Could chemistry be the secret to brewing the world's best cup of coffee?
A student in Victoria is working on the ultimate brewing technique, but rather than a working in a kitchen, she's doing research in a brewery's lab.
Hannah Charnock is part of a trio looking to brew better java by mapping chemical processes that happen during roasting.
"Traditional roasting methods involve trial and error in terms of how you roast the beans and how hot and what sort of roast profile you build," the co-founder of Victoria's Smoke and Mirrors Coffee Company told CTV News.
"So we're sort of taking that one step further."
The University of Victoria student and two other scientists are using techniques used to map beer and whiskey taste profiles to get a more flavourful coffee.
"Industry knowledge is that the quicker you cool the beans, the more sweetness is retained. So we're actually quantifying that and seeing how quick to cool it to retain how much sweetness," she explained.
When the group finds a roast they like, they go back and track the chemical changes in the beans.
Local coffee blogger Colin Newell said he isn't surprised leading edge java research is happening in B.C.'s capital.
"There's probably more great coffee per capita in Victoria than anywhere else in Canada," the CoffeeCrew.com creator said.
"We've got a lot of different people doing a lot of different things. We share intel in a way unlike any other community probably in North America."
The co-owner of Discovery Coffee said there's chemistry among competitors, but also attempts to stand out, including inventions like the café's cold brew ice cream float.
"We work closely with all the other specialty coffee shops in Victoria, host events together," Logan Gray said.
"For us it's fun, I mean, as owners and managers of the company, we enjoy playing with coffee and using different ingredients, and then the consumer loves it as well."
Back at the lab, Charnock's team is selling some of their blends as the research continues. Their products are available in select stores, and half the proceeds go to charity.
"We're not necessarily (trying) to market our coffee being this trendy piece of coffee, it's more to build a community and just make the best coffee we can," she said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Bhinder Sajan
