Foods for Health Institute (FFHI) of The University of California, Davis, announces the formation of the UC Davis Coffee Center. The Coffee Center brings together the expertise of UC Davis faculty from multiple disciplines and fields of knowledge to bring scientific inquiry to the quality, health, and sustainability of coffee.
Its goals are to increase value at every step of the coffee pipeline, to ensure safety and quality of the global coffee trade, and educate the next generation of coffee scientists.
The UC Davis Coffee Center team has research experience in the following topics:
- Coffee genetics
- Natural fermentation of coffee berries
- Analytics of coffee composition, structure, and function
- Sensory aspects of coffee
- Coffee as potential prebiotic
- Metabolic aspects of coffee consumption
- Coffee engineering: optimizing processing, value, and sustainability
- Education for undergraduates, graduate students, and industry
- Social and cultural life of coffee
- Scientific Research To Meet Your Needs
The UC Davis Coffee Center is looking to engage directly with industry partners and deliver scientific data that supports the development of the coffee industry. An analysis of the microbiota on coffee beans could lead to a new field of coffee terroir.
A sensory perspective on coffee drinking would determine the optimal temperatures and conditions to ensure maximum flavor – at a personalized level. The natural fermentation of coffee berries could produce selective prebiotics that find their way to the consumer’s gut microbiota. And research could address the question: why is coffee consumption associated with protection from metabolic diseases?
There are exciting possibilities for the study of coffee and human health. The UC Davis Coffee Center is prepared to bring your questions into the lab and find new insights that will create value for the coffee industry from the bean to the cup.
Meet The Scientists
The UC Davis Coffee Center brings together the expertise of scientists at the Foods for Health Institute and the larger UC Davis academic community.
UC Davis has a successful research infrastructure with proven experience in the scientific study of a broad range of foods, commodities, and health issues. Researchers have published widely in prestigious academic journals and appeared in the popular press for their work on the properties of milk and its beneficial impact on human health.
The Foods for Health Institute translates these research findings into practical advice through close industry partnerships.
Save the date
On Tuesday, March 11, 2014, UC Davis Coffee Center is hosting a one day conference to catalyze those partnerships. The conference goals are to examine the synergies between university research and every step in the coffee pipeline, from the genetics of coffee plants to the energy efficiency of roasting beans, from the health impacts of coffee consumption to the ingredient opportunities of coffee byproducts.
View a detailed conference program.
Source: University of California, Davis – Foods for Health Institute (FFHI)
