Baseball great Joe DiMaggio in his later years became synonymous with "Mr. Coffee" for the commercials he did for that coffee maker brand.

Now a Maine man just might become known as "Dr. Coffee" for his expertise in the science and art of brewing good joe.

Frank Chambers of Raymond has a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University and runs his own product development consulting business. His current project is some very hush-hush work in the field of coffee making. Because it's a very competitive field -- I mean, doesn't everyone want a better cup of coffee? -- he'll only say a little bit about what he's doing.

"I'm developing sensors to measure coffee in different forms," said Chambers. He did add that the innovation he's working on will have uses for coffee manufacturers as well as folks at home.

Because of his science background and his current work, Chambers doesn't simply load any old canned coffee into his maker, press the button, then go back to sleep until he smells the joe. Which is what I do.

No, Chambers has made a pretty thorough study of the science involved in trying to make the perfect cup of coffee. There's art involved, too, Chambers says. That's because everybody will have a different opinion on what the perfect cup of java should taste like.

"It's one of the many places where art and science intersect," said Chambers. "But there is a lot of science, which you can use in guiding you to get the taste you want."

So while he can't say too much about the coffee project he's working on, he is happy to talk to people about the science behind making a good cup of coffee.

Chambers agreed recently to share some of his coffee science thoughts at a lecture presented by the math and physics club at Southern Maine Community College, where his wife teaches. He says he's happy to give his coffee talk to other groups, too.

For those of you who preferred Cliffs Notes to long lectures in school, Chambers shared a few of his coffee theories with me recently.

I found it amazing to hear how every little step in the coffee- making process can alter the taste.

First, there's the roasting, and how long the beans are roasted. It's always seemed strange to me that with the rise of gourmet coffees you hear a lot more about "dark roasts," like those are better or something.

Ready for the scientific explanation?

"A green coffee bean has a lot of sugar in it, and as you roast it, it caramelizes, it gets brown," said Chambers. "The more you roast it, the darker it gets. And that changes the nature of the flavor."

So dark roast is different, but not necessarily better.

Then there's the grind.

If you buy coffee that's already ground, or if you grind coffee and store it for weeks at a time, you're allowing the chemicals in your coffee to be changed by the air and the humidity. In other words, you're losing flavor.

Even if you grind your coffee beans and then brew right away, the kind of grinder you have can make a difference. The electric grinders that have small blades whirring around change the flavor more, for instance, than the kind of grinder that crushes the beans.

"The ones with the small blades put a lot of mechanical energy into the beans, heats them up a little bit and drives off some of the flavor," said Chambers. "The ones that crush (the beans) drive less energy into the beans."

And don't over grind. If you grind the beans too fine, you "over extract" the various chemical compounds that flavor coffee, Chambers said. And that can lead to bitterness.

Then of course, there's the pot, or the coffee maker, that you use. Conventional drip coffee makers are fine, Chambers said, but you have no control over how long the water is in contact with the coffee grounds. And of course that can affect the flavor.

Chambers says when he's trying to make a really good cup of coffee, he likes to use a vacuum pot coffee maker.

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