For a little over 2 months participants in this study have been making and rating coffee beverages, measuring TDS and submitting data online. In that time a couple of hundred samples have been collected. Samples are still being submitted, albeit at a much slower rate than in the beginning.

Participation has until now been limited to individuals with access to a coffee refractometer. In a way this is what makes that study so beautiful, my job is merely to compile the data at the end. The collection is self-sufficient, the only exertion is on the part of the participants.

That said, owners, or frequent users of refractometers are hardly an unbiased group. They are undoubtedly an interesting group, but they may have preconceived ideas based on their familiarity with measuring/tasting based on extraction and strength. With that in mind, I want to introduce the second phase of this research series.

Interested? Apply here.

Varney and Co. have published the top two 2012 World Aeropress Championship recipes online. Charlene and Ingri’s contributions join the growing list of innovative brewing methods for Scandinavia’s favorite brewer, the Aeropress.

Ay chihuahua.

To Zipwhip’s credit, this is basically just a way to show off their cloud-based brand of text message capabilities. They chose to use a coffee maker as an example because they drink a lot of coffee and it (obviously) draws the attention of Laurie Matsukawa or Gene Enerson or whatever, reporter-types from Northwest regional TV news outfits.

We’ve never had the opportunity to try an XS90, but based on this review of Jura’s premium model  and the two KOMO TV shots of the brew action, we’re skeptical of the cup quality. The first shot kind of looks good:

But then, oof, the second shot looks like an Orange Julius:

Here’s some crack copy writing from those KOMO nomos:

The Text-Spresso allows you to text your caffeinated beverage order to the unmanned machine. It then grabs a cup, grinds the beans, and pours you the perfect cup. The machine can also emblazon your name in the foam with edible ink so there is no confusion as to whose is whose.

Zipwhip CEO John Lauer said, “If we’re going to do it and blow some bank on it, we better really make it count.”

That’s some sound advice, John Lauer. If you’re gonna blow it, make it count.

Today, activated carbons or porous coals are used in treatment facilities to draw hydrogen sulfide from sewage. But when coffee grounds are transformed into activated carbon, the researchers found that they sop up sulfur particularly well. That’s because of a key ingredient in coffee: caffeine.

Caffeine contains nitrogen, which increases carbon’s ability to eliminate sulfur from the air, said Teresa J. Bandosz, a chemist and chemical engineer at CUNY and an author of the report. To carbonize the coffee grounds, she and her colleagues mixed the grounds with water and zinc, and then dried the mixture in an oven. Dr. Bandosz hopes that entrepreneurs might take the research and turn it into a business.

A coffee drinker herself, Dr. Bandosz came up with the idea because she throws out piles of coffee grounds. “Fresh coffee would work even better — it has more caffeine,” she said. “But it is not economical.”

Coffee: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.

So of course they occasionally address coffee. In fact, there’s over 903 mentions in their search results, ranging from the mostly-dumb (“Flavor Whole Coffee Beans with Spices”) to the eminently practical (“Rinse Your Coffee Filters for a Cleaner, Better Tasting Cup of Coffee”). But their latest feature really hit us close to home, for it has only been a few weeks since the holidays, and that’s when 1/2 of Sprudge found himself trapped in a remote location with a loving husband, some wacky family members, a delicious bag of coffee, and nary a proper coffee grinder. That’s when we reached for the blender – a home method that has now been endorsed by Lifehacker:

“We wondered if there was a specific way to use the blender to grind the coffee beans, and it turns out there is. eHow suggests setting your blender on “Grind” if you have that setting, or using a speed of eight or nine if you do not and adding small amounts of beans gradually. Of course, you don’t want to run the blender while the top is open. You just grind up a few until they get as fines as they’re going to get, stop, add a few more, and repeat the process. This isn’t a replacement for a proper coffee grinder, and you can often just go into a store with a coffee grinder and ask them to help you out, but if you have to do it at home (or would prefer to) this is a decent alternative.”

It turned out OK. Read the full Lifehacker feature here.

