UC Davis Coffee Course Brewing Up Interest With Students, Faculty
DAVIS (CBS13) — Students and faculty don't consider a new coffee class at UC Davis a daily grind. In fact there's a wait list just to get into the course.
The new chemical engineering class called Design of Coffee isn't just for engineering students, said Professor Tonya Kuhl.
"Coffee was something where it's all chemical engineering and all chemicals, but ones that you can drink," she said.
It's been so popular that in its first quarter of availability, every spot was taken in the first two hours of registration.
"I saw that we had the class and I'm like, 'Oh, I don't even know if I get credit for this, but I have to take it,'" said junior Devin Connolly.
Students start off the course by dissecting a coffee machine, then move on to the roasting, grinding and brewing process.
"How little tweaks can make a huge difference," junior Eric Evans said. "A couple of degrees in water temperature will change how your coffee tastes."
It's one hour of lecture a week and two hours in the lab working in groups, making the joe flow.
At the end of the quarter, grades will be based on who brews the best coffee, and how little energy they use doing it.
Evans' group says they had a champion brew. Now if only they could remember how they made it.
"We blended a couple of different kinds of roasts together, didn't measure anything, and really regret that now," he said.
The professor says the class has been so popular, even teacher's assistants have lobbied for spots.
