The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has announced the University of Oregon in the United States as its research partner for a four-year espresso extraction research project.
The project, “Towards a Deeper Understanding of Espresso Extraction,” announced on 16 October 2019, is made possible with support from Simonelli Group.
Supported by the SCA’s Coffee Science Foundation (CSF), the project will focus on espresso extraction, with the aim of developing formal guidelines around extraction parameters, including an espresso brewing control chart. For this project, the University of Oregon will be partnering with Oregon State University and the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom.
The researchers leading this project are Professor Christopher Hendon, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon, Michael Qian, Professor of Flavor at Oregon State University, and Elizabeth Tomasino, Associate Professor of Enology at Oregon State University.
“The University of Oregon in Eugene is a first-class public research university and Prof. Hendon is a well-known, pioneering coffee scientist. For this project, they will lead an international research collaboration that is likely to produce exciting innovations in espresso science,” says Peter Giuliano, Executive Director of the CSF.
Principal Investigator Christopher Hendon, in collaboration with a team of scientists trained in sensory science, food science, chemistry, and mathematics, will deepen the understanding of how varying espresso extraction parameters impacts the chemical, sensory, and hedonic (pleasure-giving) properties of espresso.
Using cutting edge science from each of their disciplines, the team will develop a suite of new tools that promise to transform the way espresso is measured, including the creation of a device that will allow for the rapid assessment of coffee chemistry and flavour.
The other tool, an espresso brewing control chart, might be a little more familiar to the coffee community. This chart will be like the classic brewing control chart in terms of its ease of use, but will be created using modern sensory, chemical, and physical sciences.
“As Simonelli Group, we have been committed to coffee research activity with the Research and Innovation Coffee Hub and other research centres for over 10 years. We are really happy this important project has been assigned to the University of Oregon as a research partner,” says Lauro Fioretti of the Simonelli Group.
“We believe with this research we can improve espresso brewing knowledge and develop new tools that can be useful for all of the coffee community. We are available to give the university and researchers all the support needed to ensure this project can produce the best possible outputs.”
Research outputs from the Espresso Extraction Project and other Coffee Science Foundation research projects will be presented at upcoming SCA events, webinars, and publications.
For more information, visit www.coffeesciencefoundation.org
