Startup launches Coffee without coffee beans

Dutch startup Northern Wonder launched Coffee Free Coffee on Tuesday 27 September 2022. This new product has the taste and smell of coffee, contains caffeine and is brewed the same way, but contains only non-tropical ingredients. A world premiere: Northern Wonder was the first ever to succeed in making coffee without the bean using patentable technology. 

The startup developed the beanless coffee because regular coffee is a major contributor to deforestation: according to the WWF, coffee cultivation ranks sixth. Instead of coffee beans, Coffee Free Coffee therefore contains lupine bean, chickpea and blackcurrant, among other ingredients. There are four variants for sale via the webshop: filter grinds and compostable Nespresso compatible cups, both available with and without caffeine.  

Demand for coffee grows, rainforests pay the price

As global demand for coffee increases, coffee plantations are replacing rainforests at an ever-increasing rate. With the construction of new - and the relocation of existing plantations to cooler, higher elevations (due to global warming), more and more rainforest is disappearing. When people think of deforestation, they often think of palm oil or soy but not their daily cup of coffee. Yet, with 18 m2 of forest per year per inhabitant (WWF), the Dutch consumer is the European leader in deforestation.

Besides the fact that the ingredients used by Northern Wonder do not contribute to deforestation, the so-called footprint of beanless coffee is also less environmentally damaging than that of regular coffee. The product scores a lot more environmentally friendly on aspects such as water and land use and travels significantly fewer kilometres. 

Image: Northern Wonder CEO David Klingen presents the first cup of Northern Wonder at the Hortus Botanicus.

Northern-wonder.com