The Science of Coffee Storage and Preparation - Good Empirical Data?
The internet is crawling with theories for storing and making good coffee. Some are very speculative and some based on good science about the chemical properties of coffee beans. What I haven't found yet are many, if any, rigorous studies on coffee storage and preparation. Again there is a lot of individual wisdom and experience but not much systematic research. Am I missing something or is there simply not much of this being done?
The best I can find are a few articles by Cooks Illustrated. While I trust their reserach, everything they do is geared towards the average consumer meaning that they tend to look at grinders under $50 and use grocery store coffee. That makes their findings, even if right, irrelevant to most of the folks here.
Is anyone else doing research like this? Whether it's basic questions such as how much of a difference does freezing your coffee really make or how much of a difference does consistency of grind size make? Or more specialized procedures such as tamping? Or more consumer oriented questions, is your average customer going to notice if you don't tamp at 30 pounds or buy the next higher priced grinder.
The best I can find are a few articles by Cooks Illustrated. While I trust their reserach, everything they do is geared towards the average consumer meaning that they tend to look at grinders under $50 and use grocery store coffee. That makes their findings, even if right, irrelevant to most of the folks here.
Is anyone else doing research like this? Whether it's basic questions such as how much of a difference does freezing your coffee really make or how much of a difference does consistency of grind size make? Or more specialized procedures such as tamping? Or more consumer oriented questions, is your average customer going to notice if you don't tamp at 30 pounds or buy the next higher priced grinder.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chad Maslanka on
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apparently not too many people are doing these exeriments... I recall an old issue of roast having the data you request in one of their articles. Check out the archives and see if you can find them.
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Permalink Reply by Timmateo Dominck on
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Michael Sivetz began conducting research on this topic about 50 years ago and his data is a treasure trove of information. If you have access to the SCAA online library you'll find a number of presentations that he has given on the topic. Otherwise his book Coffee Technology and the Coffee Primer represents a significant representation of his work.
The Illy book Espresso Coffee is another valuable resource.
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Permalink Reply by Christian on
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Thanks for the tips on Roast Magazine and the books.
I also have to answer my own question by adding that there seems to be a lot on Home Barista that gets to this very issue. There's even this fantastic study on whether to freeze espresso or not (http://www.home-barista.com/store-coffee-in-freezer.html), which hasn't seemed to have gotten as much attention as it should. While the conclusions are pretty specific, its interesting to see that freezing might not matter as much as people think it does.
The point here of course is that when you study this sort of thing, the results don't always match up to the common wisdom.
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I couldn't agree more. We do tests here at the roastery, and it seems that a lot of common sense items don't match up the way you think they should.
If you haven't seen coffeegeek.com, check out the experiments that they do as well. Very usefull stuff...
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The HB results on freezing echo Sivetz's research. He is a strong believer in freezing for freshness however he notes significant differences in longevity based on oxygen content present in the package when the coffee is frozen.
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Permalink Reply by Tera on
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I have been researching much of what you are asking over the last few years because I wanted to know how to roast. Any experts I have spoken with and any research I have read said NEVER freeze coffee, it breaks down the natural oils and the chemical make up of what makes coffee so grand. I was always told to just store it in room temp. and if at all possible get your beans green and roast them yourself because the bean composition breaks down so rapidly after it is roasted, it literally starts to break down about an hour after it is roasted! I am sure you have tasted the difference between fresh roasted coffee and already ground and roasted coffee. It is a huge difference! I think preparing and storing coffee is kind of a personal pref. Best advice I can give is learn all you can about roasting coffee, what works best and good machines. Learn the science of it; that will help you better understand the process and how you think you should roast and where to get beans from. I prefer sweet and nutty flavors of coffee most days but I do enjoy a good stiff brew in the winter. Brewing a great cup of coffee is the easy part, realizing that it is the roasting process that creates that flavor is the fun part. You can actually roast beans at home in one of those old fashioned popcorn things you put on a stove and crank the handle around. FYI, it smokes so be careful but the rewards are awesome. Experiment and have fun, you won't regret it.
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I just said what I have learned about freezing below but I disagree on it not making much of a difference. I have frozen grounds and beans and it seems to take away the armoa and the deepness of the coffee. NOt to mention it has that freezer smell to it when I take it out. This is just a thought, but maybe people in here like me who have a nose like a blood hound and taste buds to match can tell when the coffee has been in the deep freeze but the common individual who doesn't appreciate coffee like I hope all of us in here do, can't really tell the difference. And it's not that they don't love coffee but myself and you all are more obsessed with the foundation of coffee, we want to know what makes it tick so to speak. Coffee is so much like wine and you really have to understand it to truly love it and judge it.
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