I am taking organic chemistry and I was wondering what is the best way to extract alkaloids from plants such as yohimbe, ephedra, coffee beans, passion flowers and others as well. Any help would be great.
So far I just put powdered coffee beans into Isopropanol and shook it vigorously, but I’m not sure what to do next.
Would I be able to use water+vinegar for the acidified water? Also is there anything else to use besides lye, because I don’t feel safe using that.

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We have an illy pod espresso machine at work. Many of my colleagues brew a full-size cup of joe by running 6+ oz. of H20 through one pod. I try to discourage them from this practice, instinctively, but I was wondering if any coffee brewing experts could speak to bitter tasting alkaloids, etc. that might be promoted by making coffee in this way. Thanks!!!

Technorati Tags: alkaloids, Coffee Brewing, colleagues, cup of joe, espresso machine, h20, oz, pod