Caffeine 'Dipstick' Test for Coffee 110
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are developing a quick test for caffeine that works even with hot beverages and plan to adapt their technology to a simple ('dipstick') test that can be used to check for caffeine in a variety of drinks. The key to the caffeine test comes from llamas and camels since these camelids happen to be among the few creatures whose immune systems can produce antibodies that aren't destroyed at the high temperatures common to brewed beverages.
The researchers reasoned that if they could create heat-resistant camelid antibodies that reacted to caffeine, they could potentially build a durable assay suitable for use almost anywhere."
Call me ignorant, but... (Score:1)
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:3, Informative)
assay: test for drug existance
suitable: useful and usable
They were being redundant. They could have just said, "Durable assay" and left it at that.
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:2, Funny)
(JOKE! JOKE! Please don't flame me for spellchecking...)
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:2)
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:2)
Had they said only "durable assay", the thought would have been somewhat incomplete. Saying what it was suitable for was probably the right idea. Unfortunately, they said "suitable for use almost anywhere", which is not helpful. The point they probably should have made was "suitable for use by consumers" (who won't store it safely before use and will expect it to produce accurate results in beverages from 0C to 199C).
Step 1: develop caffiene assay
Step 2:
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:2)
You're going to test the superheated steam for caffeine?
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:1)
Re:Call me ignorant, but... (Score:2)
Only my barista knows for sure.
I've already got one of these (Score:5, Funny)
Urine tests (Score:5, Funny)
Blue means not enough
Pink means just right
Black means you're peeing coffee.
Brown means you put it near the wrong orifice.
Re:Urine tests (Score:1)
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:1)
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:2)
In terms of medical conditions where one would want to limit or prevent intake, gastritis and ulcers are very sensitive to caffeine. Believe me, I speak from experience...
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:2)
Black (Dark Brown): Regular
Green: Flavored (usually Irish Creme)
Orange: Sludge (double-dose in the filter)
There is no decaf here. If you don't want caffeine, don't drink coffee. Even decaf has some in it.
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:2)
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:5, Funny)
You use your penis to test coffee?
Re:I've already got one of these (Score:2)
There's this guy named Jack, and he has a girlfriend named Wendy. Jack loves Wendy a lot. To prove how much he loves her, he gets "Wendy" tattooed on his penis. When it's erect, it says her name, and when deflated, it reads "Wy". So, when she sees her name on his masculine member, she is overwhelmed.
He pops the question, and she accepts. So Jack and Wendy decided to go to Jamaica for their honeymoon. Once there, they try out all the local culture,including a nude beach
roast paradox (Score:5, Interesting)
Great, I first had to look up assay:
(from Merriam Webster).Anyway, sometimes when I drink coffee I seem to have an entirely opposite reaction and am overcome with sleepiness. It only happens occasionally, and counterintuitively it always seems to be a very strong brew of some Starbucks blend. After doing a little research I discovered what you might expect to be a stronger (caffeine-wise) coffee is actually the weakest.
Turns out the darker the roast, the longer the beans have to be roasted to become that dark. And the longer the beans are roasted, the more caffeine is destroyed in the process. So, while a roast may be described as bold, but it doesn't necessarily mean it has extra kick. I prefer the bold roast taste, but have taken to preparing much lighter roasts for my morning kick-start.
Interestingly enough, this could also explain why I am positively higher than a kite when I drink someones A&P Maxwell House Drip grind coffee. It is a bland light looking roast/blend, but it can really have a kick.
Here's one page [kobricks.com] that answers some questions about caffeine.
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
Fortunately Starbucks on campus had a somewhat lighter than normal "Papua New Guinea" variety available for the last 2 weeks of the spring term. This coffee was both a refreshing beverage and high test fuel. I hope it is available all summer, as the Sumatra is tasty but makes me a bit sleepy.
Re:roast paradox (Score:5, Funny)
Lay off the Irish coffees there, Sparky.
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
Re:roast paradox (Score:2, Interesting)
Caffeine aside, you'll find that the lighter roasts have all kinds of flavor profiles (floral, citrus) that combine very well with those of a darker roast (chocolate, nutty*, "earthy").
I've always enjoyed coffee, but a whole world was revealed when I started raosting it myself. It makes the best coffeehouse brew taste like sludge.
* please, no Austin Powers jokes.
