San Jose Stateโ Course turns Coffee โฃBrewing into a Science Lesson
SAN โขJOSE, Calif. – San Jose Stateโ University โis offering a unique course this semester โthat blends aโค popular daily ritual with rigorous scientific study: the chemistry, physics, and engineering of coffee. “The Design of Coffee,” spearheaded โคby Chemical Engineering Associate Professor Liat Rosenfeld, is proving to be a hit โwith students and is currently โat full capacity with a waitlist.
The course utilizes the process of roasting and brewing coffee to illustrate core scientific principles, drawing inspiration from a similar decade-old program at UC Davis, which generously shared course materials.โ A key innovation at SJSU is that the class โคfulfills a general education requirement for physical sciences and provides lab credit, contributing to its rapid popularity.
Students attend two lectures weekly and a three-hour lab session were they apply theoretical knowledge through hands-on experimentation.”For example, weโ teach concepts like โmass transfer and flow through a porous medium – which, in this case, is the coffee bed,” Rosenfeld โขexplained. “We also teach pressure-driven flow, like espresso brewing. Then students test how those factors affect the coffee’s taste and chemical composition.”
Lab work โฃincludes measuring variables like pH and analyzing the relationship between acidity and flavor profiles โข- determining whether a coffee tastes sour or bitter. Rosenfeld emphasized theโ critical role of grind size, stating, “It’s definitely underrated. Grind size has the biggest impact โon extraction -โ how โthe chemical compounds move from the grounds โฃinto the water. Changing it changes everything.” She noted that finer grounds generally yield moreโข flavor due to โincreased extraction.
Rosenfeld also โขoffered practical advice for coffee enthusiasts: “Grind your beans as close to brewing as possible. You wantโข to grind it โฃas soon as youโ can before brewing so that it is fresh.” She explained thatโข delaying grinding leads to increased bitterness in the finalโฃ brew.
more than 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed globally each day, making it the world’s second mostโค popular drink after water. Rosenfeld hopes the course will help students connect classroom learning to everyday experiences,โ fostering a deeper understanding of the science behind a beloved โbeverage.