How many beans in your cup?

[t3bcx3]

12 years ago I was inspired by the story in Coffee Floats/ Tea Sinks By Ian Berstein that Beethoven counted 70 something beans for his coffee.
I couldnt recall what number I came up with aswell my preferred coffee style has changed.
So this morning I counted the beans required to make my Doppio(double) Ristretto (restricted short shot).
Im sure it is an 18gram basket in a naked filter, should have weighed it?
I carefully cleaned out my grinder and ground in bunches of 60 beans.
Tipping the grinder up and brushing the blades out between each bunch.
Didnt spill a piece.
Are you ready for it?
180, one hundred and eighty.
Wow, I know have more appreciation for the pickers of cherries.
All those years ago in the 70s and 80 my folks were robbed by the bragging Nescafe blend 43.

[Thundergod]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

I just counted 43 beans and got about 4 grams.
As my scales only have a 1 gram accuracy, I then added another 43 and the new total at first said 9 but flashed a few times to 10 before settling on 10.

So Id be guessing that 43 of these beans would be almost 5 grams.

[t3bcx3]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

Cool
So 43 beans divided by 5 grams is 8.6 beans per gram.
So 18 gram basket would need 154.8 beans.
Is that 8600 beans per kilo? Jeepers.
The difference  between your 154 beans and my 180 could be the size of bean too.
example peaberry vs a big robustan.
Interesting but pointless I guess.
Have you ever noticed how much coffee is in the leading iced coffee brands.
Blows me away.
Not that i buy it, but one brand Real Iced Coffee has .5% coffee in 500 ml bottle.Thats 2.5mls of total volume.
Should rename brand to Real Iced milk and a warning that this product MAY contain traces  of coffee.
L
thanks for contributing too the experiment

[CarrieK]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

 
How much coffee is in a standard shot? What percentage is that in a latte?  Would subtracting the weight of the dried puck from the weight of the coffee prior to extraction work?   :-?    
Now look what youve done, Im going to have to try & dig out my old chemistry scales... the kitchen ones just arent going to cut it are they :  

-Carrie

[fringe_dweller]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

Carrie,

Youre starting to look into what they call on HB "Total Disolved Solids". Thats from memory so dont be too harsh on me if Im wrong :P

Grant

[CarrieK]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

 
Hmmmm TSD...  sounds sorta familiar  ;D

[t3bcx3]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

How much coffee is in a standard shot?What percentage is that in a latte?Would subtracting the weight of the dried puck from the weight of the coffee prior to extraction work?  

Most outlets use 7-9 gram single basket and 18 gram double.
the double is usually used for  2 standard shots or 1 mug shot.
Most lattes are standard 30-40 ml single shot and made milky by using a greater volume glass.
I think the used puck is heavier than the dry coffee because of the added water content.
would love to test but my scales are out of battery power.

[CarrieK]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

 
ViA, thats not how much coffee is actually in your shot once it it extracted though.  Most of that is left behind in the filter basket.  And the 30-40ml isnt relevant when working out the percentage either as it is mostly water.  You would have to dry and weigh the residual puck then subtract that from weight of the coffee you started with.  For the purposes of working out the percentages of ingredients, that is the amount of coffee in your cup.

You might find that your cup should also come with your warning

that this product MAY contain traces of coffee.

  :-/

Cold analysis can suck the soul out of anything  :P

-Carrie

[hazchem]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

hey ViA, thanks for doing the maths on this. Was very handy when my partner Ms Pyjamas asked on the weekend how many beans in a cup!

I think the gagging sounds I was making at the current run of Nescafe green blend TV ads is what prompted her ... ;D

[t3bcx3]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

ViA, thats not how much coffee is actually in your shot once it it extracted though.Most of that is left behind in the filter basket.And the 30-40ml isnt relevant when working out the percentage either as it is mostly water.You would have to dry and weigh the residual puck then subtract that from weight of the coffee you started with.

Hi Carrie
There shouldnt be any coffee (grounds) in your cup, just the oils?
Youre right, weigh the beans, extract the oils, completely dry the puck and re-weigh.
I recall an article suggesting coffee is the only product in the world that is greater once you have used it. The article was about studies done on using extracted beans as a food filler.
I think every cafe could benefit from employing chemistry students.
I have worked with a few and have always found it fascinating to see and hear the science of the process we use to make a great coffee.
I had one student years ago developing a Uni cookie. Condensed milk, anzac biscuits, chocolate and used coffee grounds, blended to make a sweet dry caffeine hit. HMMM HMM. Havent seen it on the shelves yet!
Going for my 180 beaner cup of Trader Petes Whitsunday Gold and then looking for batteries for scales.
Cheers

[t3bcx3]

Re: How many beans in your cup?

I think the gagging sounds I was making at the current run of Nescafe green blend TV ads is what prompted her ...

What is that green bean thing about.
Is it blend 44? I think I could only tolerate 1 green bean.
exaggerated marketing shot at green tea market?
I cant bring myself to give that company any money so would be interested to hear from someone who has tried it.
I wonder the process of making a dissovable green bean?