Prices have soared, forcing merchants to launch "bean-free coffee"

▲

Click to follow | Daily Boutique Coffee Culture Magazine Coffee Workshop

In recent times, affected by the reduction in production in major global producing areas, international coffee bean futures prices have soared. On February 11th, the price of Arabica coffee futures at the New York International Exchange (ICE) broke through $430 per pound, setting a record high for 47 years, with an increase of nearly 118.57% in the past year.

Data released by the Korea Customs Service shows that in January this year, the import price per kilogram of coffee beans increased by nearly 70% year-on-year, which is undoubtedly worrying local coffee practitioners. Therefore, to alleviate the pressure of rising raw material prices, a local café explored using other ingredients to replace the increasingly expensive coffee beans and launched "Beanless Coffee."

According to CCTV Finance Report, the café selling "Beanless Coffee" is located in Seoul, South Korea. The baristas do not need to grind the coffee beans; they simply place an empty cup under the outlet of a specific device, and can receive the original liquid of the beverage.Water or milk can be added further to adjust the latte or Americano to a cup that meets consumer needs and tastes.

From the appearance, these beverages have a similar color to ordinary coffee, and guests can also smell a fragrance similar to that of concentrated coffee. The person in charge introduced that the original liquid of the beverage is not an Italian espresso extracted from coffee beans, but is made from 12 materials such as barley, Hibiscus, orange peel, etc., after fermentation, drying, grinding, and baking these processes.

Businesses said that compared to the wildly rising prices of coffee beans, the raw material price of "bean-free coffee" is relatively stable, and there is sufficient market supply, with production costs reduced by about 20% to 25% compared to ordinary coffee on the market. Therefore, "bean-free coffee" can provide consumers with a similar experience to ordinary coffee and also reduce the raw material cost of coffee shops and alleviate the operational pressure of practitioners.

Consumers who tried this "bean-free coffee" at the store said they could accept it. "Compared to ordinary coffee,"The taste is almost indistinguishable, very similar, and the texture is also relatively rich, which is worth trying. However, some netizens have expressed that "beanless coffee" is cheap, but it's not truly coffee to drink. "What am I going to drink if there's no coffee beans?" In fact, in 2021, a company in the United States used microbial fermentation technology synthetic biology to create a coffee base formula by extracting molecules. The researcher stated that the taste, appearance, and aroma of this "coffee" are even the same as the caffeine dosage in traditional coffee.

In recent years, in addition to the United States, companies from Switzerland, Singapore, and other countries have also joined the research on "beanless coffee," using advanced technological means to create drinks with ingredients that are easy to obtain, have lower overall costs, and taste close to ordinary coffee. However, these drinks have generally received mixed reviews from testers.

For those who consider drinking coffee as a habit,Although "beanless coffee" is not exactly the same as regular coffee, it has a lower price and is no less cost-effective than the coffee drinks they consume daily. However, for coffee enthusiasts who appreciate the taste of different flavors in their coffee, they prefer to experience these flavors through the coffee itself. This is something "beanless coffee" cannot offer them, so in their eyes, "beanless coffee" cannot be considered a "substitute" for coffee.