The world is in love with coffee. Anytime someone finds an excuse to drink another cup, coffee drinkers everywhere rejoice. People love coffee so much many of them are willing to throw down five dollars on a cup -- we're looking at you Starbucks fans with your venti lattes. Unfortunately, our universal coffee addiction isn't really good for the planet. The environment suffers because of the unavoidable waste. And the coffee farmers who should benefit are subject to volatile markets and the mercy of mother nature.
A new product, coffee flour, is looking to change that in the most revolutionary of ways. This product has examined the waste created in coffee production -- like all those cherries that house the coffee beans we so revere -- and strives to turn it into a positive. The fruit of the coffee bean is often discarded and dumped into rivers (polluting them) or left to rot in immense piles. Coffee flour, as you can deduce from the name, has turned this fruit into a flour and hopes to bring the product into the mainstream market in 2015. It could be a great thing for coffee farmers, giving them another source of revenue; and it could also be great for those who love to cook, giving us another ingredient to play with.
The flour has already been put in the hands of chefs where it has been successfully used in pasta, cakes and cookie recipes. It is said to have more fiber than wheat flour, more protein than kale and more iron than spinach. Also, it's gluten free. But here's the real perk: it's slightly caffeinated. Just think of the possibilities.
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