Summary

The term 'coffee' comprises not only the consumable beverage obtained by extracting roasted coffee with hot water, but also a whole range of intermediate products starting from the freshly harvested coffee cherries. Green coffee beans are, however, the main item of international trade (believed second in importance only to oiI), for processing into roasted coffee, instant coffee and other coffee products, prepared for local consumers. The scientific and technical study of coffee in its entirety therefore involves a wide range of scientific disciplines and practical skills. It is evident that green coffee is a natural product of great compositional complexity, and this is even more true for coffee products deriving from the roasting of coffee. The present volume on the chemistry of coffee seeks to provide the re ader with a full and detailed synopsis of present knowledge on the chemical aspects of green, roasted and instant coffee, in a way which has not been attempted before, that is, within the confines of a single volume solely devoted to the subject. Each chapter is directed towards a separate generic group of constituents known to be present, ranging individually over carbohydrate, nitrogenous and lipid components, not forgetting the important aroma components of roasted coffee, nor the water present and its significance, together with groups of other important components.