science Archives - The Coffee Compass

Time to re-write that Brewers Cup competition routine. According to a new study, coffees brewed at different water temperatures are indistinguishable at the same extraction percentage and concentration. The paper, a collaboration between the Coffee Science Foundation and the UC Davis Coffee Center, was published in the academic journal Scientific Reports under the rather catchy title “Brew temperature, at fixed brew strength and extraction, has little impact on the sensory profile of drip brew coffee.”

Researchers at UC Davis used a Curtis C4 batch brewer to brew a washed Honduras at 87°, 90°, and 93° celsius. Other brewing parameters such as grind size and total contact time were adjusted to achieve the same extraction and strength with each brew. A trained panel of professional tasters were unable to significantly distinguish between the different brews….

Scientists at The University of California Davis have successfully sequenced coffea arabica‘s genome. The findings have been posted to the public database Phytozome.net so the breeders and researchers around the globe can have access to the data. The project, which was funded by the Japanese beverage corporation Suntory, was complicated by the fact coffea arabica has four sets of genomes, twice as many as most plants, including other species of coffee. Researchers chose to sequence UCG-17 Geisha’s genome, an heirloom coffee variety indigenous to Ethiopia but now being grown commercially in California. Geisha varieties are known for disease resistant qualities and researchers hope their finding will help coffee producers fight leaf rust and other diseases. Watch a video and read about the the findings from actual scientists here.

Science Says Brew Temperature Doesn’t Matter — Sort Of

Scientists Sequence Coffea Arabica Genome