Coffee Grinding Science Fair Projects

Coffee

Coffee is a product that can be very interesting to examine. It requires multiple processes to turn raw beans into brewable coffee.

EDU 7080 Detectolab Kit	EDU 8355 Super Chem Kit	Young Scientists Club Set 4
Ages 8 and up	Ages 10 and up	Ages 9 - 12

Objectives/Goals

The objective to my experiment was to discover the optimum grinding time of coffee beans to make the darkest coffee within a given percolation time.

Methods/Materials

The way in which I measured this was I shot a laser beam through a coffee sample and into a solar panel.
Then I measured the millivolt output of the solar panel to see how dark the coffee was.

Materials:
coffee beans, coffee maker, coffee grinder, water, laser pointer, solar panel, voltmeter, plastic transparent container

Results

I discovered that at approximately 12 seconds of grinding time the millivolt output of the solar panel was virtually unmeasurable as it was about 4 millivolts which is such a tiny amount. That trial did however comply to the 5:00 minute percolation time maximum as well.

Conclusions/Discussion

This experiment was one designed to benefit the food market and in particular the coffee industry by providing research on how coffee bean grinding times affect the flavor and darkness of coffee. Also, the percolation times are also a key aspect in how this project can benefit the coffee industry. The percolation data which I composed show what the optimum percolation times are for various darknesses of coffee. I think that this experiment can be very useful, and I hope to follow my fascination with the food science field in the future. 3rd party contributor