APOSL Coffee Survey 13.12.14

Background

There have been quite a few cafes sprouting around the Klang Valley lately. It seems to me that KLites enjoy drinking coffee and would not mind paying premium prices for big brand coffees.
I decided to put this to the test. Can KLites tell one coffee from another? Are branded coffees better tasting?

Participants

18 people sampled 6 brands of coffees in a double blind method. Rating 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).

The Survey

Archana was tasked with filling 7 labelled flasks with 6 types of coffees. Only she knew which flask contained what coffee. Once she poured the coffees for the participants, she left the room.

There were 3 premium brands coffees: Coffee Bean, Starbucks and Coffeeology (a premium coffee supplier  who sponsored a Costa Rica Blend coffee for us). 2 coffee were off-the-shelf brands: Nescafe and Kapal Api. 1 coffee was bought from a local kopitiam (coffee shop).

Coffee Preparation

The coffees that were bought from Coffee Bean, Starbucks, Coffeeology and kopitiam were prepared by the cafes themselves. Nescafe was the instant type and was prepared according to the directions on the packet. Kapal Api was prepared using an espresso maker.

Participants tasted the coffees and rated them between 1 to 5. 1 being lowest while 5 was highest.

Coffee Ranking

1. Kapal Api 2.83
2. Nescafe Classic 2.66
3. Starbucks 2.55
4. Coffee Bean 2.38
5. Kopitiam 2.33
6. Costa Rican Blend 2.22
7. Nescafe kaw 2.11

Summary

The expensive brands, Coffee Bean, Starbuck and the Costa Rica Blend rated lowest (1) by frequency (mode) while Nescafe and Kapal Api were highest with above slightly average rating (3).

2 participants who indicated they “could tell the difference between coffees” rated (average) the Costa Rica Blend 3.5, Coffee Bean and Starbucks 1.5 respectively. Their top choice was Costa Rica Blend 3.5.

11 participants who indicated they “knew which coffees they liked and disliked” rated the Costa Rica Blend 2, Coffee Bean and Starbucks 2.63. Their top choice was Kapal Api 3.

4 participants who indicated they “could not tell one coffee from another” rated the Costa Rica Blend 1.75, Coffee Bean 1.5 and Starbucks 2.75. Their top choice was Starbucks.

7 participants who indicated they drank coffee daily rated Costa Rica Blend 2.4, Coffee Bean 2 and Starbucks 2.1. They top choice was Nescafe 2.8.

BFM Interview 3.12.14

Video: Hari Tesla / APOSL Birthday 2014

Trivialising Dengue Fever: An open letter to The Star

An open letter to The Star

To The Star Newspaper,
Malaysia

4 October, 2014

Dear Editor,

RE: ‘PAPAYA LEAF JUICE CAN HELP IN RECOVERY FROM DENGUE FEVER’ (THE STAR 5.7.14)

I refer to an article published by your newspaper titled as above.

While it is fascinating that there seems to be a very simple and effect way of increasing platelet count for dengue victims, this short article leaves a lot to be desired.

The article seems to suggests that the age old remedy of boiling papaya leaves for dengue fever is vindicated. This could lead to a dangerous suggestion for ordinary people to promote it rather than to seek immediate medical help in suspected dengue cases.

Dr Jeyabalan Velayutham explains, “The most important management in serious dengue [cases] is careful and meticulous fluid management. Too little water intake can lead to loss of blood volume but too much can also cause water to leak into the lungs. Careful assessment of fluid levels by an experienced doctor based on clinical examination and monitoring important parameters esp haematocrit measurement is the key to a successful outcome in serious dengue [cases]. In addition, many people get very bad vomiting and stomach ache in dengue and taking a diet advocated in the newspaper article can make matters worse.

“Dengue is a very complicated disease which is beyond just dropping [blood] platelets. Besides reducing platelets, it can affect important organs like the liver, lungs, heart and kidneys. In addition, one of the most dangerous complication is capillary leaks. This results in fluid leaking into important organs like the lungs resulting in impairment of oxygenation of the blood and breathlessness. This also causes the blood volume to drop and the resultant drop in blood pressure causes inadequate blood flow to important organs.”

A responsible newspaper would have included other facts about dengue fever and urge the public to seek medical help once symptoms of dengue appear. The article should have also warned against self-medication.

Dengue is a life threatening disease which Malaysians are exposed to every year especially during the rainy seasons (“Dengue fever battle far from over” The Star, 14.8.14). It is important that the public are not given the impression that there is a home cure that is supported by medical research.


On behalf of the APOSL science club,
Pepper Lim
Dr Jeyabalan Velayutham, Consultant Physician and Nephrologist
Dr Kok Sen Wai, Psychiatric MO.

APOSL on DurianAsean: Celebrating Science with Nikola Tesla

Hari Tesla 13.9.14

This year we're celebrating APOSL's birthday and honoring Tesla at the same time.

Tesla was born on 10.7.1856 . Please click "join" on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/events/146204338909361/

APOSL Survey: 34% of people in malls think the Sun goes around the Earth

On 22 March, six members of APOSL went to Times Square, Pavilion, KLCC, Lowyat, and Sungai Wang. This survey was also conducted on university students at UiTM. They conducted a survey to find out how much the Malaysian public knew about science.

You know how it is lah, when you approach a stranger in the street, their usual response is, "Not interested!" . To the credit of these APOSL members, they managed to get 309 people to respond.

They asked 3 "true/false/don't know" quotations.

1. Humans are developed from  an earlier species of animal.
2. The Sun goes around the Earth
3. At least one of these exist: ghosts, penunggu, vampires, toyol, pocong, langsuir.

Video: The Hunt For SN 2014J

Made by Afiq who has been channeling his inner Brian Cox.