Is coffee without coffee beans truly coffee?
Yes, according to the company that launched Singapore's first and only bean-free coffee on Feb. 23.
Prefer, a sustainable bioflavours start-up company, was founded by food scientist Tan Ding Jie and former neuroscientist Jake Berber in 2022.
Other bean-free coffees typically use chickpeas, rice hulls and seeds.
However, during the research process, the pair discovered that bread, soy and barley possess similar flavour molecules present in coffee.
As such, Prefer's bean-free coffee upcycles three types of food manufacturing by-products from local companies:
- Day-old bread from Gardenia
- Okara or soy bean pulp from Mr Bean
- Spent barley grains from local breweries such as The 1925 Brewing Co. and Brewerkz
The bread, soy bean pulp and spent barley grains are then fermented, roasted and ground up.
Photo from Prefer Coffee
Not only does the upcycling of by-products reduce operational costs, it limits the carbon emissions generated, as there is less need for importing and transporting ingredients.
Coffee is a high carbon footprint commodity — one cup of coffee is equivalent to the emissions produced from 2km of driving.
Berber, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Prefer, said:
"Our mission is to create coffee variants that are delicious, affordable, and sustainable in the long run. Today, we start as a climate-friendly option on the menu.
But as coffee farmlands diminish and prices continue to rise in future while our production remains scalable to meet demand, we believe Prefer will be the next generation of the commodity we know as coffee".
No caffeine
The process of creating Prefer's bean-free coffee takes around 48 hours, compared to conventional coffee, where it takes an average of five years for newly planted coffee plants to bear their first crop, according to Prefer's press release.
Do note though, that Prefer's bean-free coffee does not contain caffeine.
Nevertheless, Prefer believes this is an advantage as they can add caffeine derived from tea and adjust the levels as preferred.
Prefer describes its coffee as having a "malty and nutty aroma reminiscent of dark roasted coffee", and said it is best enjoyed as a cappuccino or latte.
Photo from Prefer Coffee
You can try Prefer's bean-free coffee at cafes such as at 12 locations across Singapore, such as cafes like Dough, Brash Boys, First Story Cafe, Foreword Coffee Roasters, Parched by Parchmen, as well as select SaladStop! outlets.
Photo from Prefer Coffee
Photo from Prefer Coffee
Top photo from Prefer Coffee