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.
