Coffee extracts contain thousands of different compounds, many of which contribute to the quality of the flavour profile. Minor fluctuations in the ratios of these compounds gives rise to major differences in perceived flavour. However, to date the industry is only able to the measure the average total solvated mass (%TDS), or use cost prohibitive and slow chromatography methods.

Electrochemistry offers one route to measuring coffee components in real time, and provides insights into both the quantity of compounds as well as their identity. Together, our approach provides unparalleled insight into what is solvated in the cup, while also being very cheap to build and operate.

This talk will cover the fundamentals of electrochemistry, a demonstration of its utility, and a real-time demonstration. This work is supported by the Coffee Science Foundation and the Cottrell Scholars award, in partnership with Nuova Simonelli.

Lecturer: Christopher H. Hendon, Professor of Chemistry, University of Oregon