Is coffee without coffee beans still coffee? We tried this new made-in-Singapore alternative from upcycled food waste

[Shion]

Is coffee without coffee beans still coffee? We tried this new made-in-Singapore alternative from upcycled food waste​

We sampled the bean-free coffee from local start-up Prefer, made from fermented and roasted soya pulp, old bread and beer grain. Is it yummy? Read on.

https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/dining/prefer-bean-free-coffee-alternative-381681

Yes, we know – “bean-free coffee” sounds like a heinous abomination to coffee lovers. But we just had to find out, in the interest of science, what the product from local bean-free coffee maker Prefer tastes like.

Founders Jake Berber, a former neuroscientist, and Tan Ding Jie, a food scientist, said they embarked on the project because coffee farmland is diminishing and climate change threatens to erase 50 per cent of coffee by 2050. According to them, coffee also has a big carbon footprint as 1kg of coffee requires as much as 29kg of carbon dioxide.

Berber and Tan believe they are the first in Asia to have launched bean-free coffee.

While other bean-free coffee producers in the world use ingredients like chickpeas, rice hulls and seeds to make their product, Prefer’s founders wanted to upcycle food waste products found locally, in line with the whole point of bean-free coffee, which is sustainability, Tan told us.

To that end, they use soya pulp discard from local soya milk chain Mr Bean, day-old bread from Gardenia bakery and spent grains that are a byproduct of beer-making from local breweries.

These are fermented, then roasted, and finally ground up.

Consumers and partnering cafes receive the product in a form that looks like ground coffee and can be extracted using the usual methods. The point was for baristas to have to deviate as little as possible from their procedure, Tan said.

The bean-free coffee does not contain caffeine, but if you really, really need it, you can choose to add caffeine powder to your drink, he added.

As a food scientist who has conducted countless fermentation experiments, Tan studied flavour molecules in order to replicate the taste of coffee as closely as possible. It is an ongoing work-in-progress and a labour of love for the 31-year-old coffee aficionado.

So, what’s the verdict? Well, it works quite nicely when mixed into a medium, like in the Prefer Iced Yuzu Espresso Soda served at Dough cafe. And when it’s served as an oat milk latte, for example, it lends a depth of malted flavour bordering on umami.

A hoppy, even slightly savoury taste is discernible to varying degrees, depending on what it’s blended with. But if I were you, I wouldn’t try it as an espresso shot. It’s not ready to be drunk black yet, Tan opined.

Does it look like coffee? Yes. Does it smell like coffee? Not far off. Does it taste exactly like coffee as we know it? Not so much. But does it give you the feeling of nursing a cuppa at a cafe while revelling in the smug satisfaction that you’re helping to save the whales? Absolutely.

Prefer bean-free coffee is available at Dough, 30 Victoria Street #01-30; Brash Boys, 8 Biomedical Grove #01-12 Neuros; First Story Cafe, 149 Serangoon North Ave 1 #01-917; Parched by Parchmen, 55 Ubi Ave 3 #01-11; and Foreword Coffee Roasters at 64 Club Street and 1 Stars Avenue #03-02.

 

[tank_t]

Means no caffine effect? How is this coffee??

Has coffee beans become so rare that we need to create alternatives ?? Feels like jlb project.

 

[Jay6789]

got recycled water, now got recycled coffee.
let it be served in official functions first.

 

[quincyster]

Drink for suckers

 

[buttbERry]

doesnt sound like it

 

[Chiron]

Venture sure toh

 

[Calis_Yoda]

Ha! IMO, this is just an advertisement and marketing article for the business, not a real coffee alternative.

 

[zheng]

Is coffee without coffee beans still coffee? We tried this new made-in-Singapore alternative from upcycled food waste​

We sampled the bean-free coffee from local start-up Prefer, made from fermented and roasted soya pulp, old bread and beer grain. Is it yummy? Read on.

https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/dining/prefer-bean-free-coffee-alternative-381681

Yes, we know – “bean-free coffee” sounds like a heinous abomination to coffee lovers. But we just had to find out, in the interest of science, what the product from local bean-free coffee maker Prefer tastes like.

