1 Fun Thing
Scientists have found that an enzyme in one of the 4 compartments of a cow’s stomach has the ability to break down most commonly used plastics. The discovery could lead to new technology for processing such materials after use.
3 Coffee Facts
In the late 19th century, Hills Bros in San Francisco became the first ever roastery to use cupping to evaluate coffee. And it was only in 1984, that the SCAA came up with a cuppers handbook by Ted Lingle.
According to GC–O (gas chromatography olfactometry) research by Samo Smrke, floral odours and notes in coffees often come from a compound called beta-demascenone, one that is likely generated during the roasting process as it is found in darker roasted coffees too. However, the research reveals that there is more than one compound responsible for floral orders, and that there are varying qualities of floral.
A blooming espresso uses a combination of flow and pressure profiling to mimic filter brewing. An initial high flow rate of ~8 ml/s is used to quickly saturate the puck following which the pump is cut to allow the coffee to bloom. After 30 secs, ramp up to 9 bars of pressure and ramp down as the puck degrades. This allows one to grind finer without have too much channeling and tends to work really well for lighter roasts that are usually more challenging to extract.