Most people who drink coffee use cream, milk, or sugar to mask the pastries of the popular morning booster. But one company in Seattle claims to have developed a type of “molecular bean-free coffee” that retains the taste of the real product, but without its characteristic bitterness.
What it is
Atomo is the brainchild of experienced culinary scientist Jarrett Stopfort and entrepreneur Andy Kleich. They started with the idea of optimizing coffee and spent four months in a garage brewing laboratory where they developed green and fried beans, brewed coffee using gas and liquid chromatography, to identify more than 1000 components in the coffee, down to the molecular level. After analyzing all the main components that give coffee its natural aroma and taste, they were able to create their own version, which did not include what gives natural coffee its bitterness.
How did you come up with it
“We examined all compounds in coffee at the molecular level, studied the shape, taste, aroma, color - more than 1000 compounds in fried beans,” Atomo said in a press release. “We found the necessary compounds for aroma and taste. Then we used natural ingredients to create our own coffee. ”
What's the Difference
One of the fundamental differences between this custom-made molecular and natural coffee is that the Atomo version does not consist of coffee beans. The new drink contains some of the most important molecular combinations present in real coffee, but they are derived from a variety of "natural, sustainable and recycled plant materials." Even though Atomo does not use coffee beans to create its product, it can still be commercialized as coffee because the FDA does not have an official definition for coffee or an identity standard. However, the company is proud to announce that its product does not contain beans.
“It is very clear to us that our coffee is not from beans. In fact, we are very proud of this, and it is indicated in the labeling, so we do not deceive the consumer. But since there is no official regulatory definition, we can still call it coffee, ”said Jarret Stopfort NPR.
No matter how strange the concept of coffee without beans or its production in laboratory conditions may sound, it cannot be denied that it has its own advantages. According to a report from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, over the next three decades it is expected that the area of land suitable for growing coffee will be reduced by 50% worldwide. By eliminating the need for coffee beans, threats such as global warming and fungal infections are no longer relevant, as is deforestation in large areas for coffee plantations.
On the other hand, it is impossible to predict how the market will react to a product that it probably does not consider natural. The fact that Atomo still refuses to disclose the ingredients that make up his molecular coffee also doesn't help much. So far, the launch in Seattle has shown that its product is a mixture of various compounds found in food, such as antioxidants, flavonoids and caffeinated acids.
When it goes on sale
Atomo coffee will be sold as a base, which can be brewed in the same way as regular coffee. It also has the color of natural coffee, and, according to the company, the same rich aroma. The only difference is how it is made.The company's molecular coffee first hit the headlines earlier this year when Atomo managed to get over $ 25,000 through the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. Since then, the organization has managed to secure more serious financing, and it is expected that its original product will appear on the market in 2020.