Founders Jake Berber, a former neuroscientist, and Tan Ding Jie, a food scientist, said they embarked on the project because coffee farmland is diminishing and climate change threatens to erase 50 per cent of coffee by 2050. According to them, coffee also has a big carbon footprint as 1kg of coffee requires as much as 29kg of carbon dioxide.

Berber and Tan believe they are the first in Asia to have launched bean-free coffee.

While other bean-free coffee producers in the world use ingredients like chickpeas, rice hulls and seeds to make their product, Prefer’s founders wanted to upcycle food waste products found locally, in line with the whole point of bean-free coffee, which is sustainability, Tan told us.

To that end, they use soya pulp discard from local soya milk chain Mr Bean, day-old bread from Gardenia bakery and spent grains that are a byproduct of beer-making from local breweries.

These are fermented, then roasted, and finally ground up.

Consumers and partnering cafes receive the product in a form that looks like ground coffee and can be extracted using the usual methods. The point was for baristas to have to deviate as little as possible from their procedure, Tan said.

The bean-free coffee does not contain caffeine, but if you really, really need it, you can choose to add caffeine powder to your drink, he added.

As a food scientist who has conducted countless fermentation experiments, Tan studied flavour molecules in order to replicate the taste of coffee as closely as possible. It is an ongoing work-in-progress and a labour of love for the 31-year-old coffee aficionado.

So, what’s the verdict? Well, it works quite nicely when mixed into a medium, like in the Prefer Iced Yuzu Espresso Soda served at Dough cafe. And when it’s served as an oat milk latte, for example, it lends a depth of malted flavour bordering on umami.

A hoppy, even slightly savoury taste is discernible to varying degrees, depending on what it’s blended with. But if I were you, I wouldn’t try it as an espresso shot. It’s not ready to be drunk black yet, Tan opined.

Does it look like coffee? Yes. Does it smell like coffee? Not far off. Does it taste exactly like coffee as we know it? Not so much. But does it give you the feeling of nursing a cuppa at a cafe while revelling in the smug satisfaction that you’re helping to save the whales? Absolutely.

Prefer bean-free coffee is available at Dough, 30 Victoria Street #01-30; Brash Boys, 8 Biomedical Grove #01-12 Neuros; First Story Cafe, 149 Serangoon North Ave 1 #01-917; Parched by Parchmen, 55 Ubi Ave 3 #01-11; and Foreword Coffee Roasters at 64 Club Street and 1 Stars Avenue #03-02.

soon sinkie are reduce to eating pagpag

 

[zheng]

sinkie land should stop this nonsense with food.... simi meatless meat... plant meat....lab meat... now beanless coffee.. use all kind of chemical to recreate food... knn

 

[roborovsky]

"Does it look like coffee? Yes. Does it smell like coffee? Not far off. Does it taste exactly like coffee as we know it? Not so much."

And still call it coffee.
Rubbish.

 

[The_Davis]

How much carbon footprint to collect the waste, ferment and package the fake coffee?

 

[Calis_Yoda]

sinkie land should stop this nonsense with food.... simi eatless meat... plant meat....lab meat... now beanless coffee.. use all kind of chemical to recreate food... knn

Exactly. "Meat" made from plants ISN'T real meat at all. All this is bs.
If we're talking about protein sources alternatives from insects, yes, that is still believable.

 

[8inchMortal]

Haha sure get to see them close down. Meantime get some investors first.

 

[zueinder]

Even decaf is better than this lah. I drink coffee black with ice, so basically coffee, water and ice. The taste I want is coffee and the caffeine to kickstart the day. Assuming I want to reduce dependency, why I need to choose this over decaf? Feel very strange to have this alternative. The whole thing smells like another 'innovation jerk-off' contest.

