Coffee Flour

Coffee Flour:  Since I am a food scientist I am always on the prowl for interesting new food products.  The most creative family of products I have heard about this year are beverages and baked goods made from coffee flour.  Dan Belliveau, former head of technical services at Starbucks, has engineered a unique process to use a byproduct, called pulp, that is generated when freshly harvested coffee beans are milled.  Not only is this environmentally friendly, since the pulp is usually just left in the field to rot, it provides a novel revenue stream for coffee growers.  Specific attributes of coffee flour include high fiber and protein content, it is gluten-free and contains less caffeine than coffee.  Contrary to what you may expect, beverages prepared using coffee flour do not exactly taste like coffee.  Such products are said to impart a dried fruit flavor and pairs well as a partial coffee substitute in cold coffee beverages.  CF Global Holdings is the name of Mr. Belliveau's company which is now fielding requests from manufacturers who would like to use coffee flour in their food products.