October 1 marks International Coffee Day. We’ve looked at various aspects of coffee chemistry on the site previously, but haven’t yet looked at the key divide between coffee beans: arabica and robusta. This graphic looks at the two types of coffee beans and some of their chemical differences.
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Caffeine is a stimulant, and the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive drug. Many of us need our morning coffee to be functional, but others prefer to avoid caffeine due to its effects on sleep, restlessness, or pregnancy. Handily, chemists have come up with several ways for us to enjoy coffee without the caffeine. Here, we take a look at the different methods!
Here’s something a little different for the weekend: a small poster project I’ve been working on for the classroom. I decided it’d be quite cool to have posters showing a variety of common chemical molecules dotted around the room, and, though I’m going to need a few more to complete a full circuit around the lab, here are the ones I’ve got so far.
Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or completely unfussy about the manner in which you get your caffeine fix, there’s no denying that the smell of freshly-brewed coffee in the morning is an invigorating one. The chemistry behind this aroma, though, is far from simple; a complex collection of chemical compounds are responsible, and this graphic takes a look at a selection of these.
Mention coffee, and caffeine is the chemical compound name that immediately springs to mind. However, whilst caffeine’s effects on the brain are well documented – it binds to adenosine receptors in the brain – it has relatively little impact when it comes to the taste of coffee. Coffee, as it turns out, is a cornucopia of chemical compounds that influence its taste; whilst some of these compounds are poorly characterised, one group of compounds about which plenty is known are the chlorogenic acids.
