Is coffee flour the next big thing?

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re always looking for ways of reducing waste and being kinder to the environment. That’s why we were interested to hear about a new company in the US, set up to use waste from the coffee industry.

A former employee of a well-known coffee chain, Dan Belliveau was concerned about the billions of pounds of used coffee cherries left after the coffee beans themselves have been removed. While there are various initiatives st up to re-use the pulp, such as using it as fertiliser, most of it is discarded as waste. After some research, Dan eventually came up with the idea of ‘coffee flour’. It’s gluten free, contains only a very small amount of residual caffeine and behaves like cocoa powder when used for baking. The idea has received backing from coffee industries, and Dan has worked with leading chefs to come up with recipe ideas.

One of the problems with making coffee flour commercially available is that of collecting the used cherries from various diverse sources. Dan has decided on drying the wet, used cherries at the mills where they’re processed to make them easier to transport, and hopes to make use of the existing coffee supply chain.

The coffee flour, which apparently tastes ‘fruity’ rather than of coffee, contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including iron and potassium as well as fibre and protein and is said to give baked goods a ‘rich and earthy’ flavour. So far, the product is mostly being sold to commercial bakers and restaurants, with a limited number of retailers selling directly to the public.

Dan hopes that eventually coffee flour will become a mainstream ingredient, helping to reduce waste and provide a valuable protein and food source.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’ve got everything you need to make your commercial coffee business a success. To browse our range, take a look at our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

The Wholesale Coffee Company’s ethical and environmental policy

environmentally-friendly-coffeeHere at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we pride ourselves on offering great value for money, and providing top quality products at competitive prices. Just as we don’t compromise on the quality of our coffee beans, we also don’t compromise on our environmental and ethical policy. Our coffee beans are supplied by Cafés Silvestre, a Spanish company who are continually reviewing their different products and processes and their impact on the planet.

Rainforest Alliance™ Certified coffee 

All Cafés Silvestre blends contain at least 30% Rainforest Alliance™ Certified coffee (RFACC). Buying products with the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ guarantee helps support the rights and well-being of farm workers, the conservation of natural resources and the protection of wildlife and the environment.

Environmentally friendly packaging

It’s not just the environmental impact of the coffee beans that’s being assessed, either, as Cafés Silvestre uses Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified carton boxes for packaging most of their products. The FSC are working to make sure that our forests are carefully managed to ensure the harvest of timber is carried out in an environmentally sensitive way to maintains the forest’s biodiversity, productivity and ecology.

Non-chemically decaffeinated beans

All Cafés Silvestre’s decaffeinated coffee beans have been decaffeinated using the water process, so we can guarantee that no chemicals or acids have been used. Other commercial methods of decaffeination involve adding a solvent such as ethyl acetate or methylene chloride, but Cafés Silvestre’s beans are processed using water and carbon filters for a purer product.

Recycling

Cafés Silvestre has a committed programme of recyling, and empty coffee sacks are collected and reused for agricultural purposes. Any surplus cardboard and plastics are sent to recycling centres to be processed and reused, and any industrial machines not in use are broken down and sent to the appropriate recyling centres.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re proud to supply such top-quality beans with such a strong environmental and ethical pedigree. When you order your coffee beans online, you can rest assured you’ll receive a product that’s not only delicious and great value for money, it also won’t cost the earth.