--- title: Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better description: Recipe for perfect coffee: A study found that chilling coffee beans creates a better flavor for the brew canonical: https://time.com/4370061/coffee-hack-cold-beans/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-15T16:55:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T00:29:04.000Z og:title: Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better og:description: It's way easier than you'd think og:url: https://time.com/4370061/coffee-hack-cold-beans/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte927dd015f0fb164/698897f52dce01f5b79e97af/coffee-taste-better-brew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3264 og:image:height: 1836 og:image:alt: Art of producing latte og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better twitter:description: It's way easier than you'd think twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte927dd015f0fb164/698897f52dce01f5b79e97af/coffee-taste-better-brew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Updated: Dec 15, 2023 12:29 AM UTCPublished: Jun 15, 2016 4:55 PM UTC  Art of producing latte Art of producing latte michellealbert—Getty Images/RooM RF by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Updated: Dec 15, 2023 12:29 AM UTCPublished: Jun 15, 2016 4:55 PM UTC As it turns out, making a great cup of coffee is not so much about what you put into it once it’s brewed—it actually depends on what you do to the beans beforehand. A recent study found that chilling coffee beans creates a better flavor for the brew, meaning your freezer could be the secret to a better tasting cup of joe. University of Bath scientists conducted an experiment with the U.K.-based coffee shop Colonna and Small’s in order to optimize coffee flavor. They discovered that the key is particle distribution. In the full report, [published in Nature on April 18, 2016](http://www.nature.com/articles/srep24483), the researchers concluded that “grinding colder coffee beans produces a more uniform particle distribution, with a decreased particle size.” The end result is enhanced flavor: “Cooling of coffee beans significantly decreases the rate of mass loss through volatile sublimation/evaporation,” the team reported. “Thus, coffee that is ground and brewed cold could potentially demonstrate increased aroma and or flavor in the eventual brewed cup.” Just how cold does the bean have to be? The short answer is the colder the better. Researchers tested temperatures as low as -196 degrees Celsius and , “the colder the beans the finer and more uniform the particles were from the grind,” [Phys.Org](http://phys.org/) reported. [The researchers predict](http://phys.org/news/2016-06-chill-coffee-beans-flavorsome-brew.html) that their discovery could be adapted in coffee chains worldwide. “It could have a major impact for the industry,” said Christopher Hendon, who was a chemistry PhD student at the University of Bath at the time of the study. “People are trying to produce a very high quality drink with really quite powerful tools and are willing to try new things.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4370061/coffee-hack-cold-beans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4370061/coffee-hack-cold-beans/"},"headline":"Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better","datePublished":"2016-06-15T16:55:22.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T00:29:04.000Z","description":"It's way easier than you'd think","url":"https://time.com/4370061/coffee-hack-cold-beans/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Beverage"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte927dd015f0fb164/698897f52dce01f5b79e97af/coffee-taste-better-brew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte927dd015f0fb164/698897f52dce01f5b79e97af/coffee-taste-better-brew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Art of producing latte","caption":"Art of producing latte","creditText":"michellealbert—Getty Images/RooM RF","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4370061/coffee-hack-cold-beans/","name":"Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better"}}]}] ```