Written by Natasha• Agosto 13, 2023• 6:52 pm• Food • Views: 2

The new life of coffee: innovative products straight from the coffee plantation

Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. What to do with used coffee powder? And the leaves that fall in the coffee plantation? What about fruit peels? Discover the new life of coffee: innovative products straight from the coffee tree.

According to the International Coffee Organization, world coffee consumption exceeds 150 million 60-kilogram bags per year and registers annual growth of 2.5%. Each Brazilian drinks about 80 liters of the drink per year, the second highest rate behind only the USA. And a survey by Embrapa predicts that, by the end of 2023, the global demand for the drink should reach around 178.5 million bags.

In other words, coffee is present on tables all over the world.

However, to make the drink, only grains are currently used. What to do with the leaves that fall in the coffee plantation and the fruit peels? What about coffee grounds? We already talked about two innovative uses, fabric (here) and coffee jewelry (here), both made with used powder. And, fortunately, these applications gained new weight companies in the reuse of leftovers from the coffee activity and thus guarantee the new life of coffee.

For the drink we only use the grain, the rest is waste.

The new life of coffee: coffee flour

For example, the fruits (also called coffee cherries), which were a nuisance for producing farmers, now give rise to a nutritious flour. Dan Belliveau was bothered by the amount of fruit skins that went to waste.

Coffee fruit flour

He then founded the startup CoffeeFlour, which dries and grinds the fruits and turns them into powder. In this way, this flour can be included in the composition of several products and reduce the use of other ingredients such as sugar, for example. It has a fruit flavor, is a source of fiber, potassium and iron. In addition, it also generates a second source of income for coffee growers and generates new jobs.

Seattle Chocolates: chocolate bars made with coffee fruit flour

Furthermore, another interesting point is that the flavor of the flour varies according to the region where the coffee tree is grown, it is like the terroir of the wine. Central American flour is sweeter, while Asian flour has soy notes.

Coffee ground soap

In addition to food use, coffee grounds also generate other products such as Rocky Mountain Soap Co. soap. Made from used coffee powder, it works as a natural non-polluting exfoliant like common exfoliants made from plastic balls.