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January 23, 2015

Strange But True!

Q. What makes coffee “the world's most popular drug”?

A. Coffee bean genes help foster the drink's winning flavor, but it's not just genes, says Penny Sarchet of New Scientist magazine. Coffees will taste different depending on where the beans are grown (El Salvador coffee farmer Alisandro Martinez) and how the bean is roasted (James Hoffmann of Square Mile Coffee Roasters of London). As Hoffman explains, bean moisture content, roasting temperature and the color of the ground coffee all factor into taste quality and consistency. Even the water used in the brew is critical, explains Christopher Hendon of the University of Bath, England, with calcium and magnesium ions bringing out the flavor better and bicarbonate ions killing it (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry).


 
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