Uneven Extraction, Building Trust, and Easy Iced Coffee

• Uneven extraction in coffee brewing

  By W. T. Lee, A. Smith, and A. Arshad in Special Issue on Food Physics by AIP Publishing

  “A recent experiment showed that, contrary to theoretical predictions, beyond a cutoff point, grinding coffee more finely results in lower extraction. One potential explanation for this is that fine grinding promotes non-uniform extraction in the coffee bed. We investigate the possibility that this could occur due the interaction between dissolution and flow promoting uneven extraction. A low dimensional model in which there are two possible pathways for flow is derived and analyzed. This model shows that, below a critical grind size, there is a decreasing extraction with decreasing grind size as is seen experimentally.”

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• When Technology Fails: Strategies and Critical Skills for Coffee Roaster Operations

  By Anne Cooper for Roast Magazine

  “Often referred to as an old-school and subjective technique, noting the physical color changes of the bean throughout the roast is absolutely fundamental to the ‘how’ of roasting. As roasters, we must bring to the roasting machine how we want to roast—how do you want to turn those beans brown, or at what rate do you want to see the beans go through the various stages of physical color change?”

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• Why do specialty coffee brands care about consumer trust so much?

  By Vasileia Fanarioti for Perfect Daily Grind

  “For any successful consumer-facing business, building trust is key. Without this, you struggle to create long-term customer relationships and you can struggle to succeed. There are many reasons why building trust is essential, but perhaps the most crucial is that it increases brand loyalty. Customers who trust a company are far more likely to continue buying its products and recommend the brand to other people.”

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• Baristas Report That This Is the Best (and Easiest) Way To Make Iced Coffee. After Hours of Testing, We Agree

  By Danielle Calma for Well+Good

  “The weather plays a significant role in how I take my coffee—and when temperatures finally reach anywhere above the (very specific) temperature of 59°F, I like it ice-cold. The warmer months are high time for frequent iced coffee drink runs, but alas...anyone who relies on the stuff knows that all those $7 cafe-bought cups can quickly turn into a hefty monthly expense if it’s an everyday habit. To each their own, I say, but at the speed at which I sip my caffeine—and my lack of restraint to savor it—I’ve taken to making homemade iced coffee to help myself save money and time this summer.”

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• How do specialty roasters manage their green coffee supply?

  By Daniel Lancaster for Perfect Daily Grind

  “Roasting also enables us to grind and brew coffee as the beans become more brittle. However, at the same time, roasting makes coffee a much less stable product. Green coffee can stay fresh for between six months and one year after harvest. Roasted coffee, however, only remains fresh for a matter of weeks. Once roasted, coffee is more susceptible to a number of environmental factors, such as heat, light, moisture, and oxygen. Ultimately, when exposed to these variables for a significant amount of time, coffee loses its distinctive flavours and aromas more quickly. Eventually, it will taste stale and flat.”

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