Seattle-based startup makes 'beanless coffee' to help combat deforestation

Atomo Diagnostics

04/10/2023 09:00

* 
      Atomo Coffee says product mimics molecular structure of
coffee 
    

        * 
      Uses upcycled inputs like discarded date pips to cut
emissions
    

        * 
      Some of the investors behind Beyond Meat back new venture
    

  
    By Maytaal Angel
       LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - A Seattle-based startup backed
by some of the investors behind Beyond Meat  BYND.O  is
launching the world's first beanless coffee this week as it bids
to slash the environmental impact of the popular brew.
    The innovation has caught the eye of investors, who have
poured $51.6 million into Atomo Coffee in the hope that its brew
- which uses superfoods and upcycled ingredients to mimic the
molecular structure of coffee - will be a hit with consumers.
    As the world's climate heats up, coffee farms, specifically
those growing the more delicate arabica variety favoured by
baristas, are moving uphill, destroying forests along the way in
the search for cooler climes.
    Deforestation is the second leading cause of climate change
after the burning of fossil fuels. Studies have shown that by
2050 roughly half the land currently used to grow coffee could
be unproductive thanks to climate change.  
    "Coffee is causing deforestation at a pretty alarming rate -
almost up to ten (New York) Central Parks a day," said Atomo's
CEO and co-founder Andy Kleitsch ahead of the firm's beanless
coffee launch at the New York Coffee Festival on Friday.
    "We're talking about a machine, a coffee machine that's
never stopping, always looking for more land, and that's what
we're trying to prevent," he said.
    Atomo says its initial "proof-of-concept" cold brew beanless
coffee caused 93% fewer carbon emissions and used 94% less water
than regular coffee. Time Magazine named it one of the 200 best
inventions of 2022.  
    The firm expects to see similar figures for its new hot
beanless coffee which is also made using mostly upcycled
ingredients like date pips, which tend to be discarded in the
commercial production process.
    Atomo is initially targeting coffee shops as opposed to
stores and supermarket chains as its roasted coffee will
wholesale for $20.99 per lb, versus the $10-14 per lb paid by
the average U.S. coffee shop.
    After rapid initial growth, some manufacturers of meat
alternatives have struggled more recently as inflation-hit
shoppers cut back on their often pricier products. 
    However, Atomo says it is in talks with most of the world's
major coffee firms about how it might scale up and supply them.
    "They (coffee majors) all know they have a problem with
coffee availability in next 20-30 years, and they're trying to
get ahead of the problem," said Kleitsch. 

 (Reporting by Maytaal Angel
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((maytaal.angel@thomsonreuters.com; 00442075429105 ;))