View entire thread: Genetically engineered decaf coffee
Posted by manual_drip on 2004-10-16 11:31:20 Post Subject: Genetically engineered decaf coffee
Maybe they could also make genetically engineered increased-caffeine coffee?
Coffee without a buzz?
Plants genetically modified to lose caffeine
By ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press
For those who love the full flavor of real coffee but can't handle the kick, the genetics revolution may have a solution.
Researchers say they have genetically engineered coffee plants that have 70 percent less caffeine than usual in their leaves. The crucial question for brewing coffee - whether beans from those plants will have less caffeine - won't be known for three to four years when the plants mature, said study author Shinjiro Ogita.
However, the results indicate it should be possible, according to the researcher's report in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
The researchers at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan used RNA interference - an increasingly popular genetic tool - to manipulate the plant, interfering with the gene responsible for an enzyme used to make caffeine.
Experts contend a caffeine-free bean would be an improvement over current decaffeination processes, which use water or organic solvents to remove the stimulant from the beans before they are roasted, taking out some flavor and aroma as well.
Alan Crozier, a University of Glasgow researcher who has worked on genetically modifying coffee, said the Japanese group is the first to engineer the plants to produce less caffeine.
However, concerns about genetically modified foods and a lack of interest by the coffee industry could slow development, Crozier said.
"I suspect it will come in first at the boutique end of the market and grow from there," Crozier said. "If it were to take over, clearly it's a much cheaper way to produce decaffeinated coffee."
Pablo Dubois of the London-based International Coffee Organization, which includes coffee-producing and consuming nations, said genetically modified foods "are regarded with wide suspicion in Europe" and current decaffeination processes are well established.
John Stiles, a scientist working to develop a caffeine-free coffee plant for Waialua, Hawaii-based Integrated Coffee Technologies Inc., said the Japanese researchers have not yet reached the commercial decaffeination level of 97 percent.
Stiles said the Hawaiian company hopes to have plants ready for field use in a year. While the Japanese researchers used the robusta variety of coffee plant, Stiles said the Hawaiian work uses the more commercial arabica variety.
Ogita said the Japanese researchers are also working on arabica plants and should be able to eventually remove all caffeine.
Coffee plants make caffeine in a three-step process. The targeted gene in the modified plant normally prompts the plant to produce an enzyme that carries out the second step, said Hiroshi Sano, one of the paper's authors.
RNA interference eliminates the chemical messenger the targeted gene sends to the cell's protein-making machinery.
The researchers are also working to induce plants other than coffee to produce caffeine, which would act as a pest repellant, Sano said.
At the Daily Grind in Baltimore, some welcomed the news of the genetically modified coffee plant and others were as lukewarm as a half-finished cappuccino.
Marcia Sternbergh, 52, of Baltimore said she prefers regular coffee for the taste, "and the jolt."
At night, though, she would drink the non-caffeine kind.
Harold Cones, 60, of Newport News, Va., who has to drink decaf because of an irregular heartbeat, said he would welcome the new coffee because he could avoid caffeine and get the flavor.
"Oh, that would be good. There's a difference," Cones said, sipping a decaf. "Every now and then I have a cup of real coffee and it's really nice."
While some decaf is good, Cones said it tends to get stale because it's not ordered as much. The real thing is still the best, however.
"Sometimes, you get that cup of coffee," Cones said, "and you think you're high in the mountains, in an old hotel, and the aroma goes up into your sinuses and you say, 'That's a good cup of coffee.'"
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/silico ... 115818.htm
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Posted by manual_drip on 2004-10-16 11:31:20 Post Subject: Genetically engineered decaf coffee
Maybe they could also make genetically engineered increased-caffeine coffee?
Coffee without a buzz?
Plants genetically modified to lose caffeine
By ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press
For those who love the full flavor of real coffee but can't handle the kick, the genetics revolution may have a solution.
Researchers say they have genetically engineered coffee plants that have 70 percent less caffeine than usual in their leaves. The crucial question for brewing coffee - whether beans from those plants will have less caffeine - won't be known for three to four years when the plants mature, said study author Shinjiro Ogita.
However, the results indicate it should be possible, according to the researcher's report in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
The researchers at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan used RNA interference - an increasingly popular genetic tool - to manipulate the plant, interfering with the gene responsible for an enzyme used to make caffeine.
Experts contend a caffeine-free bean would be an improvement over current decaffeination processes, which use water or organic solvents to remove the stimulant from the beans before they are roasted, taking out some flavor and aroma as well.
