I have executed the experiment design discussed Coffee: Design of the Experiments (Part 2: RSO). This “response surface method” experiment design is carefully crafted to provide the data necessary to fit a formula of the form

q = b₀T² + b₁t² + b₂r² + b₃Tt _{+ b4tr + b5Tr + b6T + b7t + b8r + b9}

This model describes quadratic terms (T², t², r²), main effects (T, t, r), and first-order interactions (Tt, tr, Tr). The model basically assumes that quality is locally curved or locally linear, but not an undulating surface. This assumption of local smoothness is a good one in this case—were it not the experience of buying a cup of a coffee would be a dangerous gamble where small changes made by the brewer resulted in big changes in our cup.

Some possible findings in our analysis

• There is a maximum value of q at some point in the design space, whose approximate location we can find with the preceding method.
• There is a maximum value of q at the edge of the design space, that is, we might find that the best q occurs at some maximum value of concentration (a face of the design cube), or even, for example, the maximum value of concentration and temperature (an edge of the design cube), or a maximum of all the values (a corner of the design cube).
• Some variables don’t matter, and the entire experience is governed by only one variable—indeed the screening experiment hinted at this outcome.

If the optimum is inside the design space, then I know immediately how to brew the best cup of coffee—within some amount of error. If the optimum is outside the design space, at least I know which experimental trend to pursue. Namely, new experiments are positioned along the path of most rapid ascent, or a new design cube is positioned outside the current design cube, with the center moved along the path of most rapid ascent.

Results

The following three graphs show slices through the response surface fit to the experiments. The slices are positioned so that they intersect the “stationary point”. If there is a local maximum, then it is the stationary point; the plots then display the local sensitivity around that stationary point. The quadratic fit can also produce saddle-shaped responses, in which case the center of the saddle is a stationary point.

Note that these plots are all based on the fit to just the response surface design. A different fit is obtained by including the data from the screening results.

The graphs all work in “coded variables”, that is, they are all adjusted so that the values lie between -1 and 1. It is necessary to decipher these values into measureable numbers, which the following equations do. The coded value is indicated with a c subscript.

Time t_c = 1.35log₁₀(t) – 2.35

Temperature T_c = 0.1(T – 195)

C/W Ratio r_c = 50(r – 0.055)

These equations are easily inverted, though below I provide uncoded (normal) values for the points in the steepest ascent.

The fitted space suggests that water temperature is important—certainly more important than the screening experiment suggested. However, my cup quality actually improves as the temperature declines. Almost all the brewing words I’ve read, including the latest Consumer Reports, harp on the importance of getting water hot enough. My experiment suggests that modulating extraction duration and C/W ratio are at least as important.

Steepest Ascent

The response surface methodology encourages further experiment design. Starting from the stationary point, you can follow the path of steepest ascent to move toward ever better quality—at least in theory. To my surprise, this worked for a one-trial qualitative test; more on that later. The steepest ascent predicted using the fit to just the RSO data is shown in the next table. Note that the concentration of coffee is quickly leaves the design space, which was limited to concentrations less than 0.075.

A similar fit using all the available data produced the steepest ascent trials in the next table. It is, perhaps, less believable since the quality values rise in excess of 10.

Despite the implausibility, I conducted a trial of the 3^rd experiment in the combined table, that is, 105 seconds extraction at 192 F for a 0.072 concentration coffee. My results:

“Quality = 4.2. Toasted marshmallow flavor! Aroma is rich and without char. Acid and bitter are nicely balanced in the first sip but the bitter dominates the aftertaste.”

The quality agreement (and I really didn’t peak) is unexpectedly close—4.2 instead 4. Furthermore, there I was genuinely surprised at entirely new flavors. It really was a great cup of coffee. Damned strong though.

For comparison, the contour plots produced by the fit to the RSO data and the screening data are shown next.

A future post will discuss the goodness of fit, and whether the models are meaningful. For the present, rest assured that predicting a quality of 4 and measuring the same convinces me that the results are useful.

Data

The actual data, along with my notes at the time, is shown in the following table.