University of Oregon in Eugene Awarded Grant for New Espresso Brewing Control Chart

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has chosen the University of Oregon in Eugene for a four-year espresso extraction research project, supported by the Simonelli Group, "Towards a Deeper Understanding of Espresso Extraction."

The project will focus on espresso extraction, developing formal guidelines around extraction parameters, and creating the first espresso brewing control chart. The launching of this four-year project all about espresso extraction with Simonelli Group was originally announced in October of 2019.

For this project, the University of Oregon will be partnering with Oregon State University and the University of Portsmouth in the UK. The researchers leading this project are Professor Christopher H. Hendon, Assistant Professor of Chemistry are the University of Oregon in Eugene, and Michael C Qian, Professor of Flavor at Oregon State University in Corvallis, and Elizabeth Tomasino, Associate Professor of Enology at Oregon State University in Corvallis. 

Led by principal investigator Christopher Hendon, a team of scientists trained in sensory science, food science, chemistry, and mathematics, will investigate how varying espresso extraction parameters impact espresso's chemical, sensory, and hedonic (enjoyable) properties.

"The University of Oregon is a first-class public research university, and Prof. Hendon is a well-known, pioneering coffee scientist. For this project, they will lead an international research collaboration that is likely to produce exciting innovations in espresso science," said Peter Giuliano, Executive Director of the CSF.

The team will develop a suite of new tools that promise to transform the way espresso is measured, including creating an apparatus for rapidly assessing coffee chemistry and flavor.

The other tool, an espresso brewing control chart, might be a little more familiar to the coffee community. This chart will be like the classic brewing control chart. It will be easy to use; the primary difference will be applying modern sensory, chemical, and physical sciences. 

“As Simonelli Group, we have been committed to coffee research activity with the Research and Innovation Coffee Hub and other research centers for over 10 years. We are really happy this important project has been assigned to the University of Oregon as a research partner," said Lauro Fioretti of the Simonelli Group. "We believe with this research we can improve espresso brewing knowledge and develop new tools that can be useful for all of the coffee community. We are available to give the university and researchers all the support needed to ensure this project can produce the best possible outputs.”

Research outputs from the Espresso Extraction Project, and other Coffee Science Foundation research projects will be presented at upcoming SCA events, webinars, and publications.