By Howard Bryman
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and its scientific support organization The Coffee Science Foundation (CSF) have provided updates on two new research initiatives for the benefit of the coffee industry. The areas of focus in the studies in question are espresso extraction, and whole-bean coffee retail packaging.
In one announcement, the project called "Towards a Deeper Understanding of Espresso Extraction" that was first made public in October 2019 will officially be conducted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, with financial support by the Simonelli Group. Outcomes from this four-year research project will include a new program of measurement and assessment tools for the flavor and chemistry of espresso, as well as the first espresso brewing control chart.
The chart will be similar in format to the classic brewing control chart, which provides a clear, graphical representation of how various brewing recipes result in specific strengths and extraction percentages.
For the project, the University of Oregon will partner with Oregon State University and the University of Portsmouth in the UK. Research will be led by Professor Christopher H. Hendon.
"The University of Oregon is a first-class public research university, and Prof. Hendon is a well-known, pioneering coffee scientist," CSF Executive Director Peter Giuliano said in the announcement. "For this project, they will lead an international research collaboration that is likely to produce exciting innovations in espresso science."
The second announcement revealed a new two-year project with the goal of gaining greater understanding of how consumer perceptions of specialty coffee quality, value and other attributes are affected by such variables in packaging its shape, size, color, texture, the sound it makes, and the imagery printed upon it.
The research, which comes at a time when substantially greater numbers of people are purchasing packaged coffee for consumption at home, is to be conducted in partnership with packaging design and printing company Savor Brands.
“For many years, Savor Brands has been pushing the limits in redefining how specialty coffee is perceived by elevating brands through packaging,” Savor Brands Director of Coffee Marc Marquez said in the announcement, “We are pleased to be partnering with the Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Science Foundation on this research and look forward to working with everyone to share these results with the industry.”
With PhD coffee researchers trained in various fields including psychology, food science, and/or multisensory product evaluation leading the research, outcomes from the project are expected to include a series of article publications and coffee industry event lectures.