Imagine two volcanologists and a chemist walk into a coffee shop and come up with a recipe for a more consistent and efficient espresso. Discovery? According to a recent study from the University of Oregon, adding a little water to coffee beans before grinding reduces the static electrical charge on the beans and improves the quality of the drink.
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Chemist and study coauthor Christopher Hendon, known as “Dr. Coffee” emphasizes the importance of this innovation, especially for types of preparation such as espresso. He emphasizes that consistent flow is crucial because it reduces fluctuations between cups and allows baristas to use less coffee, resulting in less waste.
This discovery is a breakthrough not only for busy coffee shops, but also for the large coffee industry, from home brewers to largescale producers. Hendon highlights the power of this research by saying, “We didn’t know how much charge was accumulating in the coffee and that it depended on the water content. “This is powerful because you can turn the charging process on and off.”
Project that revealed the secret to tastier coffee
The project began in a special way during a coffee break in the Hendon laboratory, often attended by volcanologists such as Josef Dufek and Josh Méndez Harper. The connection between coffee and the clouds of volcanic ash, magma and water that these scientists typically study proved intriguing.
In a previous study, Hendon's team found that coffee forms microscopic clumps that interfere with extraction. Suspecting it was static electricity, they decided to investigate further. Although some baristas have already used the Ross Drop technique, adding water before grinding, Hendon's team's research quantifies the benefits and results in a 10% higher coffee yield.
Coffee and volcanic ash?
Volcanologists Dufek and Méndez Harper find parallels between coffee particles and volcanic ash particles. In both cases it is about the interaction of materials in different aggregate states. The internal moisture of the beans proved to be crucial, as dark roasted coffees were more prone to clumping.
Adding water before grinding eliminated static so the beans were less likely to get stuck in the grinder and the water flowed through the beans more evenly. While this discovery benefits coffee lovers, volcanologists are seeing implications for their volcano research by exploring the physics of rupture.