Chilled beans the key to better coffee: study

A team of scientists from the University of Bath in the UK say that brewing more flavoursome coffee could be as simple as chilling the beans before grinding. The scientists studied the effect of grinding beans at different temperatures, from room temperature to -196 degrees Celsius, and found that colder beans meant that the grinding resulted in finer and more uniform particles. In turn, uniform coffee grinds allow for a better extraction of the coffee’s flavour compounds. In addition to lending credence to the idea of chilling beans before grinding, the findings of the study also support the long-held belief among coffee professionals about the importance of the grind itself in achieving the best results in the cup.