The idea behind this questionnaire about chemistry and coffee was to assess the level of understanding and interest within the SCAA community. In the future, we have the opportunity to incorporate more or less chemistry into our class and certification materials, depending on what we hear from our members. This questionnaire allowed us to understand the average introductory level of content we should incorporate as well as your opinions as to if or where it would be helpful for your business.

In total, 434 people at least looked at this questionnaire. Nine of these never answered any questions, and about half of them didn’t answer any questions past the demographic info. For those questions actually dealing with our opinion on chemistry and how it may or may not help our understand coffee in the future, an average of 158 people answered, about 36%. Of these, about 72% were baristas and 30% were roasters, 30% of which were also trainers and cuppers.

Most of those who answered the questions about basic chemistry (around 150) remembered:

That a pH below 7 was acidic (72% answered correctly)

Covalent bonds are considered strong (82% correct)

How to draw molecules (53% knew that there were 6 carbons in the benzene ring)

The water molecule (89% correct)

Generally, what a volatile molecule was (62% correct)

That water goes from a liquid to gas phase when boiled (83% correct)

An isomer is a different structural configuration of the same molecule (25% correct)

A carbohydrate is made up primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms (21% correct).

Many more (34%) knew that carbohydrates were generally known as sugars.

Finally, perhaps because we are biased, 67% recognized the caffeine molecule.

We hear that Bladkya is finishing up a hard-hitting review of current studies on coffee staling, and we are edging with anticipation. Keep up the excellent work, Emma!

To show our appreciation for our clients and partners this holiday season, we put together a little project to allow them to share in our love for two important staples here at C5: caffeine consumption and data visualization. 150 of our clients, and 50 of our partners received a limited edition print of this interactive coffee poster, which provides a canvas to track consumption data over the course of a month. The instructions outline a few calculations to analyze personal consumption trends. Once monthly tracking is complete, the drinker can use their coffee (or a stronger version thereof) to ‘paint’ their data onto the poster to complete the visualization.

Check out the project and order your very own print via Column Five.

WBC Procedure for the Measurement of Brewing Water Temperature in Espresso Coffee Machines

It is our pleasure to introduce our new Coffee Science Manager, Emma Bladyka. With a Masters of Science in Botany from the University of Wyoming and a Bachelor of Arts in Ecology, Emma comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience in science and research. In this position, Emma will develop goals and strategies for conducting original research in coffee, conduct literature reviews and analysis of existing research on coffee related science, and represent SCAA at industry events and conventions in regards to science and standards, among other responsibilities. According to SCAA Deputy Executive Director, Tracy Ging, “This hire signifies a renewed commitment to developing standards, protocols, and practices that will support strategies to differentiate specialty coffee. With a combination of scientific and research experience plus practical knowledge, Emma will be responsible for driving this effort.”

In her own words, Emma declares herself a specialty coffee “groupie” and is “excited to finally participate in the community on a professional level.” In her academic life she studied biology, ecology, biochemistry, and botany, and, on many occasions, has mused over unanswered questions about coffee growing, processing, packaging, roasting, brewing, and everything in-between. “I think all SCAA members will benefit from incorporating basic scientific principles into their daily activities, and hope that my role at the SCAA will focus on improving the taste of the coffee we all enjoy each day. I am joining the SCAA hot off a job in the wine industry, where I have gathered lots of ideas to transfer to coffee. I plan to start simple, but go big! I am an energetic go-getter and hope many members will take advantage of my coffee science seminars and network of industry-led experiments.”

If you’re reading this and saying to yourself, “Wow, I really wish I could get a job like THAT in coffee”, well, you should probably go get some Masters degrees and stuff. But! The SCAA just announced that they’re looking for a Sales Associate - go read all about it here via the SCAA blog.

Once a classroom terror, now a Mom Blog icon, meet little Rowan Haskell, the boy whose mother treats his ADHD by dosing him up with milky coffee. Rowan gets his caffeine fix once in the morning and once in the afternoon, with mom reporing that it keeps him focused and calm. Rowan (or rather, Rowan’s mother) should really take the next step and try some ridiculous honey washed or natural coffees. I’m sure the now-soporific tween would appreciate some fruit-bomb complexity rather than the brackish brew his mama is servin’ up in that old french press.