A Latin American startup is brewing coffee without the beans
There's no doubt coffee is one of the most popular drinks worldwide. Fueled by a love for coffee, a startup in Costa Rica started creating bean-less coffee in a bid to make it more sustainable and save it from the perils of climate change.
Coffee has always been man's companion since its debut in the middle of the 15th century. As trade and globalization grew through the centuries, so did the varieties of coffee and its blends. However, it is also a fact that coffee production has its share of adverse environmental impacts. The coffee industry is often associated with deforestation, soil degradation, and intensive water use. More so, coffee is also being threatened by the worsening impacts of climate change by reducing the amount of land where it can grow.
Amidst these concerns, a startup in Costa Rica, Minus Coffee, introduced a variety of coffee brewed without beans. To make one cup, the company roasts chicory roots, date seeds, and legumes and brews them in a fermentation batch with caffeine. The end product is a blend with an aroma, flavor, and texture similar to regular coffee.
According to the company, the bean-less coffee reduces water usage by 94% and greenhouse gas emissions by 91% compared to traditional coffee.
While coffee lovers may still find bean-less coffee very much different from their well-loved traditional coffee, at the very least, there is already a brewing sustainable alternative in the industry, and it just needs some more improvement.