What are the main ingredients of coffee beans?

The main ingredients of coffee

1. Caffeine

Caffeine is the most striking of all the ingredients of coffee and has a particularly strong bitter taste. It belongs to a kind of phytoxanthine (animal muscle component). It has the same properties as theophylline contained in cocoa, green tea contains the same theophylline, and the percentage of reduction after baking is very small. Caffeine has a very extensive effect. It will affect various parts of the human brain, heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, muscles and kidneys. The right amount of caffeine will stimulate the cerebral cortex, promote sensory judgment, memory and emotional activity, and make the myocardial machinery more active. Vasodilation enhances blood circulation and improves metabolic function. Caffeine can also reduce muscle fatigue and promote digestive juice secretion. Caffeine also promotes kidney function and helps get rid of excess sodium ions (chemicals that block the metabolism of water molecules). Caffeine does not accumulate in the body like other narcotic and excitant substances (* * products, paint solvents, stimulants, etc.) and is excreted after about two hours. But eating too much can lead to caffeine poisoning. The most important characteristic of coffee flavor, ─ bitterness, is caused by caffeine.

2. Tannic acid

After extraction, tannic acid will turn into a yellowish powder, which can easily blend into water, and after boiling, it will decompose and produce pyrosylic acid, which will make the coffee taste worse, and if it is brewed and left for several hours, the color of the coffee will become thicker than when it was just brewed, and it is also less tasty, so there is the saying that "it is best to drink it as soon as possible."

3. Fat

The fat in coffee plays a very important role in flavor. Analysis shows that there are many kinds of fat in coffee, the most important of which are acid fat and volatile fat. Acidic fat refers to the presence of acid in fat, whose strength varies with different types of coffee; volatile fat is the main source of coffee aroma, it is a kind of aroma that emits about 40 kinds of aromatic substances. Once the fat in roasted coffee beans comes into contact with the air, it will change chemically and taste worse.

4. Protein

The main source of calories is protein, and like dripping coffee, most of the protein will not dissolve, so no matter how much coffee you drink, the nutrition you get is limited, which is why coffee will become a sacred food for dieters.

5. Sugar

Raw coffee beans contain about 8% sugar. After roasting, most of the sugars are converted to caramel, which browns the coffee and combines with tannins to produce sweetness. Without sugar, you will not only feel the bitterness of caffeine and the sour taste of tannin, but also feel sweet, which is caused by the sugar contained in the coffee itself.

6. Minerals

The minerals in coffee are lime, iron, sulfur, sodium carbonate, phosphorus, chlorine, silicon and so on, which account for a very small proportion and have little effect on the flavor of coffee.

7. Crude fiber

The fiber of raw beans will be carbonized after baking, which combines with the caramelization of sugar to form the hue of coffee, but the fiber turned into powder will have a considerable impact on the flavor of coffee. Therefore, we do not encourage the purchase of powdered coffee beans, because this can not taste the flavor of the coffee.

8. The bitter acidity of coffee

The color, aroma and taste of coffee are caused by a series of complex chemical changes that take place during roasting. Therefore, raw beans must go through appropriate chemical procedures to achieve the most balanced state of its essential ingredients in order to be regarded as the best baked beans. The aroma of coffee changes with the heat, so the baking time should be shortened as much as possible, and the heat should be controlled at the lowest temperature that can produce effective chemical composition of coffee beans, that is, the time and heat of the shortest process, so that coffee beans can produce the most suitable composition ratio.

9. Fragrance

Aroma is not only the life of coffee quality, but also the best expression of coffee production process and roasting technology. Among them, the climate of the place of production, elevation, variety, refined treatment, harvest, storage, and the appropriateness of the baking technology of the consuming country are the conditions that influence the aroma of coffee beans. The results of gas chromatographic analysis showed that the aroma of coffee was composed of hundreds of volatile components such as acid, alcohol, acetaldehyde, ketone, ester, sulfur compound, phenol, nitrogen compound and so on.

Generally speaking, fat, protein and sugars are important sources of aroma, while lipids are mixed with the sour and bitter of coffee to form a smooth taste. Therefore, the disappearance of fragrance means that the quality is getting worse, and the relationship between aroma and quality is very close.