An easy way to improve the taste of your homemade coffee.

Just a few drops of water can improve the taste of homemade coffee.

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This was shown by a recent study by American scientists from the University of Oregon, Smithsonian Magfzine reports.

It turns out that adding a little water to the coffee beans before grinding them helps enhance the flavor of the resulting drink. Plus, this simple step helps reduce the mess of the grinding process and reduces coffee wastage.

It notes that baristas and other coffee experts have long known that sprinkling the beans with a little water or stirring them with a wet spoon helps reduce static electricity during grinding. But new research explains the science behind this intuitive technique.

As part of the study, scientists:

1. collected coffee beans that had been roasted for different times and therefore had different levels of internal moisture;
2. they then sprayed the coffee beans with varying amounts of water before grinding and brewing them into espresso shots;
3. In each batch of ground coffee, they recorded the size of the coffee particles and the amount of static electricity.

When the team brewed coffee, they discovered that the moisture content of the beans before grinding correlated with electrostatic charge:

• Dry coffee beans, like darker ones that were roasted longer, acquired a greater charge during grinding, and this charge was often negative;
• Wetter grains, like lighter ones, acquired a smaller charge, which was more positive;
• the higher the charge, the lumpier the coffee grounds became, and vice versa.

When it comes to brewing a delicious cup, fewer lumps are better because it allows the water to penetrate all the coffee particles evenly, the article says. “Researchers have found that adding a small amount of water before grinding can result in less grinding, fewer lumps, and an approximately 10% increase in the concentration of the resulting coffee.”

This discovery will benefit brewing formats where the coffee is infused with water or small percolation systems.

Where you won’t see a benefit during brewing is with methods like the French press, where you submerge the coffee in water, the scientists note.

Interestingly, this research by scientists concerns not only coffee. One of the researchers was actually a volcanologist, and the study of electrostatic charges in coffee grounds provided a small-scale model for understanding magma particles released from volcanic eruptions.

During the eruption process, these particles rub against each other and charge to a point, forming lightning, the researchers note. “To put it simply, it’s like grinding coffee, where you take these beans and turn them into a fine powder.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Source: Racurs

David

I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.