University of Oregon Researchers Adapt Battery Testing Tool to Analyze Coffee Chemistry

University of Oregon researchers repurposed a potentiostat, a tool typically used to test batteries, to send an electrical current through coffee and identify the drink’s chemical fingerprint that determines flavor. The technique offers an objective measurement of what people like in a cup of coffee. Christopher Hendon, the lead researcher known around campus as “Dr.

Traditional coffee tests mainly focus on measuring the strength of coffee. Yet factors that go into the way coffee tastes include roast color and extraction strength. ” He added, “Until now, we haven’t been able to separate those variables.

During testing the researchers used four samples from the same English roaster. They identified a defective sample that had failed the roaster’s quality control despite the identical appearance of all four batches. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications.

Bryan Quoc Le, a consulting food scientist and founder and CEO of California-based Mendocino Food Consulting, noted that the science still relies on expensive components to become a feasible technology. Le said the advance “now we have a way to access the subjective quality in the taste and flavor of coffee using quantifiable measurements.

” The research team’s work moves beyond measuring the strength of coffee alone to produce a more complete flavor profile that cafés can replicate.

Com reported that an inconsistent cup can make or break a customer’s day, and the new method aims to deliver more reliable flavor across the industry.