This blog post explores the principles and potential applications of supercritical fluid extraction technology, which enables mass production while preserving Dutch coffee’s distinctive aroma and taste.
On Monday mornings during rush hour, it’s common to see people walking briskly while sipping takeout coffee. Among those checking their smartphones or hurrying along with coffee in hand, coffee holds meaning beyond just a beverage. Coffee has now become an essential part of modern life, playing a significant role in many people’s daily routines. Cafes, visible every few steps wherever you go, stop us in our tracks with their enticing coffee aroma. Coffee is truly a megatrend deeply intertwined with our daily lives.
As demand for coffee grows, the variety of coffee types has also increased, and more people are seeking increasingly premium coffees. When people think of coffee, they often picture an Americano or a cappuccino. However, recently, different types of coffee are gaining attention, and among them, ‘Dutch Coffee’ is gaining popularity worldwide, starting in the US, thanks to its rich aroma and flavor. Dutch Coffee is gradually becoming known domestically as well, winning the hearts of coffee enthusiasts.
In the US, Dutch coffee is commonly called ‘cold brew’. This name originates from the extraction method, where cold or room-temperature water is slowly dripped over coffee grounds. This process allows all the coffee’s aroma and flavor to slowly infuse, resulting in a much richer and more concentrated coffee than regular drip coffee. That’s why Dutch coffee is nicknamed ‘the tears of coffee’. Dutch coffee has the advantage of preserving the unique aroma of roasted beans because it is brewed in cold water, preventing the degradation of flavors that can occur during extraction with hot water. Due to these characteristics, it is particularly popular among coffee enthusiasts who appreciate the inherent flavor of the beans.
However, Dutch coffee has the disadvantage of being relatively expensive because the extraction time is very long. If one must wait hours to enjoy a single cup, the difficulty of mass production becomes apparent. Consequently, the coffee industry has actively researched methods to efficiently mass-produce Dutch coffee while preserving its unique flavor. In this process, ‘supercritical fluid extraction technology’ emerged as the solution.
Supercritical fluid technology refers to the fourth state of matter, beyond the conventional gas, liquid, and solid states. It describes a state where, at temperatures and pressures above the critical point, a substance possesses the properties of both gas and liquid simultaneously. This technology is utilized not only in coffee extraction but also across various industrial sectors. The characteristics of supercritical fluids include high solubility and rapid diffusion rates, similar to gases. These properties enable highly efficient extraction of coffee beans’ aroma and flavor during the brewing process. In particular, extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide is applicable not only to coffee but also to other food industries. This method leaves no solvent residues, yielding a cleaner extract, and is environmentally friendly as it is harmless to nature.
Recent research has designed a process using supercritical fluid extraction technology capable of producing one ton of Dutch coffee per day. This boasts over 1000 times higher productivity compared to conventional methods, enabling faster and more efficient delivery of Dutch coffee to consumers. Crucially, even in this large-scale production process, the deep, rich flavor characteristic of Dutch coffee is fully preserved, garnering significant acclaim among coffee enthusiasts.
Supercritical fluid technology is being utilized innovatively across various industries beyond coffee extraction. For instance, there is a supercritical sesame oil production method that extracts oil from sesame seeds using supercritical carbon dioxide. Sesame oil produced this way is evaluated as having significantly better flavor and less bitterness compared to regular sesame oil. Beyond Dutch coffee and sesame oil, supercritical fluid technology holds potential in other fields like extracting herbal medicine ingredients. For instance, using supercritical fluid technology to extract herbal ingredients that traditionally require long boiling times could yield much higher-quality components more efficiently than conventional methods. While this approach hasn’t been industrialized yet, with sufficient research and investment, it has great potential to become an innovative product if popularized.
Supercritical fluid technology has an extremely broad range of applications. It is utilized not only in extraction processes but also in various industrial fields such as polymer synthesis (e.g., PVC), distillation, and microparticle manufacturing. It is gaining attention as a future-oriented technology, valued for its energy savings and eco-friendliness. It is expected that this technology will be applied in more industrial fields and become deeply embedded in our lives. Through this, we will be able to enjoy diverse products in a richer, healthier, and more sustainable way.
