What transforms coffee from a heap of beans and water into the beverage we all know and love? The answer, in short, is extraction, the process in which water gets all up in your coffee grounds, hangs out for a sec, and then leaves with more than it came with. Were that all you needed to know, everyone would make great coffee all the time. But actually understanding what extraction is, how it works, and then being able to apply it in practice is infinitely more complex.

That’s why The Crown in Oakland is hosting an event titled Understanding Extraction this Friday, March 22nd, where Professor William Ristenpart of the University of California, Davis Coffee Center will discuss the current leading research on extraction. And the best part is, it’s free.

The number of variables affecting extraction is seemingly endless. Water temperature, grind size, roast level, bean density, how you pour the damn water, it all affects what compounds get extracted. For this two-hour event, Professor Ristenpart—a chemical engineering professor and the founding director of the UC Davis Coffee Center—will discuss the chemical properties of extraction and how they affect sensory perception. The event’s description states Understanding Extraction will “debut of some of the most exciting and captivating data showing specific sensory and consumer-liking attributes of different extraction protocols, different roast levels, and even fractions of coffee extractions.”

It all gets started at 6:00pm on Friday, March 22nd in Royal Coffee’s brand new mega-coffee facility The Crown in Oakland (featured here on Sprudge). The event is completely free to attend, but space is limited. To reserve your spot, you can RSVP via the Understanding Extraction Eventbrite page. For more information, visit Royal Coffee’s official website.

And bring your refractometers. I bet Professor Ristenpart wouldn’t mind signing a few.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Images via The Crown.

Disclosure: Royal Coffee is an advertising partner with the Sprudge Media Network

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