 

[Calis_Yoda]

According to them, coffee also has a big carbon footprint as 1kg of coffee requires as much as 29kg of carbon dioxide.

29kg of carbon dioxide per kg of coffee... so what's so difficult about getting FREE carbon dioxide? Find a location where there's lots of people, high footfall or a building (maybe even in a mall or public hospital like TTSH which is damn crowded) where's there's lots of people/workers in it. And why is that?

Reference / Link: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-and-care-for-a-coffee-plant/



Because coffee beans can be grown in a greenhouse using a hybrid of compost, recycled water, measured nutrients water feeding (hydroponics + compost) urban vertical farming method (at 95% LESS water needed), with carbon dioxide resource extracted and/or re-directed from nearby locations where there's high carbon dioxide replenishment and concentration rate. And in these such type of locations, carbon dioxide and oxygen are cycled, as shown below, so there's always carbon dioxide for the coffee plants and oxygen for people.

The materials they use, such as soya pulps, gardenia bread and beer used beer grains can be used as compost actually.

 

[testerjp]

Not possible la.

Coffee is one ingredient with the higher amount of aromatic profile. How to be comparable at all.

It comes from the oil which appears after roasting. This foot scientist don't even know that?

Coffee has a few species. Robusta and arabica. Arabica always deemed more aromatic and better but robusta has grade too. Good robusta almost taste like arabica. Most people are very used to drinking robusta. They are less acidic, thicker but contains more bitterness.

Robusta can grow anywhere like a weed. Don't need much pesticide since it has higher caffeine so insects won't like them.
That's why they are cheaper and abundant. If these woke people are really conscious about the environment, they would be pushing robusta coffee more than pure arabica. Or pushing better agriculture for robusta growing.

Robusta is easy to push since they have more beneficial oil and anti oxidant. People are already very accustomed to the flavours. The industry is pushing pure Arabica for better profitability.

My usual coffee, Italian roast which is not too dark roast. Only cost 29.5 per kg for high quality coffee beans. I super recommend this for any office or home. I saw it even used in the VIP rooms for those luxury high end brands

Arcaffè Margo
https://www.finecoffeecompany.com/coffee-beans-singapore/

 

[Calis_Yoda]

Not possible la.

Coffee is one ingredient with the higher amount of aromatic profile.

It comes from the oil when appears after roasting. This foot scientist don't even know that?

Coffee has a few species. Robusta and arabica. Arabica always deemed more aromatic and better but robusta has grade too. Most people are very used to drinking robusta. They are less acidic, thicker but contains more bitterness.

Robusta can grow anywhere like a weed. Don't need much pesticide since it has higher caffeine so insects won't like them.
That's why they are cheaper.

My usual coffee, Italian roast which is not too dark roast. Only cost 29.5 per kg for high quality coffee beans. I super recommend this for any office or home.

Arcaffè Margo
https://www.finecoffeecompany.com/coffee-beans-singapore/

Yeah, to me, this food scientist don't feel credible at all. Want to re-create coffee yet don't taste like 1, and also don't have caffeine at all? In real sense, in both food and feeling, even chemically, it's NOT coffee. Feels so fake to me, like scam, blowing horns and hyping the trend.

 

[matchy]

Ha! IMO, this is just an advertisement and marketing article for the business, not a real coffee alternative.

 

[Laneige]

not consider fake advertising?
not coffee n still say coffee free............

 

[Calis_Yoda]

not consider fake advertising?
not coffee n still say coffee free............

Not only fake, it's also misleading. Ask them what are the key ingredients and aromatic molecules etc, including caffeine composition % that makes up different original coffee brews, and then test whether their so-called "coffee" samples have them. I seriously doubt they have it. Caffeine is already NOT in the there already.

What makes me laugh is 1 of the founders is a food scientist with A*Star and has working experience in bioflavour creation. BUT the flavour of their coffee do no exist at all.