There are many reasons to drink coffee. On the one hand, we experience the energy boost that a cup of coffee provides us with due to its caffeine content. On the other hand, its health benefits are increasingly being studied, debunking myths and allowing us to know its effects on organs such as the kidneys. And of course, there is a ritual when preparing coffee; in those five or ten minutes of mental peace, we focus only on the preparation of the coffee.

But to traditional coffees and specialty varieties, we may soon have to add a new type of coffee: coffee without coffee. This is because there are companies that have developed this coffee without coffee beans, and it is something that could not only revolutionize the daily cup, but also the environment and the coffee industry.

Alternative coffee. In recent years, alternatives to traditional dishes have become popular. We have fishless fish or meatless meat, ideal for both vegan and vegetarian diets, as well as those with allergies or intolerances. And in the same scenario, there is coffee. Atomo Coffee is a startup that has been trying to create coffee that is not coffee for several years.

In a 2001 interview with Bloomberg, the co-founders said they like to think of themselves as the “Tesla of coffee,” and that what they basically combined was sunflower seed hulls and watermelon seeds, subjecting them to a chemical process to create molecules that mimic both the taste and mouthfeel of coffee, with the addition of caffeine.

Is coffee in danger of extinction? It’s easy to understand why there are substitutes for animal products, sugar substitutes and lactose-free dairy products, but… why create coffee without coffee? A few years ago, reports emerged that 60 percent of coffee varieties were in danger of extinction. This was true, but also alarming. This is because this 60 percent includes wild coffee, which we don’t usually use for consumption.

Arabica and Robusta varieties are the most popular (by a large margin), they are the varieties we grow the most and they are not endangered. It is true that climate change may displace coffee growing areas (we are actually seeing this in Europe), but the “old fashioned” coffee is not in danger. For now.

EnvironmentWhile Atomo touts environmental reasons that play in his product’s favor, such as water use or pollutant emissions from the coffee industry, there is an inherent problem with coffee: deforestation. It’s something that’s now much more regulated in some countries, but some large plantations, especially non-specialist companies, are reclaiming land from the forest to create coffee plantations.

A UN report concluded that 178 million hectares of forest have been lost worldwide since 1990. That’s the equivalent of 3.5 times the area of ​​Spain, at a rate of around 10 million hectares per year. This is a general phenomenon, not caused by coffee cultivation, but it contributes to deforestation. This doesn’t happen in specialty crops where coffee grows in the shade of trees, but it is a problem in more commercial coffee cultivation.

period. Andy Kleitsch and Jarret Stopforth (co-founders of Atomo) stated that the result is a regular cup of coffee that is indistinguishable from the real thing by the human eye. This is of course an advantage. Another is that, according to Atomo Coffee, grain-free coffee production produces 93% less pollutant emissions and uses 94% less water than regular coffee production. The recipe is not easy to replicate at home:

• Jujube seeds are ground into very small pieces.
• They’re dipped in a secret sauce that contains, among other things, fructose, sunflower seeds, rasam seeds, pea protein, lemon, guava, fenugreek seeds, and baking soda. Yes, there are a lot of ingredients.
• After a while, the mixture is dried and different degrees of heat are applied to create different flavors and aromas. It’s like roasting, wow.
• They add additional ingredients (doesn’t specify) and synthetic caffeine is added to make it similar in content to traditional coffee.

Okay, but… what about the taste? And because science doesn’t do it on its own, the BBC tested it without coffee. Atomo’s latest formula uses jujube seeds, sunflower seed extract and the ubiquitous pea protein. And according to journalist Joey Corbin, who tried the coffee, the result is that “it tastes like good coffee, generally speaking.”

To be honest, this doesn’t tell us much, but what is clear is that this is not the madness of two businessmen, but rather a fledgling industry. Also, since it is designed for machines with a pressure between 9 and 12 bar, there is no need for a special machine.

This is an industry. In Europe, we also have coffeeless coffee enthusiasts. One example is the Dutch startup Northern Wonder, whose coffee is already on supermarket shelves in the Netherlands and Switzerland. They use broad beans, chickpeas, barley, and chicory as the main ingredients, but there are other elements hidden in the recipe as well.

In addition, raw materials can change as new flavors are tried, and there are also companies that use other ingredients and methods, such as Prefer (from Singapore) or Minus (from San Francisco). The door is not closed to lab-grown coffee, for example. Cells from coffee plants are grown, fermented, and roasted to produce a direct-brewed coffee, but there is still research to be done on this cellular coffee.

Criticisms and challenges. Atomo produces about 1,800 tons per year with its facilities in California and Seattle. Starbucks purchases about 362,873,896 tons per year, but if lab coffee or coffeeless coffee becomes popular, it is feared that large and small plantations will fall into crisis due to reduced demand. Everything will depend on whether the population will accept this coffee without coffee, because it is not only about taste, but also about health properties.

And the aroma of freshly brewed coffee is something they can’t replicate, according to the BBC reporter. Atomo and Northern are looking for partners and investors in the coffee industry because their applications are limited and specific to their locations. Atomo, for example, is sold in some coffee shops for $20.99 a pound, slightly more than the $10-$14 you’d pay for the same amount at an average coffeehouse in the United States.

Atomo is optimistic. They are trying to predict future demand from major coffee companies, claiming that “all major coffee producers will face availability issues in the next 20 or 30 years” due to climate change. Let’s see if this blend will make it to market.

Pictures | Atom

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