Comments on: An iPhone App, a Refractometer, an Objectively Perfect Cup of Coffee

By: Jay Warner

Jay Warner — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:45:06 +0000

Mr. Buchanan probably does need to tighten up his experimental methods. Restricting to 2 or 3 variables, for one thing, and _carefully_ performing a properly designed experiment (DoE) That’s what a DoE is – preplanned testing with interpretable results. I would also urge him to take two response (outcome) measures – one his magic number of 19 [units?], the other a taste test of some kind. It is harder to quantify ‘taste,’ but some people do it for beer already, on two or three axes (variables). Surely coffee experts do as well.

To encourage Mr. Buchanan, I report development, through suitable experimental methods, of a ‘perfect’ recipe for baking bread in a bread machine. It’s not a kind available in a recipe book, it comes out within a narrow range of size and quality almost every time, and it flexes enough to predict recipes for slightly alternate types of bread. Mr. Greg (9/21, 2:46 pm) probably wouldn’t understand.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:07:58 +0000

Okay, I’m interested in knowing more about Buchanan’s results, eg – a scatter plot of the results of the attempt to hit the 18% – 22% range. You know, the basic range, mean, mode mantra.

Or, if he’s not that careful, (anal?), of a note keeper, at least an idea of how consistent his results might be. Consistency and only having one dependent variable might help.

And, I’d assume that he at least tasted the results of his efforts; what were his beliefs in how it tasted?

At first I feared I was going to have to switch to an iPhone, refractometer and this app, but now I think I’ll stick with what my own taste buds tell me and not get into another endeavor that will test the strength of my marriage.

Thanks, Jen, for the great reporting.

Mark

By: Jennifer Welsh

Jennifer Welsh — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:04:25 +0000

Greg,

I don’t know about you, but I would still like to try a cup that lands in that “perfect” area instead of my usual street-cart brew. Maybe I’m just an unsophisticated coffee brute!

Thanks for reading and leaving your opinion!

Jen

By: greg

greg — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:46:08 +0000

But the whole MojoToGo thing represents everything misapplied about science. Subjective things like taste can be partly measured, but it’s sheer idiocy to believe there’s a numerical formula to unlock the “perfect” coffee — despite years of Martha Stewart espousing the virtues and accessibility of “perfect”.

Good coffee has a lot of science that is not acknowledged relative to its supposed art. But it is cynical efforts like this, poised to profit from the “perfect” mantra emanating from food TV saturation, that confuse the pedestrian act of measurement for honest science.

If measurement were science, we’d have Nobel Prizes for weathermen.