A Development of a Portable Sugar Measuring Device for Americano Coffee Using The Electrical Conductivity Principle
Main Article Content
Abstract
This research presents the development of a portable device for non-destructive sugar measurement in Americano coffee using electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature compensation principles. The study identifies key factors influencing the total dissolved solids (TDS) in Americano coffee, including water volume, coffee concentration, and sugar content. Experimental results show an inverse correlation between sugar content and TDS, enabling the estimation of sugar levels through EC analysis. A prototype was designed incorporating an analog EC sensor, a temperature sensor, and an Arduino Nano microcontroller. Calibration of the EC sensor achieved an accuracy within 0.60% error, and temperature compensation equations were derived for both hot and iced Americano variants to enhance precision. The device classifies sugar content into low, normal, and high levels based on WHO guidelines and demonstrated 100% accuracy across validation tests for both beverage types. This portable solution provides a rapid and user-friendly method for assessing sugar levels in coffee, with potential applications in health monitoring and dietary management.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
- Creative Commons Copyright License
The journal allows readers to download and share all published articles as long as they properly cite such articles; however, they cannot change them or use them commercially. This is classified as CC BY-NC-ND for the creative commons license.
- Retention of Copyright and Publishing Rights
The journal allows the authors of the published articles to hold copyrights and publishing rights without restrictions.
References
W. Pigman and D. Horton, The Carbohydrates: Chemistry and Biochemistry, Vol. 1A (2nd ed.), Academic Press, San Diego, 1972, pp. 1-67.
. M. Gillespie, E. Kemps, M. J. White, and S. E. Bartlett, "The Impact of Free Sugar on Human Health—A Narrative Review," Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1-25, 2023.
Y. Huang et al., “Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review,” British Medical Journal, Vol. 381, pp.1-18, 2023.
M. Prada et al., “Perceived Associations between Excessive Sugar Intake and Health Conditions,” Nutrients, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 1-13, 2022.
R. K. Johnson et al., “Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association,” Circulation, Vol. 120, No. 11, pp. 1011-1020, 2009.
A. Knüppel, M. J. Shipley, C. H. Llewellyn and E. J. Brunner, “Sugar intake from sweet food and beverages, common mental disorder and depression: prospective findings from the Whitehall II study,” Nature, Vol 7, No. 6287, pp. 1-10, 2017.
O. L. Davies, and C. Lindmeier, “WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children”, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2015.
WHO media team, “Urgent action needed as global diabetes cases increase four-fold over past decades,” World Health Organization, Geneva, 2024.
M. Prillaman, “More than 1 billion people worldwide are now estimated to have obesity,” Science News, Washington, D.C., 2024.
F. Hu, “Associate Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health,” Obesity Epidemiology. Oxford University Press. pp. 283–285, 2008.
M. Nguyen et al, “Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol. 117, No. 1, 160–174, 2023.
J. Walton, H. Bell, and R. Re, Nugent AP. “Current perspectives on global sugar consumption: definitions, recommendations, population intakes, challenges and future direction,” Nutrition Research Reviews. vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 1-22, 2023.
M. Siervo, C. Montagnese, J. C. Mathers, K. R. Soroka, B. C. Stephan, and J. C. Wells. “Sugar consumption and global prevalence of obesity and hypertension: an ecological analysis,” Public Health Nutrition. vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 587-96, 2014.
M. Ridder, “Coffee Consumption Worldwide from 2012/13 to 2021/22 with a Forecast to 2022/23,” STATISTA, Report, Apr. 11, 2025.
Foreign Agricultural Service, “Coffee: World Market and Trade,” United States Department of Agriculture, Report, Dec. 2024.
National Coffee Association, “More Americans drink coffee each day than any other beverage, bottled water back in second place,” The Spring 2025 National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) Report, Jan. 2025.
N. Jobst, “Coffee intake per day in South Korea 2023,” STATISTA, Report, Aug. 26, 2024.
G. Angeloni, L. Guerrini, P. Masella, M. Bellumori, S. Daluiso, A. Parenti, and M. Innocenti, “What kind of coffee do you drink? An investigation on effects of eight different extraction methods,” Food Research International, vol. 116, pp. 1327-1335, 2019.
N. Z. Rao, M. Fuller, and M. D. Grim, “Physiochemical Characteristics of Hot and Cold Brew Coffee Chemistry: The Effects of Roast Level and Brewing Temperature on Compound Extraction,” Foods, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 1-12, 2020.
D. S. Kumar, S Shrivastava, K. Mohammad, S. Savitri, Y. Shourya, and M. Nisha, “Temperature effect on electrical conductivity (ED) & total dissolved solids (TDS) of water: A review,” International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 514-520, 2023.
P. Poojitha, and K. A. Athmaselvi, “Influence of sucrose concentration on electric conductivity of banana pulp during ohmic heating,” Food Science and Technology International. vol, 24, no. 8, pp. 664-672, 2018.
P. Thiraporn, and S. Chumsangchotskul. "Use of electrical conductivity value for vigour test on mustard seeds (Brassica chinensis var. parachinensis)". 4th Annual Conference on Methodological Techniques in Biological Sciences, 12-13 Nov. 1986, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, pp. 46-47.
S. Sarang, S. K. Sastry, and L. Knipe, “Electrical conductivity of fruits and meats during ohmic heating,” Journal of Food Engineering. vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 351-356. 2008.
ASTM D1125-23, “Standard Test Methods for Electrical Conductivity and Resistivity of Water,” American Society for Testing and Materials. Apr. 26, 2005.
P. Atkins, and J. de Paula, Physical Chemistry (8th ed.), WH Freeman and Company, New York, 2006.
M. Hayashi, “Temperature-electrical conductivity relation of water for environmental monitoring and geophysical data inversion,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 96, pp. 119-128, 2004.
J. DeZuane, Handbook of Drinking Water Quality (2nd ed.), John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1997.
L. Prasad & M. Meehan, “Using Electrical Conductivity and Total Dissolved Solids Meters to Field Test Water Quality,” North Dakota State University Report, Jan. 2024.
W. B. Leal Junior, and H. X. de Araujo, “Development of a Low-Cost TDS Meter for Water Quality Monitoring,” International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 395-398, 2019.
I. A. Nasir, A. B. Abdurhman, S. A. Alhashmi, and H. Mohammed, “Design and development of a temperature monitoring system based on PIC microcontroller and 1-wire communication protocol,” Journal of Pure & Applied Sciences, vol. 16, no. 1, 2017.
H. Al-Mimi, A. Al-Dahoud, M. FEZARI, and M. Sh. Daoud, “Study on new Arduino NANO board for WSN and IoT applications,” International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, vol. 29, no. 4, 2020, pp. 10223-10230.
L. Ouhmad, and A. Malaoui, “Experimental study and simulation of a new power supply method for intelligent agricultural systems by a thermoelectric system,” International Journal of Renewable Research, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 560-566, 2023.
D. A. Arrohman, and N. A. Fikriyyah, “Implementation of micro USB charger TP4056 and battery indicator LED in portable solar charge,” Journal of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Research, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 6-11, 2018.
F. H. Karlina, Sunarno, M. M. Waruwu, and R. Wijaya, “Study of several types of lithium-polymer batteries with 3s battery management system,” 6th International Energy Conference. 29 May-2 Jun. 2022, Vancouver, Canada, pp. 1-6.
