storage.

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1
  • Interesting, not really a lifehack but end result is indeed satisfying. As for clear container, got no problem with that - even prefer it ,easier to see what's inside and prevent mistakes. :-)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 16, 2015 at 18:42
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Removing the seal you show has become a personal challenge for me too.

I experimented with all different techniques; but, I was late to the game. Before I found a workable solution someone else discovered that you could peel off the seal like the lid on a canned ham. Then, the problem became how to best grip the edge of the seal to do this.

Enter the perfect Hack: Seal Removal Pliers…

medical 'Kelly' straight hemostats

The needle-nose tips of these pliers have mating jaws that will grip any seal edge firmly, and the locking ratchet-bars on the handgrips maintain the pressure until the user unlocks them. Once locked onto the seal, the pliers are used much like a key is used on a canned ham. You just rotate it across the neck of the container; the seal wraps around the jaw pliers as you do it. When you unlock the pliers, the seal slides off.

`* Up to this point some of you might be thinking that these tools are called hemostats, not pliers. Actually, they could also be called fishing pliers for hook removal, pressure clamps for fine model work, or even parcel-wrapping pliers since they excel at holding crossed ribbons in place as you tie a bow in them. As for their use in surgery, there are probably as many fly-fishing doctors who have such pliers attached to their fishing vests as use them in the O.R.'

I got a pair— satisfying.

Good Luck

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0

From watching How It's Made, I know that the seal has glue that is heat-activated, therefore, I think the idea of heating it should work. It would have to be pretty hot I think, maybe an iron?

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  • Sounds bit risky, I don't want to start a fire. The comments on the question raise similar idea.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 21:19
  • I can't see how there's any fire risk - but it certainly sounds like a lot of trouble.
    – Lefty
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 21:22
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    What about using an iron or heat-gun to make a REALLY good job of cleaning off the seal - then use the same jar all the time afterwards and just "decant" each new jar into your clean one?
    – Lefty
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 21:25
  • By iron you mean something like this, right? Dunno, but having it on plastic sounds risky that's all. (must admit, interesting idea though :))
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 11, 2015 at 21:41
  • 2
    This is a plausible solution, would like to see it tested.
    – Shog9
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 18:10
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Removing it very slowly while pulling back at a sharp angle works. If it tears, start from the other side. The patience required is almost not worth it.

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