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Coffee Flour can be used as a cooking ingredient – good news for coffee exporting countries like Vietnam and Indonesia

The coffee we drink is produced by processing coffee “cherries”; extracting the beans from the pulp, drying then roasting. But what if flour can be produced from the discarded coffee cherries?

A start-up based in Seattle called CF Global did just that. It introduced Coffee Flour, a food ingredient made from discarded coffee cherries that has characteristics similar to flour. It can be used to bake pasta, serve as a dry rub for meats as well as bring flavor to sauces.

Apart from being a revolutionary product, it has helped create jobs in Nicaragua, a coffee exporting nation. Following a rust infection in 2012 which damaged 35% of the trees in that region, CF Global collaborated with the El Carmen Mill on producing Coffee Flour. The success of this product has provided employment opportunities for those working in the region; prompting CF Global to increase the production of Coffee Flour. It plans to expand further and establish a strong global presence across three continents.

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