高中篮球盛宴未来篇:咖啡替代品

科学家研究显示，一种由开心果制成的不含咖啡因的健康饮品，或许能够取代咖啡在人们心中的地位，成为备受追捧的新一代热饮。

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent  8:00AM BST 28 Aug 2011

It has caused coffee manufacturers sleepless nights: could there be a caffeine-free coffee which actually tastes like the real thing? 

这消息让咖啡厂商夜不能寐：真的有不含咖啡因的咖啡，而且味道和真正的咖啡不相上下？

The search for a stimulant-free alternative has often proven less than fruitful, with versions of the drink which lack not just caffeine's kick, but flavour. 

人们一直在寻找不含刺激成分的咖啡替代品，目前的结果难以令人满意：在去除了咖啡因的刺激作用之后，咖啡的香味也没了。

Now scientists claim to have found a possible solution in a type of pistachio nut. 

现在科学家声称在一种开心果中看到了希望。

They claim that carefully roasted, the fruit of the Pistacia terebinthus tree, which is much smaller than normal pistachios, could offer all the flavour of coffee, with none of the kick - as well as being significantly cheaper. 

据称，只要经过仔细烘烤，红脂乳香树的果实（开心果的一种，但比常见的开心果小得多）可以产生咖啡的香味，并且绝不会有刺激作用---当然成本要低的多。

It might seem an unlikely boast, as the special type of pistachio nut is from a tree better known as having sap which is a source of turpentine. 

这听上去似乎是不切实际的吹嘘，因为红脂乳香树有着更令人称道的用途--它的树汁可以提炼松节油。

But chemists at the University of York say that pistacia has the same chemical "signature" as real, caffinated, coffee - meaning it can be made to have the same taste and aroma. 

约克大学的化学家们则认为，黄连木属的植物与真正含咖啡因的咖啡有着相同的化学“特征”，也就是说通过加工这种植物能产生咖啡的香气和味道。

The researchers found that when they roasted the P. terebinthus nuts for 20 minutes at 200 degrees they started to show a volatile chemical profile similar to roasted coffee beans. 

研究人员发现，把红脂乳香树的果实在200度的温度下烘烤20分钟，它们会表现出同烘烤过的咖啡豆类似的极不稳定的化学特征。

The roasting produced high amounts of chemicals that give the nuts a caramel and burnt sugar smell along with a slight citrus and pine flavour. 

烘烤的过程中产生大量化学物质，让果实散发出一股焦糖的气味，同时又带点柑橘和松树的味道。

Green coffee beans need to be for around 10-15 minutes and the roasting process changes the flavour of the final coffee. 

绿色的咖啡豆需要烘焙10-15分钟，这个过程决定了咖啡最终的口感。

But can this really be true? 

但这真的能实现吗？

The Sunday Telegraph put the coffee alternative to the test - to see if the truth could be filtered out. 

星期日电讯报要来测试这种咖啡替代品，看其是否真的如科学家所说的那样。

We challenged Danielle Hadley, a judge for the UK Barista Championships and a committee member of the UK chapter of the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, to test the pistachio coffee substitute against a standard cup of coffee. 

我们邀请英国咖啡师锦标赛的评委，同时也是欧洲专业咖啡协会（Speciality Coffee Association of Europe）英国分会的执行委员Danielle Hadley女士来品鉴开心果“咖啡“和真正的咖啡。

The raw nuts look and smell like normal pistachios. 

未经烘焙的红脂乳香果，不论是外观还是气味都和常见的开心果一样。

But when roasted they took on a rich, nutty coffee-like aroma. 

但烘焙之后，果实就会散发出一种浓郁的咖啡豆一样的香味。

First Miss Hadley brewed the pistachio coffee in the same way as a traditional Turkish coffee, producing a rich, dark brown drink with a chocolate and nutty smell. 

