Scientists Invent a Way to Brew Espresso With Ultrasonic Waves—No Hot Water Required
Key takeaways
- The experimental system directs ultrasonic waves directly into the filter containing the ground beans in water.
- To generate those microcurrents, the scientists designed a device capable of transmitting ultrasonic vibrations throughout the entire filter basket, transforming it into a sort of acoustic reactor.
- The goal of this entire process, described in greater detail in this month’s issue of the Journal of Food Engineering, is to achieve a concentration comparable to that of an espresso.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Guido Mieth/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story What do you need to make a good espresso? Ground coffee, of course; a machine capable of generating pressure; and hot water, preferably heated to between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. And that’s it. But could one perhaps do without that last element? No, not the water itself, but the need to heat it.
The Colombian researcher Francisco Trujillo led a team at Australia’s University of New South Wales that claims to have invented what it calls “ultrasonic espresso.” As Trujillo explains, it is “a room-temperature brewing process that uses high-frequency sound waves to extract the flavor, oils, aroma, and caffeine from ground coffee.”
Although the process takes longer than the conventional method (three minutes versus 30 seconds), it consumes 75 percent less energy—a considerable benefit for coffee shops and restaurants, but especially for businesses that produce industrial quantities of coffee, such as those making ready-to-drink products.