Alan Crozier, a University of Glasgow researcher who has worked on genetically modifying coffee, said the Japanese group is the first to engineer the plants to produce less caffeine.
However, concerns about genetically modified foods and a lack of interest by the coffee industry could slow development, Crozier said.
"I suspect it will come in first at the boutique end of the market and grow from there," Crozier said. "If it were to take over, clearly it's a much cheaper way to produce decaffeinated coffee."
Pablo Dubois of the London-based International Coffee Organization, which includes coffee-producing and consuming nations, said genetically modified foods "are regarded with wide suspicion in Europe" and current decaffeination processes are well established.
John Stiles, a scientist working to develop a caffeine-free coffee plant for Waialua, Hawaii-based Integrated Coffee Technologies Inc., said the Japanese researchers have not yet reached the commercial decaffeination level of 97 percent.
Stiles said the Hawaiian company hopes to have plants ready for field use in a year. While the Japanese researchers used the robusta variety of coffee plant, Stiles said the Hawaiian work uses the more commercial arabica variety.
Ogita said the Japanese researchers are also working on arabica plants and should be able to eventually remove all caffeine.
Coffee plants make caffeine in a three-step process. The targeted gene in the modified plant normally prompts the plant to produce an enzyme that carries out the second step, said Hiroshi Sano, one of the paper's authors.
RNA interference eliminates the chemical messenger the targeted gene sends to the cell's protein-making machinery.
The researchers are also working to induce plants other than coffee to produce caffeine, which would act as a pest repellant, Sano said.
At the Daily Grind in Baltimore, some welcomed the news of the genetically modified coffee plant and others were as lukewarm as a half-finished cappuccino.
Marcia Sternbergh, 52, of Baltimore said she prefers regular coffee for the taste, "and the jolt."
At night, though, she would drink the non-caffeine kind.
Harold Cones, 60, of Newport News, Va., who has to drink decaf because of an irregular heartbeat, said he would welcome the new coffee because he could avoid caffeine and get the flavor.
"Oh, that would be good. There's a difference," Cones said, sipping a decaf. "Every now and then I have a cup of real coffee and it's really nice."
While some decaf is good, Cones said it tends to get stale because it's not ordered as much. The real thing is still the best, however.
"Sometimes, you get that cup of coffee," Cones said, "and you think you're high in the mountains, in an old hotel, and the aroma goes up into your sinuses and you say, 'That's a good cup of coffee.'"
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/silico ... 115818.htm
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View entire thread: Caffeine eating bacteria
Posted by Rowley on 2004-10-15 12:23:28 Post Subject: Caffeine eating bacteria
Scientists at the Emory University in Atlanta are working on training bacteria to remove(eat) the caffeine straight from the coffee plant.
Reuters has the article.
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Posted by Rowley on 2004-10-15 12:23:28 Post Subject: Caffeine eating bacteria
Scientists at the Emory University in Atlanta are working on training bacteria to remove(eat) the caffeine straight from the coffee plant.
Reuters has the article.
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View entire thread: Coffee Tech: Ripening Synchronization!
Posted by tintinet on 2004-06-04 18:04:02 Post Subject: Coffee Tech: Ripening Synchronization!
"Next time you plunk down $4 for a cup of gourmet coffee, consider thanking the anonymous laborers who harvested the beans that went into it. The best coffees use handpicked beans, "because the fruits of a coffee tree do not ripen uniformly and, thus, there are both mature and immature fruit on the same tree," according to a new US patent (6,727,406).
A dearth of cheap labor has forced many growers to adopt methods in which workers indiscriminately harvest beans from branches, ripe or not. Mechanical harvesting is another option, but mechanical harvesters also don't efficiently distinguish mature from immature beans. And poor quality beans make a poor pot of coffee.
Into this breach (fortified by a strong cup of Kona, no doubt) stepped a group of scientists at the University of Hawaii who determined that coffee beans are climacteric, that is, they boost respiration and ethylene synthesis just prior to ripening. To control these processes en masse, the group has devised a method to eliminate the synthesis of two enzymes critical to ethylene synthesis by introducing sense or antisense nucleic acid sequences into the coffee plant's genome.
The coffee growers can thus regulate the ripening of the fruit. "By application of ethylene to the entire plant, the entire plant will ripen at once, making manual and mechanical harvesting of coffee more productive." Hopefully they'll wash it off before Starbucks gets the beans. "
From The Scientist June 7, 2004
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Posted by tintinet on 2004-06-04 18:04:02 Post Subject: Coffee Tech: Ripening Synchronization!
