Dutch coffee is beloved for its unique brewing method and rich flavor, but its long brewing time makes it difficult to produce in large quantities. Supercritical fluid brewing technology solves this problem, allowing you to be efficient and productive without sacrificing coffee flavor.
Walking down the street during the Monday morning rush hour, it’s not uncommon to see people hustling and bustling with takeout coffee. With coffee in hand, people checking their smartphones and hurrying to get to work, coffee has become more than just a beverage. It has become a modern necessity and plays an important role in many people’s daily lives. No matter where you go on the street, there are cafes every few steps, and the aromatic smell of coffee stops you in your tracks. Coffee is a megatrend that is closely intertwined with our daily lives.
As the demand for coffee has increased, the variety of coffee has also increased, and people are looking for more and more sophisticated coffee. When we think of coffee, we usually think of Americano or caffe latte. However, recently, other types of coffee have been gaining attention, and among them, Dutch coffee is gaining popularity around the world, starting with the United States, due to its rich aroma and taste. Dutch coffee is slowly becoming known in Korea and is loved by coffee lovers.
In the United States, Dutch coffee is often called “cold brew”. The name comes from the method of brewing, which involves slowly adding cold or room temperature water to the coffee powder. This process slowly releases all of the coffee’s aromas and flavors, resulting in a much stronger and more concentrated coffee than regular drip coffee. This is why Dutch coffee is nicknamed the “tears of coffee”. Because Dutch coffee is brewed in cold water, it retains the unique aroma of the roasted beans and avoids the off-flavors that come from brewing in hot water. This makes it particularly popular among coffee drinkers who like the original flavor of the beans.
However, Dutch coffee has the disadvantage of being relatively expensive due to its very long brewing time. If you have to wait several hours or more for a cup of coffee, it’s clear why it’s difficult to mass produce. Therefore, the coffee industry has been actively researching ways to efficiently mass-produce Dutch coffee while maintaining its distinctive flavor. Supercritical fluid brewing technology has been proposed as an answer.
Supercritical fluid technology refers to the fourth state of matter beyond the usual gas, liquid, and solid states, which means that it has the properties of both gas and liquid at high temperatures and pressures above a critical point. This technology is not only used in coffee brewing, but also in various industries. Supercritical fluids are characterized by their high solubility and high diffusion rates like gases. Thanks to this, they can be used in coffee brewing to extract the aroma and flavor of the beans very efficiently. In particular, brewing with supercritical carbon dioxide can be used not only in the coffee industry, but also in other food industries. It is also environmentally friendly, as it leaves no solvent residue, resulting in a cleaner extract, and is not harmful to nature.
In a recent study, researchers designed a process that can produce one ton of Dutch coffee per day using supercritical fluid extraction technology. This is more than 1,000 times more productive than conventional methods, and means that Dutch coffee can be delivered to consumers faster and more efficiently. Of course, the deep, rich flavor of Dutch coffee is not lost in this mass-production process, which is why it is so popular among coffee lovers.
Supercritical fluid technology is being utilized in innovative ways in many industries beyond coffee brewing. One example is the production of supercritical sesame oil, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide to extract oil from sesame seeds. The resulting sesame oil is considered to be much more flavorful and less bitter than regular sesame oil. Beyond Dutch coffee and sesame oil, supercritical fluid technology has potential in other areas, such as herbal medicine extraction. For example, extracting herbal medicines that require prolonged boiling could be done using supercritical fluids, which would be much more efficient and yield higher quality ingredients. This method is not yet industrialized, but with enough research and investment, it has the potential to become a revolutionary item.
Supercritical fluid technology has a wide range of applications. It is not only used in extraction processes, but also in the synthesis of polymers such as PVC, distillation, microparticle manufacturing, and many other industries, and it is becoming a futuristic technology for energy saving and environmental protection. In the future, it is expected to be applied in more industries and deepen into our lives. This will allow us to enjoy a wider variety of products in a richer, healthier, and more sustainable way.
