Startup Stem is Creating Cell-Cultured Coffee for the Masses
Grace Mahas — July 20, 2022 — Eco
References: beveragedaily
Startup Stem is a new brand that is creating cell-cultured coffee on a large scale. Coffee, behind water and tea, is the third-most drunk beverage in the world; however, with global consumption on the rise, production is struggling to keep up. Moreover, the specialty coffee space is facing major climate issues as rising temperatures make it difficult to grow arabica coffee.
To confront this, Stem is creating cultivate completely plant-based coffee. The startup extracts the DNA from the coffee leaf and bioprints the cells onto scaffolds to make green coffee for roasting. This process will also drastically decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emitted from coffee production since pesticides and production efforts can be controlled.
"We will be confronting a big divergence in the near future between coffee demand and natural capacity to produce in a responsible and sustainable manner," shared specialty coffee entrepreneur Tom Clark. "We are already getting to that point with arabica trees, which are facing issues with disease, climate change, arable land...There's a real challenge in producing the upwards of 10m tonnes of coffee that is consumed per year."
Image Credit: Shutterstock
To confront this, Stem is creating cultivate completely plant-based coffee. The startup extracts the DNA from the coffee leaf and bioprints the cells onto scaffolds to make green coffee for roasting. This process will also drastically decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emitted from coffee production since pesticides and production efforts can be controlled.
"We will be confronting a big divergence in the near future between coffee demand and natural capacity to produce in a responsible and sustainable manner," shared specialty coffee entrepreneur Tom Clark. "We are already getting to that point with arabica trees, which are facing issues with disease, climate change, arable land...There's a real challenge in producing the upwards of 10m tonnes of coffee that is consumed per year."
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Trend Themes
1. Cell-cultured Beverages - Creating cell-cultured beverages such as coffee on a large scale through DNA extraction and bioprinting cells presents an opportunity for sustainable and controlled production techniques.
2. Plant-based Alternatives - Developing plant-based alternatives to traditional beverages such as coffee offers an opportunity to address challenges related to production capacity, climate change, and sustainability.
3. Bioprinting Technology - Advancements in bioprinting technology can lead to the creation of innovative and sustainable production methods for food and beverage industries, such as the development of cell-cultured coffee.
Industry Implications
1. Food and Beverage - The food and beverage industry can benefit from sustainable and innovative production techniques such as bioprinting and cell-cultured technologies that allow for precise quality control and reduced environmental impact.
2. Agriculture - Integrating biotechnology and other innovations into the agriculture industry can help address the challenges facing specialty coffee production, such as disease, climate change, and arable land shortages.
3. Biotechnology - The biotechnology industry can leverage advancements in bioprinting and cell-cultured production methods to create innovative and sustainable food and beverage products, such as cell-cultured coffee.
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