Coffee Flour: One Brilliant Agricultural Innovation

Each year, billions of coffee beans are harvested to make all types of coffee. The process usually includes harvesting, milling and extracting the coffee beans. The surrounding fruit then gets discarded. This discarded fruit is usually called "cherry". The cherry often gets thrown to the rivers or left to rot in heaps. However, this can prove harmful to the environment. Rivers absorb toxins produced by these cherries creating bacterial activities that use up oxygen. However, it was later found out that these cherries are actually edible, nutritious, contains less caffeine and most importantly, can be processed into flour. And this is deemed as one of the greatest agricultural innovation in our time.

Dan Belliveau, one of the co-founders of Coffee Flour, explains to Upworthy how their innovation will contribute to reducing environmental strains: "At the point where the cherry fruit (pulp) is separated from the bean in the depulpers, we capture the pulp at that point and send it through our process to stabilize and dry. We use water to rinse the cherry prior to the depulpers, but post depulpers we eliminate the use of water to transport the pulp, as we want to retain all the nutrients that would normally transfer into the water. This creates a portion of the "honey water" which will no longer be produced. And approximately 80% of the pulp is used for our product (never to see a stream, river or landfill) and the +/- 20% of the pulp that doesn't meet our quality control standards, we encourage to be composted and used in the farms".

Processing this by-product into flour doesn't just address the environmental strain. This will also spur economic growth by creating sustainable jobs for farmers and an alternative source of income, given that market price of coffee beans constantly varies. Coffee Flour has been receiving great reviews about its product. In fact, one episode of Master Chef Australia, one competitor used Coffee Flour and the judges were definitely taken with the coffee flour tart. "What makes it special for me are the textures, that really soft, crumbly pastry... I think this might be the best thing you've cooked in the whole competition."

However, as new ideas go, there are questions and criticisms surrounding the whole concept. If Coffee Flour won't be operated thoughtfully, it could create more damage than help. Most farmers fear that most of the profit will go to investors. Some farmers would rather use the cherries as fertilizers. Still, Coffee Flour remains positive and still intends to divide its production equally, 50% will remain where its produced, the rest to be exported.