Topic: After coffee and beer

[Francois]

It was bound to happen. After coffee and beer, here comes herbs.
Here's an article on herbal development of film
http://www.alternativephotography.com/herbal-developers/

I believe it's just a start. If these goes on, we'll probably be seeing grass clipping developer when the summer comes 

[Bryan]

There’s lots of things that will work, the real challenge is what works well.  Obviously instant coffee works great, my beer recipe works well with some films, not so well with others.  Pretty much all plants have caffeic acid in them, some more than others, that’s why I went with beer, the grains are fairly high in caffeic acid.  I have read that you can develop film with just ascorbic acid and sodium carbonate, but not very well. 

I have seen wine used as a developer and James posted here about using the bark of a eucalyptus tree.  I’m sure grass clippings would work.  I like beer because I can get consistent results by using the same beer wherever I go.  Same would go for instant coffee as long as you use distilled water. 

http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=8172.msg108527#msg108527

[Francois]

Yeah, grass clippings would be inconsistent at best... it all depends from who's lawn you get it from.
Also, the amount of roundup present in the developer would vary greatly depending on where you get it 
(yes, I have an 89 year old lawn obsessed neighbor who will not stop at anything to get that manicured lawn.)

[jharr]

I found a paper in some botany journal (or was it natural products?) that had a table with the concentration (mg/g dry material) of caffeic acid in about 20 different plants. Eucalyptus was near the top of the list. That's why I tried it. That and you can't throw a boomerang in San Diego without hitting a stupid eucalyptus tree.

[Francois]

That must be why koalas are so hyperactive

[jharr]

In spite of the naming, they are unrelated.

Caffeine:


Caffeic Acid: