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Mathematicians are a step closer to understanding what makes a perfect cup of coffee.
Through some complex calculations, they have shone a light on the processes governing how coffee is extracted from grains in a filter machine.
This could help drinkers optimise their cuppa by applying a more precise - and scientific - approach.
The work is published in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics.
When it comes to coffee grains, size matters.
Read More (Paywalled, abstract only): Asymptotic Analysis of the Dominant Mechanisms in the Coffee Extraction Process DOI:10.1137/15M1036658
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Maths Zeroes in On Perfect Cup of Coffee
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(Score: 1) by DECbot on Tuesday December 06 2016, @04:24PM
I'm actually really interested in the outcome of their study. My wife and I have a 4-cup pour over coffee maker [amazon.com] at home and despite using the same amount of coffee grounds and water, the differences in the way we prepare the coffee makes my wife's coffee always taste weak. I've attributed it to her tendency to skimp on the grounds, despite her claims otherwise. However, after reading this, I think it is the way she pours the water into the carafe. She pours it into the center until it is full, and then waits until she can pour more in. This causes the grinds to settle along the outer edge of the filter and increase the flow rate as more liquid is able to pass through the center and diffuse less coffee from the grounds along the edge of the filter. Conversely, I tend to pour the coffee slowly along the outside diameter of the filter to prevent the outer grounds from settling on the edge of the filter. Not only is the flow of coffee from the kettle to the filter slower, but the flow rate from the filter to the carafe is slower too. This makes the coffee stronger, but additionally risks a bitter brew. The evidence of this study suggests I should continue pouring the water as I do now, but make my grinds a little larger than I do now to prevent bitterness. Additionally, it confirms that my wife makes weak coffee.
Perhaps I need to vary my grind, large grains at the bottom where the greats volume of water passes through and a fine grind on the top and edges. Perhaps I should prepare my own study... More science like this please!
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base