Feb. 21, 2008 - It is amazing how little we know about ourselves...
Hopefully, I am figuring out the details as I get older, but when I look back to my late teens, when I knew "exactly who I was", I have to laugh. The extent to which I misunderstood myself was made very evident at this Coffee Fest to which I just went.
Long ago, when I was choosing my major, I knew I wanted NOTHING science related, and so I settled for a major in business. Luckily, I did come to my senses, and switch to an English major, but then I never finished anyway, so it was really all a moot point, but still an interesting exercise.
So, as we discuss our businesses and went to business oriented seminars at the fest, I feel my brain just sort of glaze over when anything statistical starts popping up. Business plans and 25 page lease agreements which I am supposed to read are basically incomprehensible, mainly because I instantly lose consciousness.
So what interested me at Coffee Fest? Chemistry. Coffee chemistry. Did you know there was such a thing? What a career! I never knew I liked science until I started homeschooling. Last year when we did chemistry, I was hooked. I don't know what I learned in my high school AP chem, but apparently it wasn't much, because I felt like I had never learned any of the stuff I was now teaching my kids. But it sure was cool!
So when we sat down in this coffee seminar and he started throwing around words like emulsification & suspension I perked (whoa! a pun!) right up. Did you know that making drip coffee is just a physical reaction, but espresso, because of the heat and pressure is actually a chemical reaction? Espresso isn't just strong coffee, it is a completely different thing. Here is a quote from the Josuma Coffee website:
In more technical terms, espresso is a colloidal dispersion produced by emulsifying the insoluble oils in ground coffee. These oils don't normally mix with water, but under the intense pressure (9 to 10 bars) generated by commercial espresso machines, these oils are extracted from ground coffee, formed into microscopic droplets, and suspended in liquid coffee concentrate. It is this emulsification of oils, which forms the crema, that distinguishes an espresso from strong coffee.
Whoa.
Who would have guessed I would ever find a statement like that incredibly interesting. Not me. Leny was rolling his eyes at my excitement. Apparently, he didn't know who I was either.
Do you see the foamy looking stuff? That is the crema, which is the essence of espresso. Basically it is a bunch of tiny bubbles full of coffee pleasure, waiting to be enjoyed by your senses. Ahhhh.
Comments
Feb. 25, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Jenni in KS
I tried to read this yesterday, but I had very loud people all around me! That is very interesting about the espresso. Interesting even though I'm not sure I completely understood the whole thing. Oh well. I prefer biology to chemistry. I've never had an espresso either because I've heard it's strong and I like rather weak, creamy, sweet coffee:o)
Feb. 25, 2008 - Another science-hater here ...
Posted by Amy/The Foil Hat
until I found soap - it made sense! Now I'm a nerdy middle-aged chemist. Who knew?
