Scientists brew coffee-based alcohol

Do you want this drink in a coffee cup or in a shot glass?

 

This might well be the question for this particular type of coffee, whose grounds researchers have reformulated into an alcoholic beverage.

 

An abstract of the study on ScienceDirect.com said the researchers extracted aroma compounds of spent coffee grounds using hydrothermal treatment, then fermented the extract with sucrose to ethanol.

 

"Seventeen volatile compounds were identified in the distillate (including alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and acids), all of them in concentrations able to promote pleasant characteristics to the product. Based on the chemical composition, SCG spirit was considered as having organoleptic quality acceptable for human consumption," it said.

 

At least 12 descriptors defined the sensory characteristics of this product, including clarity and brilliance, coffee, roasted, alcohol, elegance and frankly bitter, astringent and pungent, and finesse. Coffee was the most representative aroma by olfactory analysis, the study said.

 

"Based on the sensory analysis, SCG spirit was considered as having features of a pleasant beverage, with smell and taste of coffee," it added.

 

A separate article on ScienceMag.org said the raw material came from a Portuguese coffee roasting company and was dried by the researchers.

 

The researchers then heated the powder in water at 163 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes, separated the liquid, and added sugar and mixed in yeast cells.

 

The result? a beverage with 40 percent ethanol, "comparable to other hard liquor such as vodka and tequila," it said.

 

But there's a setback of sorts: it won't necessarily keep you awake.

 

"Don’t count on the caffeine to keep you awake, however; most of it disappears in the brewing process," ScienceMag said. — TJD, GMA News