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Also tell me if I made a spelling error in the title 
Caffeine pills are much cheaper than coffee beans, so that's where my attention is at the moment. The problem is that these pills are made of calcium carbonate. I don't know if calcium has a taste, but I know carbonate tastes like crap because it's a fairly strong base; it readily turns into bicarbonate, which also tastes like crap. On top of that, caffeine is an organic base and it too tastes bitter.
First idea was to add acid to the mixture. First to come to mind? HCl. This did not work at all. It made the solution fizz a lot (carbonate leaving as CO2), but it made the solution taste very salty, and it was still bitter as all hell.
Second idea was to add vinegar. This makes the solution fizzle, as expected, but the resulting acetate mixture still tastes pretty crappy. Mix baking soda and vinegar and you'll know what my mixture tasted like.
Third idea was to add lemon juice (citric acid). Fizzle fizzle and I get a mixture that taste a lot better than before, but still extremely bitter. I could add lemon juice until the cows come home and it still won't get rid of that bitter taste.
I was thinking next I could try a solvent extraction, but caffeine only seems to dissolve in things that are poisonous. According to CRC 84th edition, caffeine is slightly soluble in water and ethanol, insoluble in ether (damn it!) and carbon tetrachloride, and is soluble in chloroform (toxic) and pyridine (toxic).
A friend suggested I try to steam distill it, but I've looked into this and it doesn't look like a great idea. Caffeine melts at 238C, and the boiling point isn't even listed; crc just says it has significant sublimation at 90C.
What should I try next?*edit
I put this in general discussion because coffee drinkers or other drugies would probably have some kind of suggestion a chemist wouldn't even think of.
Caffeine pills are much cheaper than coffee beans, so that's where my attention is at the moment. The problem is that these pills are made of calcium carbonate. I don't know if calcium has a taste, but I know carbonate tastes like crap because it's a fairly strong base; it readily turns into bicarbonate, which also tastes like crap. On top of that, caffeine is an organic base and it too tastes bitter.First idea was to add acid to the mixture. First to come to mind? HCl. This did not work at all. It made the solution fizz a lot (carbonate leaving as CO2), but it made the solution taste very salty, and it was still bitter as all hell.
Second idea was to add vinegar. This makes the solution fizzle, as expected, but the resulting acetate mixture still tastes pretty crappy. Mix baking soda and vinegar and you'll know what my mixture tasted like.
Third idea was to add lemon juice (citric acid). Fizzle fizzle and I get a mixture that taste a lot better than before, but still extremely bitter. I could add lemon juice until the cows come home and it still won't get rid of that bitter taste.
I was thinking next I could try a solvent extraction, but caffeine only seems to dissolve in things that are poisonous. According to CRC 84th edition, caffeine is slightly soluble in water and ethanol, insoluble in ether (damn it!) and carbon tetrachloride, and is soluble in chloroform (toxic) and pyridine (toxic).
A friend suggested I try to steam distill it, but I've looked into this and it doesn't look like a great idea. Caffeine melts at 238C, and the boiling point isn't even listed; crc just says it has significant sublimation at 90C.
What should I try next?*edit
I put this in general discussion because coffee drinkers or other drugies would probably have some kind of suggestion a chemist wouldn't even think of.
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