2019-09-02 Bloomberg Businessweek

7

N

Nitrogen

8

O

Oxygen

23

◼ Nitrogen $0.10/ kg 99.99% GradeB liquid

◼ Oxygen $0.17/ kg 99.6%GradeA liquid

◼ Fluorine $1,528 / kg Swixhigh-fluorowax

Bloomberg Businessweek / SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 THE ELEMENTS

COFFEE: GETTY IMAGES. SKIING: JAKE STANGEL

I

became a real cross-country skier a decade ago, on the

eve of a big race. I stood before the register at my local

ski shop, coveting a matchbook-size, yellow sliver of ski wax

priced at $5 a gram, feeling my pulse race, my fingers quaver-

ing as I thrilled over the glory and speed this little wafer of

magiccouldbringonceI ironedit intothebaseofmyskis.I

laiddowna hundredbucksforthatwax,andI’malmostcer-

tainI covered 50 kilometers a few minutes faster thanks to it.

How could I not have? Fluorinated ski wax is so eerily effec-

tive that, in describing it, fellow skiers at times drift toward

the rhetoric of religion. “It’s the most joyous thing I’ve ever

experienced,”AndrewGardner,untilrecentlytheheadcoach

ofNordicskiingatMiddleburyCollege,saysofglidingon

fluorinatedboards.“It’ssocompletelyunnatural.”

Thefastestfluorowaxcontainsa syntheticfluorine-based

compound—perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which boasts

eight fully fluorinated carbon molecules in its long back-

bone. The compound’s star is fluorine. This element forms

ByBillDonahue Fluorinated wax makes skis move

faster. But its harmful effects on

the environment have made it an

outlaw in Europe—and, maybe

soon, in the U.S.

9

F

Fluorine

ByKateKrader

There’snotmuchthatcan

changehowyoumakea cup

ofcoffee,pumpkinspice

notwithstanding.Beansare

roasted,ground,andthen

steepedin waterwithor

withoutpressure.Butin

recentyears,there’sbeena

majorupdateto yourbasic

cupof joe:pumpingodorless

nitrogengasintobrewed

coffeeto addfrothinessand

thetiniesthintofsweet-

ness.A goodnitrocoldbrew

willlooklikeaninvitingbeer,

witha soft,foamytop.Since

thefirstoneflowedfrom

anAustintaparound2012,

accordingto themostpopu-

laroriginstory,it’sbecome

a stapleforcoffeeheads

anda driverin the$4.1bil-

lionready-to-drinkcoffee

category.

StumptownCoffee

RoastersInc.,thePortland,

Ore.-basednationalchain,

firstofferedcansofnitro

brewin 2015afterexperi-

mentingwithdraftversions.

Withsalesofabout 2 mil-

lioncansa year,it’sthe

company’sfastest-growing

product.Earlyon,sayshead

brewerBrentWolczynski,

“theprocesswasveryDIY.

Wewouldputcoldbrewin a

keg,hitit withnitrogenat a

reallyhighpressure,andjust

shakeit around.”

Nowtheprocessis the

equivalentofa marvelous

scienceexperiment:Each

canis equippedwitha small

plasticwidgetthatencloses

thenitrogen.Crackingopen

thecanexposesthebrew

to atmosphericpressure,

pushingthenitrogenout

andthroughthecoffee.The

resultis a cascadeoftiny

bubblesasyoupour.

LaColombeCoffee

Roasters,anotherpremier

brand,includesnitrogen’s

periodictablemate,oxygen,

in itsversion.Thedraftlatte

is madewithnitrousoxide

(N 2 O),a compoundmore

famouslyknownaslaugh-

inggas,that’salsousedto

animatecannedwhipped

cream.A customizedvalve

deliversthekindoffoam

typicallyfoundin a hotlatte

intothecoldbeverage.N 2 O

bubbleslastlongerthan

nitro’sandcreateanextra-

creamytexturewitha more

pronouncedsweetness.

LaColombehasevenpat-

enteditscan.

Anotherbignamein

coffee, Starbucks Corp.,

has announced that its

nitro cold brew will be sold

on tap nationwide by year-

end. No surprise, it will

be available in several fla-

vors and finishes, like one

with a “cascara cold foam”

and another with “sweet

cream.” There’ll even be a

pumpkin cream cold brew.

NITRO

POUR

Wax

Panic