I am in a high-end coffee shop in a tech-heavy area of San Francisco, staring suspiciously into a cup of espresso. This is no conventional coffee: it is made without using a single coffee bean.

It comes from Atomo, one of a band of alt-coffee start-ups hoping to revolutionise the world of brewed coffee.

“We take great offence when someone says that we're a coffee substitute,” says Andy Kleitsch, the chief executive of Seattle based start-up Atomo, from whose pure, beanless ground product my espresso has been made.

Traditional coffee substitutes have a reputation for not tasting much like coffee and are usually caffeine-free.

However, the newcomers intend to replicate one of the world’s most popular beverages from taste, to caffeine punch, to drinking experience – and the first of this nascent industry’s beanless concoctions have begun to appear.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/24844976

In the late 1600s, London coffeehouses were a preferred hangout for political men and writers.

“Unlike the tavern, the alehouse or the inn,” writes historian Brian Cowan, the coffeehouse “was a novel institution.” Although coffee-oriented gathering places had been common in the Arab world for hundreds of years, coffee was a new arrival to Britain in the 1600s. The first coffee-houses opened in the 1650s. By 1663, writes Matthew Green for The Telegraph, there were 82 coffeehouses in central London. Part of the reason, he writes, was their novelty. But with this rise came a backlash: In a hilarious pamphlet published in 1674, a group of women came out against the “newfangled, abominable, heathenish liquor called coffee.”

It’s difficult to tell if the writers of the The Women’s Petition Against Coffee were actually women, writes historian Steve Pincus, or if they were representing what women actually thought about coffeehouses. More likely, he writes, the satires were written in order to help make coffeehouses unpopular as they were perceived as sites of political unrest. (Charles II tried to ban the establishments in a year later.)

In the Women’s Petition, the supposed wives of coffee-drinkers bemoaned the fact that coffee-drinking was such an intellectual, effeminate pastime that it had rendered their husbands impotent and “as unfruitful as those deserts whence that unhappy berry is said to be brought.” (Coffee-growing lands are generally very rich and fertile.)

British shoppers may end up unknowingly buying products linked to the destruction of thousands of hectares of forests under post-Brexit environmental rules, i can reveal.

The UK Government is bringing in regulations it says will ensure supermarkets no longer stock products that have been produced on land linked to “illegal deforestation”.

But the measures, which have still not come into force more than two years after they were first announced, have been branded “weak” by conservation experts, with products including coffee, rubber and maize not included under the rules.

Goods linked to deforestation in countries where it is permitted will also be exempt.

An i analysis found that, even after the regulations take effect, British consumers will still be able to buy products responsible for the destruction of forests covering an area roughly 50 times the size of Hyde Park.

Daniela Montalto, Greenpeace UK senior forest campaigner, described the UK measures as “weak”, adding: “Despite grand promises of leadership, the UK government’s plans to end deforestation remain well behind the rest of Europe’s and will have virtually no impact on protecting forests.”

Last year the European Union passed its own regulations, which includes a ban on certain goods linked to any kind of deforestation, even if it is considered legal in the country of origin. Coffee and rubber – which is commonly used products including car tyres, shoes and refrigerators – are included in the EU rules.

...

According to data provided by Defra in collaboration by the University of York and others, UK consumers were responsible for the destruction of around 30,700 hectares of forest in 2021 – an area almost three times the size of Manchester.

i analysis found that the goods covered by the UK’s upcoming regulations are responsible for around 47 per cent of this deforestation. Timber is responsible for a further 29 per cent and is regulated under separate rules.

This means other goods which will not be covered by the measures, such as coffee, maize and rubber, are still responsible for almost a quarter of the UK’s deforestation footprint .

I've had a lot of people ask about the Hames Joffmann channel, it's disappearance/deletion. It is a very stupid situation, more info here:

Edit: looks like it's back

cross-posted from: https://lazysoci.al/post/12988150

Keurig, the company that got us all hooked on single-serve coffee systems and has helped us churn through billions of plastic throwaway K-cups, just reinvented its single-serve system in what may be the most sustainable way: K-Rounds.

