Bean-free "espresso": What's inside new coffee alternative
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As Americans drink record-breaking amounts of coffee, one food startup is offering what it calls a sustainable "beanless espresso."
Why it matters: Coffee farming is linked to deforestation, shipping beans creates carbon emissions and research suggests climate change could impact the global coffee supply.
What to expect: Instead of coffee beans, Seattle-based Atomo Coffee uses millet, guava, fructose, date seeds, ramon seeds, pea protein, baking soda, sunflower seeds, lemon and fenugreek to get a coffee-like flavor.
- Some of those ingredients would otherwise become plant waste, according to Atomo.
Don't worry, there's caffeine, which comes from green tea — 100 milligrams per double shot.
Try it: Atomo's product is available in several U.S. coffee shops as of Monday. (Yes, the Earth Day tie-in is intentional.)
- You can find it in cities including Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Austin, Texas.
- It will also be available in 58 Bluestone Lane locations starting in August, and potentially additional cities, Atomo says.
Carly's thought bubble: Basic millennial that I am, I sampled Atomo's espresso as part of a hot oat milk latte. My reaction: "Not bad."
- It doesn't make for a memorably great drink, but it does taste a lot like a regular latte and could serve as a perfectly passable substitute for someone looking to scratch the itch for coffee sans the beans.
- A bonus: It seemed to deliver a sustained caffeine buzz, as opposed to the usual coffee jolt.
Between the lines: The milk-based drinks that use Atomo's espresso alternative will cost extra, similar to the way other specialty sips like mushroom coffees have been sold.
- Each shop determines its own pricing, according to Atomo.
- Atomo's grounds sell for $20.99 per pound wholesale.
The intrigue: Atomo is one of the latest startups to try selling pricier foods and drinks with a "better for the environment" message.
- Other products with similar aims include New Culture's cow-free cheese and various lab-grown meat companies.
- Some have been struggling to reduce costs and reach mass production.
