Weekend Fun

At around 8 am on Friday, we took the beans out of the 15% EA solution, completing their 14-hour soaking cycle. Once removed, the beans were steamed again for another half hour. After steaming, the beans needed to be dried to their ideal moisture content of 10-12%. This drying process, handled by the Chica Bean staff, took about 5 hours in the roaster.

With the drying process in capable hands, there wasn't much for us to do for the rest of the day. We went out for breakfast around 9 am while Dr. Underwood visited Tree 4 Hope Academy to take notes and measurements for a future solar panel project. After breakfast, we strolled around Santa Lucia Milpas Altas to get a feel for the small town.

We needed to return to the roaster by 3:30 pm to start another test and primarily to train the Chica Bean staff, who felt most uncomfortable creating the EA solution. We guided them through all the initial steps, including creating the EA solution, and were there to answer any questions and provide support.

After finishing up around 4:15 pm, we walked back to the Airbnb. I decided to take us to Antigua, the first capital of Guatemala, for a light walk and dinner. Dr. Soerens wanted to try traditional Guatemalan food, so we wandered around until we found a restaurant specializing in various traditional dishes. The food was delicious, and Dr. Soerens even commented that it was one of the best dishes he had ever had.

Our last responsibility at Chica Bean on Saturday morning was to take out the beans from the 26% EA solution (we ran out of EA to reach 30%) and steam/dry them as we did on Friday morning. We wrapped this up around 8 am and then headed back into Antigua. We had breakfast there and enjoyed a 3-hour tour of the town. The history of Antigua, involving both the Spaniards and the Mayans, was fascinating and informative.

For lunch, we ate at Pollo Campero. There's something special about their chicken that’s incomparable to anything in the U.S. We ended the day by visiting local markets to do some shopping.

A Busy Thursday: Toy Scrub and Bean Lab

Today, we had two major tasks to complete. The first was cleaning toys that Josue brought to donate to the orphanage. We tackled this task in the morning to free up the afternoon for our second task: running our first test.

Cleaning the toys didn’t take long, and we got a bit distracted playing with some of them lol(laugh out loud).

Around 4 PM, Josue arrived for a meeting with his staff while we were in the roaster prepping and recording information. We planned to conduct three tests, each with three samples. The tests varied in the percentage of Ethyl Acetate (EA) used: 15%, 30%, and 60%. Josue wanted to establish low, medium, and high concentrations to determine limits for future use. We wrote this info down near our system that way it is easier to keep track of.

After his meeting, he had two staff members join us in the roaster and he wanted to explain that testing procedure to them because they will be the ones who will continue testing. We were there as well for any guidance and excel help.

Our first step in the testing procedure is to steam the beans. This process opens up the beans, allowing the EA to penetrate. Steaming takes 30 minutes. While the beans were steaming, we prepared the first EA solution at 15%. Aleesa created an Excel sheet to help the staff easily calculate the required amounts of 99% EA and water to achieve the desired EA concentration.

Once the solution was ready, we poured it into our sink. After the beans finished steaming, we transferred them into the sink with the solution. The beans will soak in this solution for 14 hours. Josue wanted to do 14 hours that way the cycle would end during normal work hours. This will stay consistent for the other two tests. After soaking, they will be steamed again for 30 minutes to remove any remaining EA.

The solution in the sink will be analyzed to determine how much caffeine was extracted. Some of this solution will be stored in vials and later sent for HPLC testing.

Adventures in Education and Innovation at Chica Bean

Wednesday has by far been the most exciting day of our trip so far. In the morning, we visited Tree 4 Hope Academy to deliver the rest of the books we had sorted earlier in the week. We were picked up around 9:30 am and spent about two hours at the school.

The principal gave us a tour of the school, and we had the chance to meet both the students and the teachers. The kids were incredibly sweet, and the welcoming atmosphere they created there is truly remarkable. Each grade, from pre-K through 6th, has two teachers in each classroom—one teaching in Spanish and the other in English. They recognize the value of bilingual education, and as someone who speaks both languages, I fully support this approach.

Each grade performed for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed every performance. Below are some of the highlights from our visit:

After walking through each classroom, we had the opportunity to see the work CAWs did during our spring break. Although the system was currently off because they were cleaning out the filters, it was very neat to see their work. And of course, we couldn't leave without playing some soccer with the kids. Aleesa and I joined them during recess. We were placed on opposite teams, but that was okay because my team secured a 2-1 win!

Later in the day, we returned to Chica Bean and moved down to the roaster to continue our implementation. Josue came back with a bigger sink, and we were all set to go. We began by cutting a rectangle into the table to fit the dimensions of the sink. After cutting the table, we placed the sink inside it and attached a drain to control the drainage of the ethyl acetate.

Next, we added mesh to our bean container to prevent any beans from falling through the larger holes. This container will be placed inside the sink, which will be filled with the EA solution to extract the caffeine. We then moved our table to the designated space and placed the steamer on the other side. At that point, our system was complete. It is simple but effective, and Josue was very happy with the result. We will begin running tests on Thursday!