Is this the secret to the perfect espresso?

The perfect espresso is closer than we think.

Many liters of ink (and even more liters of coffee) have been spilled in the pursuit of the perfect, ideal espresso. Different roasts, different origins, blends or single origin coffees, gadgets for the machine, temperature and grinding control and the list is endless. The most die-hard espresso hobbyists have certainly filled notebooks with notes, changing and re-changing their variables.

A group of scientists, in a recently published study, claims that the secret to the perfect espresso is hidden in... a spoonful of water!

What exactly does the study support?

The team of scientists who "ran" the study discovered that adding a little water to the coffee beans before grinding helps to make the espresso tastier and the results of the extractions more stable. But where does this come from, according to the study?

When coffee is ground, the friction between the beans creates electricity, which results in coffee 'grind' as various particles stick to the grinder walls or blades. A little water before grinding significantly reduces the production of static electricity, at the same time reducing these losses and significantly enhancing the taste and aroma of the coffee. Christopher Heldon, a member of the team and a professor at the University of Oregon, notes characteristically: "Water not only reduces static electricity, and by extension makes the grind 'cleaner', but it can also make the drink 'thicker' and with the concentrations of the perfumes higher".

The researchers experimented with various coffee beans, taking into account different origins, different degrees of roasting and different processing methods (washed, natural, decaf), concluding that these factors do not differentiate in any way the production of electricity during grinding, making the water a necessary "trick" in the hunt for the perfect espresso shot.



Comparing coffee grinding to… a volcano eruption

As part of the research, the scientific team collaborated with geologists specializing in the field of volcanic eruptions, in order to obtain data on the production of electricity during volcanic activity. Joshua Mendez Haprer, an expert in the field, notes: “The magma breaks into smaller pieces as it exits the crater. The friction between these particles produces electricity, to the point that lightning is sometimes seen during volcanic eruptions. It's exactly the same mechanism that goes into operation when coffee beans are ground into powder."



The hunt for the perfect espresso does not stop here of course! As Professor Heldon himself says: "We just know one secret to better extractions – the research now begins."