"Next time you plunk down $4 for a cup of gourmet coffee, consider thanking the anonymous laborers who harvested the beans that went into it. The best coffees use handpicked beans, "because the fruits of a coffee tree do not ripen uniformly and, thus, there are both mature and immature fruit on the same tree," according to a new US patent (6,727,406).
A dearth of cheap labor has forced many growers to adopt methods in which workers indiscriminately harvest beans from branches, ripe or not. Mechanical harvesting is another option, but mechanical harvesters also don't efficiently distinguish mature from immature beans. And poor quality beans make a poor pot of coffee.
Into this breach (fortified by a strong cup of Kona, no doubt) stepped a group of scientists at the University of Hawaii who determined that coffee beans are climacteric, that is, they boost respiration and ethylene synthesis just prior to ripening. To control these processes en masse, the group has devised a method to eliminate the synthesis of two enzymes critical to ethylene synthesis by introducing sense or antisense nucleic acid sequences into the coffee plant's genome.
The coffee growers can thus regulate the ripening of the fruit. "By application of ethylene to the entire plant, the entire plant will ripen at once, making manual and mechanical harvesting of coffee more productive." Hopefully they'll wash it off before Starbucks gets the beans. "
From The Scientist June 7, 2004
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View entire thread: Coffee Tree
Posted by ekimrayd on 2008-11-02 09:38:49 Post Subject: Coffee Tree
Is it possible to get a coffee plant/tree from different countries?
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Posted by ekimrayd on 2008-11-02 09:38:49 Post Subject: Coffee Tree
Is it possible to get a coffee plant/tree from different countries?
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View entire thread: Types of coffee
Posted by equus007 on 2006-06-30 23:29:55 Post Subject: ummm
Wow(no offense) but you are either really new to this or this post is a joke.
what the hell I'll bite(its late and I have nothing else to do anyway)
green beans are unroasted coffee. I suppose you can brew them but it would be real bitter
coffee is not actually a bean its a seed pit like olives have have. They grow within "cherries"-the fruit of the coffee plant(its a tree...some say a shrubb)
there are several types of coffee...we drink 2 of them Robusto and Arabica
Robusto grows at low(er) altitudes and is usually less flavorful but some people prefer it for some reason. Usualy described as tasting like a brown paper bag.
Arabica grows at higher altitudes. Most coffees you buy now are Arabica.
Coffee takes its flavor from the soil it is grown in therefore coffees from different geographical regions taste differently.
Most coffee comes from either Central/South America, Africa or Indonesia
African coffee tastes "dirty". Its strong and processed differently than the others usually...unwashed
Coffee from the Americas is the most common here in the US. Less bitter than African but it has a variety of "flavors"
Indonesian coffees are usually more mellow in flavor. Personaly prefer them for my regular morning cup. Very "drinkable" for people who don't drink alot of coffee and can't handle bitter flavors.
They can and are often blended together.
Any type of these coffees can be used in any of the coffee drinks however they all use espresso unless you are talking about drip("regular")coffee.
Espresso is a term used to describe the way in which the coffee is brewed and the fineness to which it is ground....not the roast though this a common misnomer. The coffee used is usually one of the darker roasts but this varies from location to location. It is also a common misnomer that the darker a coffee is roasted the more caffine it will have. It is the opposite.
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Posted by equus007 on 2006-06-30 23:29:55 Post Subject: ummm
Wow(no offense) but you are either really new to this or this post is a joke.
what the hell I'll bite(its late and I have nothing else to do anyway)
green beans are unroasted coffee. I suppose you can brew them but it would be real bitter
coffee is not actually a bean its a seed pit like olives have have. They grow within "cherries"-the fruit of the coffee plant(its a tree...some say a shrubb)
there are several types of coffee...we drink 2 of them Robusto and Arabica
Robusto grows at low(er) altitudes and is usually less flavorful but some people prefer it for some reason. Usualy described as tasting like a brown paper bag.
Arabica grows at higher altitudes. Most coffees you buy now are Arabica.
Coffee takes its flavor from the soil it is grown in therefore coffees from different geographical regions taste differently.
Most coffee comes from either Central/South America, Africa or Indonesia
African coffee tastes "dirty". Its strong and processed differently than the others usually...unwashed
Coffee from the Americas is the most common here in the US. Less bitter than African but it has a variety of "flavors"
Indonesian coffees are usually more mellow in flavor. Personaly prefer them for my regular morning cup. Very "drinkable" for people who don't drink alot of coffee and can't handle bitter flavors.
They can and are often blended together.
