this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
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Coffee - All Things Coffee

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I am in a high-end coffee shop in a tech-heavy area of San Francisco, staring suspiciously into a cup of espresso. This is no conventional coffee: it is made without using a single coffee bean.

It comes from Atomo, one of a band of alt-coffee start-ups hoping to revolutionise the world of brewed coffee.

“We take great offence when someone says that we're a coffee substitute,” says Andy Kleitsch, the chief executive of Seattle based start-up Atomo, from whose pure, beanless ground product my espresso has been made.

Traditional coffee substitutes have a reputation for not tasting much like coffee and are usually caffeine-free.

However, the newcomers intend to replicate one of the world’s most popular beverages from taste, to caffeine punch, to drinking experience – and the first of this nascent industry’s beanless concoctions have begun to appear.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Coffee substitute, coffee alternative, caffeinated beverage are all possible descriptions, but this is not coffee.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Hard agree, but prepare for a possible "fight". Nut drinkers also like to claim they enjoy their nut "milk".

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Or even fruit "tea" drinkers...

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago

I agree that nut juice(?) is probably not milk, but only coffee and cascara comes from the Coffea plant. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

They have taken great offense from your statement!

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Atomo’s ingredients aren’t particularly high tech: date seeds, ramón seeds, sunflower seed extract, fructose, pea protein, millet, lemon, guava, fenugreek seeds, caffeine and baking soda.

For those wondering.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So it's a coffee alternative. Like chicory but with caffeine.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But, importantly, also without chicory....

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Chicory is gross

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

I can't help but wonder whether having 3 tropical plants involved is actually better than one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

That is the ingredient list for their espresso. Weirdly enough, the coffee they sell is 50% real coffee grounds (per the ingredient list on their website). Kinda feels like cheating.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

Atomo’s ingredients aren’t particularly high tech: date seeds, ramón seeds, sunflower seed extract, fructose, pea protein, millet, lemon, guava, fenugreek seeds, caffeine and baking soda.

Things begin with waste date seeds or pits. Rock hard, they are granulated then infused with a secret marinade of ingredients from the list above, before being roasted to create new flavours, aromas and compounds.

Further ingredients then finish things off. Atomo’s caffeine is sourced from green tea decaffeination, though synthetically-made caffeine is also used to provide beanless coffee’s kick.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

I Can't Believe It's Not Coffee.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The only thing I wanted to know is: does it taste any good?

As for trying Atomo, both the coffee shop espresso and the brew-at-home version tasted close enough to good coffee for me. Perhaps luckily for these companies, coffee can have many different undertones.

That's it? Over 1000 words for 'close enough'?

I'm fussy about real coffee, I'm going to need a bit more detail.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

If all you care about is whether it tastes good and not whether it tastes the same, then I have this great coffee substitute.

hands bag of Haribo

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Latter day café?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Link to map of coffee shops where you can buy Atomo:

https://www.atomocoffee.com/pages/store-locator

Spoiler alert it's mostly in NYC and California.