Artificial coffee

Coffee (global market)

Main article: Coffee (world market)

2021: Coffee started growing in test tube

In mid-September 2021, specialists from the VTT Technical Research Center in Finland reported the creation of coffee from plant cells in bioreactors. For the production of coffee, scientists use the same methods as for the production of grown in the laboratory or cultured meat.

The coffee plant cells were grown in the laboratory and then placed in bioreactors filled with growth medium. It is slightly easier to grow coffee than, for example, beef, because nutrient media for plant cell cultures are much less complex, that is, cheaper than for animal cells. Scaling is also easier because plant cells grow freely, in a suspended state in the medium, while animal cells grow attached to the surface

There are several reasons why such an alternative may make sense. Traditional coffee production is known to be associated with a number of problematic issues, such as unsustainable agricultural practices, exploitation and land rights. Growing demand and climate change exacerbate the challenges. In Vietnam, for example, coffee production leads to deforestation, said Heiko Risher, head of the research team at the Finnish Center for Technical Research (VTT).

Making coffee from plant cells in bioreactors

The process results in a whitish biomass, which is dried into a powder and then fried to a dark brown color resembling coffee grounds. Recently, scientists welded the first cups of coffee grown in the laboratory, which, according to them, resembles ordinary coffee in taste and smell. It is also possible to grow different varieties, and the growing process itself can be altered to produce more or less certain compounds such as caffeine or flavors.

The VTT lab plans to work with companies that will be able to commercialize the new process. High-quality coffee from the tropical coffee belt, which stretches from Ethiopia to South America and Southeast Asia, is unlikely to disappear. As the demand for coffee continues to grow, cell-based coffee can become one way to reduce the impact on this industry, and in places such as Finland, where coffee cannot grow naturally, a local source of coffee will first appear.^[1]

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