Coffee is a key ingredient in the scientific process for many researchers, so it’s no wonder that researchers often develop an interest in the drink’s physics and chemistry. In a new study, a research team devised an objective method to test both a coffee’s strength and its roast color.
The researchers used a potentiostat to test how an electric current interacted with the brewed coffee and showed how the measurements related to the coffee’s flavor. The method was even robust enough that they could identify which coffee sample came from a batch of beans that had failed a roaster’s quality controls.
While you’re unlikely to use such a method at home, it could be helpful in coffee shops, where baristas try to pin down the variables to produce the same flavor in every cup. (Image credit: M. Kenneally; research credit: R. Bumbaugh et al.; via Ars Technica)
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