Re:roast paradox (Score:1)
Not to mention that diff't coffee has diff't amounts of caffeine -- regional varieties are not all the same (which is why colombian coffee is diff't than mexican coffee, for example), and there are two main families of coffee -- arabica (which people are trained to think is 'the best' coffee), and robusta --- robusta is generally considered not
Re:roast paradox (Score:1)
Starbucks, going the quality route, brings the Arabica bean to the masses.
So drink up!
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
My only Starbucks experience is from various TV reports about the company - and I've never seen a single clerk steam the milk correctly. It takes some practice learning the sound and feel.
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
Its because Starbucks isn't a coffee company, they're a milk company.
Nobody goes to Starbucks for coffee they go for those milk concoctions with some coffee on top. Its probably why their coffee sucks- they burn the shit out of it so when its diluted 10:1 with milk you can still taste it.
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
This is a true revelation. So I went running to my Merck Index, and read this about Caffeine:
I'm not sure at what temperature coffee is typically roasted at, but I'll bet it's not much less than than 178 C. If so, much of the caffeine is just wafting away...
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
In fact, just mix it in with the sugar and some MSG, and you have flavour, energy and hyperactivity all in one convenient serving!
Re:roast paradox (Score:2)
Interestingly enough, this could also explain why I am positively higher than a kite when I drink someones A&P Maxwell House Drip grind coffee. It is a bland light looking roast/blend, but it can really have a kick.
What's far more likely is that the el-cheapo Maxwell House uses robusta beans and Starbucks uses arabica beans. Rubusta beans have about twice as much caffeine in them as arabica beans.
Great Idea But They've Got It Backwards (Score:2)
AUGH! *twitch* (Score:5, Funny)
If after 15 cups of a beverage (non-alcoholic) in one hour I don't have the shakes, there's not enough caffeine.
Cost: $0 .02%
Research time: 1 hour.
Damage to Camels and Llamas: less than
Re:AUGH! *twitch* (Score:1)
Zero bucks for 15 cups of coffee??? Man, you've got to tell me where you're getting your coffee! E-mail me, otherwise that place will get seriously slashdotted!!!!
Re:AUGH! *twitch* (Score:2)
Your test will degrade (Score:2)
easier test (Score:5, Funny)
Re:easier test (Score:2)
If you're careful you can ease the dosages up so the heavily caffinated come off of it and the non-caffinated start to need it.
Re:easier test (Score:2)
You'd be surprised... (Score:2)
One of the other stores where I subbed in occasion (ie lotta jerks who got switched to decaf), the coffee never tasted quite right because the machines weren't cleaned as often as they should have been nor were the grinders and percolato
Re:easier test (Score:1)
I did this to myself as an experiment some years back - completely gave up caffeine for Lent (no coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, Excedrin, etc), and then on Easter Sunday I went to the local coffee s
Re:easier test (Score:2)
Ugh (Score:5, Funny)
Me: (taking a deep breath) Now? Camel-flavored.
Oddly enough.... (Score:3, Funny)
So let me get this straight... (Score:5, Funny)
And then you drink the coffee? Do you at least take the camel or llama or alpaca or whatever out of the coffee first?
I wonder which llamas work best. Red, Mexican Whooping, or Guacanos?
Oh, yeah, obviously, you use a "2-L" llama. I don't think most Tibetians would appreciate you using a "1-L" lama.
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
I deserve to be shot for saying that.
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
The one-l lama,
He's a priest.
The two-l llama,
He's a beast.
And I will bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any
Three-l lllama.*
-- Ogden Nash
*The author's attention has been called to a type of conflagration known
as a three-alarmer. Pooh.
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:1)
I can't understand a word you're saying. Hold on while I stick this fish in my ear.
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:1)
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
Heck, I'm not even Tibetan, but if you try and dip the Dalai Lama (or any other 1-L Lama) into hot coffee, you're gonna get some resistance from a lot of people.
I mean, that's just rude!
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
Wait! No, I think you dip a camel TOE into the coffee.
Dunno how that would determine caffeine content, but it should at least make the coffee really tasty....
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2)
Dude, if you find any camelid hot you've got worse problems than your caffeine addiction!
Good thing to know... (Score:5, Funny)
...for Perl programmers. We trust anything that can pass the llama or camel test.