首先Hadley小姐用开心果制作了一杯传统土耳其咖啡，杯中呈现出浓郁的深棕色，并且散发出一种巧克力和坚果的混合气味。

"There is not much of a creme, which is where the oils from the coffee sit on the surface, from the pistachio drink," said Miss Hadley. 

Hadley小姐评价说：“开心果饮品的咖啡沫不多，不像咖啡的油脂会浮在表面。”

"It smells nutty and it is more woody, like fresh pine, than coffee. There is a hint of plastic in there too.”

“闻起来有坚果的气味，但是木头的味道更重，更像新鲜的松果而不是咖啡，还带有些许塑料的味道。”

"It has quite a distinctive flavour, but I'm not sure it is a perfect substitute for traditional coffee. It does smell really nice and I could see why it might take off." 

“这是一种全新的风味，我不敢断言它能成功替代传统咖啡。不过这种饮品闻上去的确诱人，而且以后有可能会流行起来。”

Then we tried the more challenging test: could it be used to create the perfect espresso. 

接下来的任务更具挑战性：这种开心果能做出一杯完美的意式咖啡吗？

The result suggested pistachio coffee might not take off in trendy coffee bars. 

结果表明，开心果咖啡也许没有机会进入时尚咖啡屋。

The roast nuts turned into an oily paste, which did not lend itself to espresso - the thick paste did not let much water run through and the result was bitter and oily. 

开心果经过烘焙后变成了一团油腻的糊状物，根本不可能变成意式咖啡--因为糊状物过于粘稠，即便有水分通过，最终得到的不过是苦涩油腻的液体，让人难以下咽。

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Miss Hadley, who runs her own coffee distribution and training company called Danielle's coffee, said: "Compared to a premium blend of normal coffee, I would pick the traditional stuff every time." 

Hadley小姐经营着一家以自己名字命名的咖啡分销和培训公司。她最后评价说：“同优质精选的标准咖啡豆相比，我可能坚持选用传统材料制作咖啡，而不是用开心果。”undefined

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Jeremy Wood, a coffee and training manager at coffee wholesalers Masteroast in Peterborough, added: "It has a really woody and spicy flavour. 

“它有一种挥之不去的木屑味和香料味。”Jeremy Wood补充道，他在匹兹堡咖啡批发公司Masterroast担任咖啡培训经理。undefined

"Coffee prices are high at the moment so this could provide an alternative. When coffee beans are roasted we change the temperature during the roasting to enhance the flavour so perhaps the nuts would benefit from that too." 

“但在咖啡价格高企的当下，开心果咖啡也是个不错的选择。在烘焙咖啡豆的时候，我们常常通过改变温度来增加其香味。或许可以通过同样的方法来改进开心果的口味。”undefined

The researchers hope to fine tune the roasting method while also reducing the oil content of the ground P. terebinthus nuts so they can be sold commercially. 

研究者希望能够调整烘焙方式，同时能够减少红脂乳香树果实的油脂含量，以期早日投入商业生产。undefined

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Currently the nuts grow wild in parts of Turkey but the crop could be easily commercialised. 

目前在土耳其的部分地区有野生红脂乳香树生长，不过商业化种植并非难事。undefined

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Dr Mustafa Ozel, of the University of York said work could now be done to perfect the coffee alternative - opening the way to passing the espresso test. 

约克大学的Mustafa Ozel博士认为现在的工作是要把开心果变成咖啡的完美替代品--研究如何使其通过意式咖啡测试。undefined

"The roasting process can be manipulated to bring out different flavours and minimise any deleterious compounds produced," he said. 

“我们可以通过对烘焙过程的监控来产生不同的味道，同时把有害物质的产量减少到最低。”undefined

"While the overall chemical composition is not similar to coffee beans, the final roasted product has a similar volatile composition."

他接着补充说，“尽管开心果同咖啡豆的化学组成不尽相同，但最终烘焙的结果却很相似，都含有一种极不稳定的成分。”undefined