Humans drink 2.25 billion cups of coffee a day. It's clear that coffee has a hold on our collective reward circuitry - including that of scientists and entrepreneurs, who have been improving our understanding of the beans and developing ways to brew better coffee.
1. Coffee Evolution
A team of international researchers recently taught us a lot more about our morning cup, biologically speaking. In a study published earlier this month, the authors sequenced the genome of the coffee species Coffea canephora, better known as Robusta and often used in instant roasts. Coffee’s genes encode for numerous enzymes involved in the production of flavonoids and alkaloids, compounds that serve various metabolic and defense functions for the plant. Luckily for us, they also contribute to coffee’s aroma and flavour. As might be expected, coffee DNA ramps up caffeine production for various evolutionary reasons.
Caffeine serves as an insecticide, causing certain predators to drop dead or bug off. It also seeps into the soil from fallen fruits and seeds, inhibiting the growth of competitor species. And some insects appear, like us, to enjoy an energy boost from caffeine, keeping crucial pollinators coming back. The benefits are apparently so valuable that, according to the study in Science, caffeine appears to have evolved independently in coffee, tea, and cacao, rather than in a common ancestor to all three plants.
2. Acoustic Coffee Roasting
Coffee snobs, listen up. Soon you'll be able to hear your way to the perfect roast. Java aficionado and associate professor at the University of Texas Preston S. Wilson has devised a technique to monitor and control coffee's flavour and degree of darkness using nothing more than the cracking sounds the beans make during roasting.
Coffee beans release steam and gas as they’re heated, resulting in a cluster of "first crack" sounds at around 200 degrees Celsius. Wilson likens them to popcorn popping. Those first sounds are followed by a round of "second cracks" when the beans reach 230 C, which, Wilson says, sound more like the rustle of Rice Krispies in milk. "I had the idea that roasters could use a microphone to record these sounds,” he says, “and use automated signal processing to help monitor the roast."
Wilson is currently working on commercializing the approach. He envisions outfitting all sorts of coffee peddlers, from small artisan roasters to industrial scale beaneries. In the meantime, home roasters could benefit from beans-dropping. If you’re after a light breakfast blend, then cut the power as the first cracks trickle in. If you prefer something rich and toasty, then let those second cracks ring.
3. Coffee Chemistry
Like wine or whiskey, coffee is chemically complex. To date, more than 850 volatile organic compounds (VOC) - those that evaporate readily and contribute to most aromas and odours - have been identified in roasted coffee. However, a group of Swiss and German researchers have gone a step further, clarifying how these compounds evolve throughout the coffee roasting process; they published their findings in the Journal of Mass Spectronomy.
The technology they used - Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, or REMPI-TOFMS - allows for the real-time analysis of the changing VOC profile of roasting coffee, and how it's affected by bean varietal and batch size. The idea is to apply their findings on an industrial scale for precise roast and flavour control.
4. It’s All in the Water
Coffee shops can perfect their process all they want. But as Christopher Hendon, a chemistry graduate student at the University of Bath, recently confirmed, that vintage 1950s German Probat roaster might have been a waste of US$30,000 if you're brewing with bad water.
Working with a team of award-winning baristas, Hendon determined that coffee’s flavour varies tremendously based on the hardness or softness of the water. Hard water contains minerals like magnesium that stick to and extract coffee bean flavour compounds such as eugenol, which kicks in woodiness. Brewing with soft water, on the other hand, results in a simpler, typically milder flavour profile.
Because water quality is so critical to coffee taste, specialty shops have often optimized their brew based on the local supply, while chains like Starbucks, in the interest of consistency, opt for pure water. Home roasters could benefit from looking up the hardness of their tap water and checking with the nearest coffee specialist to find out which beans might be best.
5. Cream, Sugar, or Butter?
A decade ago, former Silicon Valley exec Dave Asprey was exhausted from hiking the Himalayas - until he sipped a traditional Tibetan concoction of tea mixed with yak butter. Once back in the States, Asprey set out to brew a similar energy elixir. His company, Bulletproof Coffee, created a blend of cow butter, triglycerides from coconut extract, and low-toxin coffee (beans with less mould contamination than usual). He claims his brew sharpens mental acuity and increases energy but avoids the coffee jitters and crash.
Bulletproof is marketing its drink as something of a novelty, but the fact is that buttered coffee is common to many cultures. Coffee is packed with antioxidants; and fats, including saturated fats in moderation, have been linked with improved brain function. Of course you could draw the same benefits from drinking black coffee and consuming fats separately, but then you’d miss out on Bulletproof’s rich, creamy, latte-like flavour.
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Top image credit: ACM Chapter for The Florida State University.
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