K-Rounds are plastic and aluminum-free, highly-compressed coffee ground pods held together by an ultra-thin layer of plant-based material (alginate). As one Keurig exec described it, "It’s just coffee in those pods."

...

If successful, K-Rounds could have a measurable impact on the environment. According to one report, we create approximately half a billion metric tons of coffee capsule waste each year.

Drinking coffee can reduce heart palpitations, according to recent research. Three cups a day can lower potentially deadly heart palpitations by up to 13 per cent, reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke say scientists.

A study of more than 340,000 people found both tea or coffee protect against common heart rhythm disturbances. Healthy antioxidants in caffeine are probably behind the phenomenon, said cardiologist Professor Peter Kistler.

It's commonly assumed coffee can cause the heart to beat faster - potentially causing illness. Lead author Professor Kistler, director of electrophysiology at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, said: "There is a public perception - often based on anecdotal experience - that caffeine is a common acute trigger for heart rhythm problems.

"Our extensive review of the medical literature suggests this is not the case."

His team showed caffeine protected against both atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrythmia (VA). The life-threatening conditions occur in each of the heart's two upper and lower chambers respectively.

Prof Kistler said caffeine blocks a molecule that fuels AF - the most common heart beat problem that can progress to heart failure. It affects about 1.4 million adults in the UK. It causes the heart to beat irregularly or very fast.

An artisan roastery based in the Finnish capital has introduced a coffee blend that has been developed by artificial intelligence in a trial in which it’s hoped that technology can ease the workload in a sector that traditionally prides itself on manual work.

It is only apt that the Helsinki-based Kaffa Roastery’s “AI-conic” blend was launched this week in Finland, a Nordic nation of 5.6 million that consumes the most coffee in the world at 12 kilograms per capita annually, according to the International Coffee Organization.

The blend — an AI-picked mixture with four types of beans dominated by Brazil’s velvety Fazenda Pinhal — is the end result of a joint project by Kaffa, Finland’s third-biggest coffee roastery, and local AI consultancy Elev.

“Leveraging models akin to ChatGPT and Copilot, the AI was tasked with crafting a blend that would ideally suit coffee enthusiasts’ tastes, pushing the boundaries of conventional flavor combinations,” Elev said.

...

Hampf acknowledged he was surprised that AI “somewhat weirdly” chose to make the blend out of four different type of coffee beans, rather than the usual two or three which allows distinction in taste between flavors from different origins.

After the first test roasting and blind testing, Kaffa’s coffee experts agreed, however, that the tech-assisted blend was perfect, and there was no need for human adjustments.

I update the logo and cover image last week. I like the logo (though could maybe do with more contrast) but the cover image is just some beans for wikipedia. Anyone got a better cover image we can use?

I make my coffee in a clever dripper, but looking for a clear that really works. What does everyone use?

My main machine had been working noticeably worse over the last few months.
It felt like the machine just wasn't making it though coffee at the correct grind size.

My sister wanted to change the pump.
Then I had a think: When was the last time I remember descaling?...and I couldn't remember.

Descaler in, shower screen off, brown sludge out.
Left it overnight, flushed it through in the morning and...wow, my coffee machine is working properly again.

And the tasty local Rwanda is drinking very nicely indeed.

What a lovely afternoon. I don't even have the heating on.

I'm running out of coffee.
There are only so many days I can run the grinder, hoping the pitch doesn't suddenly rise, indicating the house is now caffine-free. *

Does anybody have an absolute favourite that I must try?

I have a bag of light-roast on the way, though I'm now interested in trying some higher roasts and blends for "day-to-day", when I just want a little break and a simple coffee, rather than a "taste the fruitiness" moment.

* Ignoring the wall of tea where I've bought it, had 2 pots, then forgotten about it.

I managed to break my scales over the weekend. So was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good budget set