Coffee Leaf

Upcycled Food Series

 

Coffee leaf tea, derived from the coffee plant, is an incredibly sustainable beverage that could complement the coffee industry.

This beverage takes the leaves from the coffee plant, which would have been otherwise wasted, and roasts them before grinding them into a fine powder and steeping them in hot water. The end result is a beverage that is reminiscent of green tea, with less caffeine than coffee. 

It has been consumed in Africa and Southeast Asia for centuries, but recently has been integrated into the modern market. Drink Wize has created a sparkling iced coffee-leaf tea beverage with a taste that is somewhat nuttier than green tea. Wize offers various flavor profiles including mango, ginger lemon, chocolate, and strawberry.

Coffee leaf tea can also offer coffee growers a more stable source of income. Coffee beans are only grown three months out of the year – during the other nine months, 90 percent of workers are unemployed. 

In addition, these grower prices are highly volatile – meaning their value can ebb and flow significantly year-to-year. In addition, roasters reap significantly more profit than farmers – but by growing the coffee leaf industry, farmers could generate a secondary income. 

Upcycling the coffee leaves that farmers would typically discard requires no additional labor or resources, and generates more profit from the same resource. Here at ReGrained, we’re all about maximizing our resources. So give coffee leaf tea a try! You’d be shocked at all the cool things upcycling can do.

Interested in coffee leaf tea or extract for product development? Hit us UP!