Have you ever wondered what gives coffee its distinctive odor? Mental Floss asks what about those chemicals in coffee that aren’t caffeine — what are they, and what do they do? They pointed us to this video from Wired, which provides a breakdown of what’s in a typical cup of coffee…and why good things sometimes come in small doses.
Apparently, the water used to brew coffee makes up more than 98 percent of each cup. It is the other 2% of your morning brew where things get interesting. According to the video, “some of the compounds in coffee would be pretty repulsive if they were present in higher concentrations.” These include:
- 2-ethylphenol, which also happens to be a pheromone in cockroaches,
- Trigonelline, which helps fend off the bacteria that create cavities
- 3,5 dicaffeoylquinic acid, the antioxidant that helps your brain stay healthy.
Click on the video from Wired for more info…
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The cockroach pheromone is kind of creepy, but the Feds say it’s OK for the buggers to be in everything. Just like reading all my emails is OK.
Knowing what is in my coffee is not going to change my morning ritual too much.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.