Any type of these coffees can be used in any of the coffee drinks however they all use espresso unless you are talking about drip("regular")coffee.
Espresso is a term used to describe the way in which the coffee is brewed and the fineness to which it is ground....not the roast though this a common misnomer. The coffee used is usually one of the darker roasts but this varies from location to location. It is also a common misnomer that the darker a coffee is roasted the more caffine it will have. It is the opposite.
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View entire thread: NesCafe Instant Coffee
Posted by celement on 2005-06-12 17:18:39 Post Subject: Please Don't
I try diligently not to buy products of Nestle...its my own little boycott and I'd like to tell you why.
Nestle Co employed my sister, many of my classmates parents, and ran an instant coffee plant in Ripon, CA for nearly 70 years. While they are diligent about cleaning up the mess they created (due to the law) they closed the plant in the 1980's and put the 160 people employed there out. This after earning plant awards for productivity and exceeding goals almost every year. It was a big part of the community in Ripon - a town of about 7000 at the time.
When they closed it they wrote the community a nice letter, thanked the city for its dedication, and told us in writing the market for instant coffee was declining and they just had to close it.
6 months later a news of note in the Wall Street Journal appeared: Nestle Open new Instant Coffee Plant in Vietnam.
They lied to our community after being part of it for 70 years. I'll never buy their products. I'll avoid them as much as I can forever. I hope others will to. Let them sell their instant coffee in Vietnam.
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Posted by celement on 2005-06-12 17:18:39 Post Subject: Please Don't
I try diligently not to buy products of Nestle...its my own little boycott and I'd like to tell you why.
Nestle Co employed my sister, many of my classmates parents, and ran an instant coffee plant in Ripon, CA for nearly 70 years. While they are diligent about cleaning up the mess they created (due to the law) they closed the plant in the 1980's and put the 160 people employed there out. This after earning plant awards for productivity and exceeding goals almost every year. It was a big part of the community in Ripon - a town of about 7000 at the time.
When they closed it they wrote the community a nice letter, thanked the city for its dedication, and told us in writing the market for instant coffee was declining and they just had to close it.
6 months later a news of note in the Wall Street Journal appeared: Nestle Open new Instant Coffee Plant in Vietnam.
They lied to our community after being part of it for 70 years. I'll never buy their products. I'll avoid them as much as I can forever. I hope others will to. Let them sell their instant coffee in Vietnam.
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View entire thread: Guatemalan Coffee
Posted by daman on 2003-04-28 21:06:58 Post Subject: Guatemalan Coffee
My wife just got back from Huehuetenango, Guatemala and wanted to share some photos that she took of both the coffee tree and how her mom roasts the coffee. Mmmmmm Gooood!
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4853.jpg
Coffee Plants on the farm.
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4855.jpg
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4857.jpg
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4856.jpg
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4837.jpg
After picked from the plant they are shelled and roasted.
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4875.jpg
Mmmmmm. Toasty
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4867.jpg
Placed in a basket to cool, and ready to grind.
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4869.jpg
This coffee is very strong. I need to find out what the coffee plant is called in both Spanish and English. Her mom is coming back to the States and we are thinking about taking orders.
CoffeeLover received his first pound from the farm and I am still waiting to hear how he likes it.
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Posted by daman on 2003-04-28 21:06:58 Post Subject: Guatemalan Coffee
My wife just got back from Huehuetenango, Guatemala and wanted to share some photos that she took of both the coffee tree and how her mom roasts the coffee. Mmmmmm Gooood!
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4853.jpg
Coffee Plants on the farm.
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4855.jpg
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4857.jpg
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4856.jpg
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4837.jpg
After picked from the plant they are shelled and roasted.
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4875.jpg
Mmmmmm. Toasty
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4867.jpg
Placed in a basket to cool, and ready to grind.
http://dynamicnation.com/Huehue/IMG_4869.jpg
This coffee is very strong. I need to find out what the coffee plant is called in both Spanish and English. Her mom is coming back to the States and we are thinking about taking orders.
CoffeeLover received his first pound from the farm and I am still waiting to hear how he likes it.
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View entire thread: Coffee Beans
Posted by johnny773 on 2008-09-26 21:04:10 Post Subject: Coffee Beans
A coffee bean is the seed of the coffee plant (the pit inside the red or purple fruit). The fruits, coffee cherries or coffee berries, most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together.
Coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm that contains 0.8 - 2.5 % caffeine, which is one of the main reasons the plants are cultivated.
excerpt from cafe blogs
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Posted by johnny773 on 2008-09-26 21:04:10 Post Subject: Coffee Beans
A coffee bean is the seed of the coffee plant (the pit inside the red or purple fruit). The fruits, coffee cherries or coffee berries, most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together.
Coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm that contains 0.8 - 2.5 % caffeine, which is one of the main reasons the plants are cultivated.
excerpt from cafe blogs
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View entire thread: Difference between American and Europian espresso..why??..
Posted by CCafe on 2007-02-16 06:24:51 Post Subject:
There are two main species of the coffee plant Arabica and Robusta. Robusta is generally considered less flavorful and can have more bitter qualities to it. Italian roasters tend to throw it in the mix to help lower the cost of the product. They use it a lot and have perfected it to an exact science.
You were most likely experiencing the Robusta in your espresso. Call all your local coffee roasters and ask if they use any Robusta in their espresso blend.
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Posted by CCafe on 2007-02-16 06:24:51 Post Subject:
There are two main species of the coffee plant Arabica and Robusta. Robusta is generally considered less flavorful and can have more bitter qualities to it. Italian roasters tend to throw it in the mix to help lower the cost of the product. They use it a lot and have perfected it to an exact science.
You were most likely experiencing the Robusta in your espresso. Call all your local coffee roasters and ask if they use any Robusta in their espresso blend.
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View entire thread: Coffee in america
Posted by MrBox on 2006-06-23 17:55:21 Post Subject: Coffee in america
Why can't or doesn't coffee grow in the lower 48 states?
it seems to me that places in the southeast would be pretty similar to the caribbean in climate
My friend bought a coffee plant (lives in south georgia) a year or so ago I'm pretty sure its still live and kicking hasn't fruited yet.
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Posted by MrBox on 2006-06-23 17:55:21 Post Subject: Coffee in america
Why can't or doesn't coffee grow in the lower 48 states?
it seems to me that places in the southeast would be pretty similar to the caribbean in climate
My friend bought a coffee plant (lives in south georgia) a year or so ago I'm pretty sure its still live and kicking hasn't fruited yet.
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View entire thread: organic coffee or regular
Posted by Coffeeexpert on 2008-10-09 14:09:07 Post Subject:
The fact that coffee is grown organic or with pesticides, should not affect your health. Any pesticides used would be sprayed on the plant, and as another poster wrote: "In regards to a coffee plant" this would mostly affect the "cherry" and the seed itself would have pretty much no trace of any chemicals used in growing. We are not dealing with strawberries here. Also, just because a coffee is labeled "Organic" doesn't mean it tastes better. In fact, often the opposite is true. More time is required to maintain a farm organically, and the poor farmers don't take the time, or have the resources to maintain their fields. Finally, organic coffee generally costs more. It's up to you if you want to pay for it. Just remember, a label on a bag- "Organic or Fair-Trade" doesn't mean that the coffee will taste any better.
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Posted by Coffeeexpert on 2008-10-09 14:09:07 Post Subject:
The fact that coffee is grown organic or with pesticides, should not affect your health. Any pesticides used would be sprayed on the plant, and as another poster wrote: "In regards to a coffee plant" this would mostly affect the "cherry" and the seed itself would have pretty much no trace of any chemicals used in growing. We are not dealing with strawberries here. Also, just because a coffee is labeled "Organic" doesn't mean it tastes better. In fact, often the opposite is true. More time is required to maintain a farm organically, and the poor farmers don't take the time, or have the resources to maintain their fields. Finally, organic coffee generally costs more. It's up to you if you want to pay for it. Just remember, a label on a bag- "Organic or Fair-Trade" doesn't mean that the coffee will taste any better.
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View entire thread: purchasing a roaster in Canada, afterburner needed? customs
Posted by demetri on 2006-11-22 10:38:26 Post Subject:
There are a lot of great Cafe's here, though my two favorite ones have now closed up shop.
There were three high end roasters that have now merged into just one. There are a few other coffee service companies in town that roast their own beans but I wouldn't call them "high quality". They're pretty average.
There was a Melrose Coffee plant in the city that shut down a few years back. It used to be my favorite spot to drive by on my way to school. The aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans was quite invigorating.
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Posted by demetri on 2006-11-22 10:38:26 Post Subject:
There are a lot of great Cafe's here, though my two favorite ones have now closed up shop.
There were three high end roasters that have now merged into just one. There are a few other coffee service companies in town that roast their own beans but I wouldn't call them "high quality". They're pretty average.
There was a Melrose Coffee plant in the city that shut down a few years back. It used to be my favorite spot to drive by on my way to school. The aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans was quite invigorating.
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