The synthetic coffee revolution: are ground date seeds really as delicious as the real thing? | Coffee

Name: Synthetic coffee.

Age: Three.

Appearance: Hot, wet, brown.

Synthetic? Is AI coming for my coffee? Relax. AI still can eliminate humanity in the long run, but for now your coffee is safe. Synthetic coffee is made by humans. There’s just no coffee in it.

I’m ready to be terrible. Yes, but you’ll get used to it.

When? Probably by 2050, when most of the land currently used to grow coffee will be so devastated by the climate crisis that it will be unfit for the purpose.

Then I’m 26 to drink as much real coffee as I can. How about thinking about this instead: your daily coffee isn’t doing much good for the world; this has led to massive deforestation and huge carbon emissions, and the coffee farmers themselves often live in poverty.

So you mean I have to wake up with my coffee? yes And this is where synthetic coffee comes in. Several companies are pioneering coffee-style drinks that are made from cheaper and more sustainable ingredients.

Such as? Atomo was one of the first companies to bring synthetic coffee to market. It is made from a mixture of date seeds, ramon seeds, lemon, pea protein, fenugreek, guava, millet, fructose, sunflower seeds, baking soda and caffeine extracted from green tea.

And does it all taste like… coffee? A recent Wall Street Journal taste test said the brew was indistinguishable from traditional coffee, albeit slightly less bitter. Which actually sounds nicer.

Awesome! So I’m not going to pretend I like coffee anymore? This is not limited to coffee. A huge amount of research is being thrown at synthetic meats and cheeses. In 2021, MIT even developed a cultivation method plant tissue grown in a laboratory.

Nasty! Oh please. Synthetic food is not exactly new. In 1869, margarine was invented by a French chemist from beef tallow after Napoleon III wanted a cheap alternative to butter for the working class.

I don’t really like margarine either… Think of it this way, if things continue like this, your choice could be synthetic food or nothing. A cup of synthetic coffee may just be the start of humanity’s great resistance.

So the world won’t end if we start supporting the sale of synthetic coffee? Oh no, the world will definitely end if we wait long enough. But hey, at least we get to live the last moments with coffee in hand.

Say: “Synthetic coffee will save the world.”

do not say: “Do you sell pumpkin spice flavored pea protein?”