The Maillard Reaction Makes Coffee Delicious
Coffee is complicated. First, when we talk about coffee, what are we really talking about? Are we talking about coffee beans before they are roasted, after they are roasted, or are we talking about the hot or cold caffeinated elixir that you are drinking right now out of your favorite mug?
Well, the answer is yes and no. A good cup of coffee (the stuff you are drinking) is dependent on the beans you source, the profile and degree to which you roast the beans, the intricacy of your brewing process, the hardness and pH of the water you are brewing with, and many other factors besides.
While the complexity of the coffee process can be overwhelming, there is one reaction that occurs during the roasting process that makes coffee uniquely what it is: the Maillard Reaction.
The Maillard Reaction is named after Louis Camille Maillard, a French chemist (or should we say alchemist) working in the early 1900s who discovered that the distinctive flavors of browned foods such as seared steaks, pan-fried dumplings, the crusts of bread, toasted marshmallows, and coffee beans was due to a chemical reaction that takes place between amino acids (proteins) and reducing sugars.
Louis Camille Maillard
This chemical reaction that occurs between amino acids and reducing sugars forms a variety of complex mixtures of poorly characterized molecules responsible for a diverse range of aromas and flavors. The Maillard Reaction is almost magical as it produces a slightly different flavor profile depending on the particular amino acids in the food item undergoing the process. The reaction is also closely tied to temperature as it only occurs in the temperature range of 280 to 330 °F. This is why most baking recipes call for temperatures high enough to ensure that a Maillard reaction takes place, but low enough that a caramelization reaction does not.
Without getting into the scientific details that occur during the Maillard Reaction, suffice it to say that the Maillard Reaction is what transforms coffee from a tasteless green bean with no aroma into one of the world’s most aromatic and flavorful culinary miracles.
While the Maillard Reaction is amazing in how it transforms food, the complex flavors produced from it are fragile and sensitive to the detrimental effects of oxidation. Because of this, it is important that food that has been transformed through a Maillard Reaction be treated carefully as it moves through the supply chain to the consumer. This is especially true for coffee producers. If you have all of these amazing flavor compounds that come from the Maillard Reaction but they are lost because you cannot maintain freshness through the supply chain to the customer, they are good for nothing. If you can’t preserve and deliver the flavor of your product to your customer, then why go to all the trouble to produce it in the first place?
Where We Come In: Bridge Analyzers Delivers Coffee Quality Control through Headspace Gas Analysis
Bridge Analyzers Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) gas analyzers are used by our coffee customers during their Quality Control testing processes to confirm that their finished, packaged product is fully sealed from air intrusion and incorporates the proper gas mixture necessary to meet the desired levels of freshness, flavor, and aroma that they have worked so hard to put into their coffee.
At Bridge Analyzers we are honored to have the opportunity to help some of the best coffee companies in the world innovate and discover new ways of delivering high quality coffee products to their consumers.
If you want to learn more about how we can help you, feel free to contact us at sales@bridgeanalyzers.com
Photos courtesy of Science History Institute and Inc.com