Experiment No. 42
Detecting Chicory in Coffee
Fill a beaker with water and place about a teaspoonful of ground coffee on the surface. If much of the ground material sinks and it imparts a dark brown color to the lower portion of the liquid, it is an indication of the presence of chicory. Pure coffee floats on water. Chicory has a higher specific gravity than coffee.
1. How may the presence of chicory in ground coffee be detected? 2. Why does coffee float on the water while chicory sinks? 3. What effect does chicory have upon the color of water?