Researchers Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood (left) and Dr Christopher Hendon (right) experimenting with different coffee grinds and brews. Photo Credit: University of Bath
A group of researchers at the University of Bath in England found that the chiller coffee beans are before grinding, the more flavorsome coffee is.
Scientists explained that the chilling process promotes a more even distribution of small particles during grinding. As a result, the coffee will release more flavor during brewing. Additionally, scientists claim that you can obtain more coffee from the same amount of material if you chill beans first.
The research team believes that the recent findings could help the coffee industry brew tastier beverages at lower costs.
In their study, the team tested the impact of different temperatures on roasted coffee beans. The lowest temperature was minus 196 C (minus 320 F). The experiment revealed that coffee was tastier when beans were chilled to the lowest temperatures.
Apparently, the chilling process promoted the production of finer coffee grinds which released more flavor compounds than regular coffee. Dr Christopher Hendon, lead author of the study, explained that the chilling process traps the flavor within the beans so they can later produce more flavor when brewed.
Dr. Hendon and his fellow researcher Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood also found that the method reduces brew times and even allows them to obtain larger quantities of coffee from the same amount of beans. Study authors noted that the taste will be changed because the size of coffee grinds does make a difference.
Dr. Hendon said that the study results could inspire coffee industry to come up with stronger brews as it already struggles to obtain high quality beverages from really powerful tools.
The study was first published in April in the journal Nature and republished this week in Scientific Reports.
The owners of the of Colonna & Smalls coffee shop in Bath, which provided the coffee and tools for the experiment, noted that such subtleties in the grinding process can have a huge impact on flavor. The coffee shop said that the newly acquired knowledge will help it produce better tasting coffee in a more efficient manner.
Researchers also recommend keeping the temperature of coffee beans constant if you plan to obtain consistent grinds. The team expects that their findings to be used in coffee contests worldwide as people will start to experiment with different temperatures and grinding methods in their search for the perfect tasting coffee cup.
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