Hmm (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Hmm (Score:2)
Re:Hmm (Score:1)
Re:Hmm (Score:2)
high-temperature animals = high-temp enzymes (Score:5, Interesting)
When Kary Mullis invented the polymerase chain reaction [wikipedia.org] for amplifying DNA to detectable levels -- which is more or less responsible for the viability of genetic engineering as a discipline -- the original system was extremely expensive because it used enzymes that got cooked in the high-temperature portion of the cycle. So they went to Yellowstone and found similar enzymes from creatures that lived in geyser pools, which dealt very well with those high temperatures, and that made PCR a viable research tool. So the idea was already there, but -- camels. Dude. I don't think I would ever have made that particular leap.
By the way, the reason they didn't just go back to Yellowstone is because while mammals and birds produce lots of antibodies, other animals either don't at all or don't in a manner that's well understood. (Or at least that's what they were teaching when I took immunochemistry.) Plants and bacteria don't produce them at all. Since an antibody is both incredibly specific and incredibly avid for a given chemical, you can stick their butts to a substrate and their front ends will stick out just waiting to attach to their chosen molecule -- much like a leech, if you've ever seen how they work when they're in water.
Sensitive (Score:2)
Here I am on my second pint of Timmy's(*) in two hours, longing to be a sensitive type.
(* Coffee [wikipedia.org])
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Sensitive (Score:2)
Thanks for the note.
Sounds like a car speedometer (Score:1)
Re:Sounds like a car speedometer (Score:2)
I know someone who has no trouble drinking regular coffee in the morning, but just one cup after dinner means the difference between sleeping well and tossing and turning all night.
Combo Stick (Score:2)
Doctor: No, Jane, you're not pregnant. But according to this stick you should switch to decaf.
Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:4, Interesting)
Next to the coffee pots were all the usual additives, and nice little sugar bowl containing a mixture of pure caffeine and powdered sugar, labled "Caffeine: 100mg/tsp". The average cup of joe contains about 100mg naturally, so a couple of teaspoons of this sweetener would make expresso look like diet cola!
The truly frightening thing was watching some students add four or five teaspoons to their double-brewed black death fluid in the mornings.
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:1)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:1)
When I was a grad student in Physioarchaeanthropology we would create tradition Egyptian coffee brews for kicks.
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:1)
My wife is a Biogeoastrophysiochemistectarianologist. She observes biogeoastrophysiochemistectarian meetings on Sundays. They meet nearby. Her dissertation covers the effects of caffeine on biogeoastrophysiochemistectarian speculations regarding climatological changes and implications on Saturn's moons. Caffeine intake is strongly correlated with wild-ass guesses and hand-waving.
IT'S A FACT!
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
I drink a lot of coffee, and during finals I'd have to eat caffeine pills and ephedrine (and still sleep through half my final)
I tried to make things easier by dissolving the contents of a 325mg gelcap of caffeine in a pot of coffee. That little pill ruined my whole pot of coffee. Completely unspeakably bitter nasty chemical nausea-inducing nightmare, with only a 30% caffeine boost. I was poor and pressed for time so I drank it anyway.
Now,
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
But sure, I guess throwing money away on stimulants works, too. Kinda.
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
In my case, I had to work full time to pay for school, so stimulants were more justifiable. At least the college of engineering wasn't full of loud partiers.
Re:additives (Score:2)
Well, there was 325mg of caffeine, anhydrous. You're thinking of tablets, which would have binding agents etc.
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Re:Sugar, Cream, Extra Caffeine? (Score:2)
Simple: Many of them cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. The few-thousand-buck ampoule would be essentially wasted.
How about a Caffeine coated dipstick? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How about a Caffeine coated dipstick? (Score:2)
not just for drinks... (Score:4, Interesting)
you see, caffeine goes right through the body and leaves as caffeine. In most of the world, there are no natural caffeine sources. So, if you detect it, there is a good chance it came from that possible faulty sewer line.
usually these tests are done in a lab, but quick, on-site tests via something like this could provide an easy 1st pass diagnosis.
cue the jokes, but this just goes to show that there could well be other uses of this product.
Re:not just for drinks... (Score:1)
Kudos to you.
Oh okay that is, how do I get off this planet? (Score:2)
Decaf? That stuff still around?
If you don't want caffeine drink WATER! Whats next. A test that tells you chocolate has calories. Nicotine detector for cigarets?
I know their is intelligent live out there because it doesn't visit us.
You wanna put a camel's dipstick in my what? (Score:3, Funny)
I can save them a TON of research, right now. (Score:2)
(still no cure for cancer)