This is scientific American's 60 second science. I'm Christopher Intalyata. Got a minute?

What's the liveliest part of your kitchen in terms of harboring bacteria? Is it the cutting board, the dish sponge, or maybe your

coffee maker? Because even though caffeine has antibacterial effects, it turns

out espresso machines can harbor a whole menagerie of bacteria,

including some pathogenic species, more commonly associated with the toilet.

Researchers sampled 10 espresso espresso machines, zeroing in on the drip trays, which catch those last drops of

brown gold after a brew.

They found that 9 of the 10 machines harbored residues rich in enterococcus bacteria, a typical

marker of human fecal contamination.

And another common resident was Pseudomonas, which has both benign and pathogenic strains.

Pseudomonas appears to thrive in the presence of caffeine, and even breaks it down,

which suggests the bugs might be put to work, decaffinating coffee, or cleaning caffeine residues from our waterways.

The findings appear in the journal Scientific Reports.

As for your next espresso shot, don't worry too much. The researchers did not find any

bacteria in the coffee pods themselves, so they say our fingertips might be to

blame for spreading the single-celled invaders. And they write that it's absolutely not the case

that an espresso machines are dangerous for human health.

Just wash the drip tray more often,

with soap and water, just as you would

any other food contaminated surface, so that the only thing brewing in

your espresso machine is your coffee.

Thanks for the minute.

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