Coffee Silver Skin: A Hidden Treasure! Japan Innovates with Eco-Friendly Straws and Tissues from Coffee Bean Husks!

Compared to coffee beans, the silver skin that wraps around coffee beans is always so inconspicuous. This thin protective layer has surprisingly become an object of recycling. A Japanese beverage manufacturing company collaborated with a coffee enterprise to create straws from coffee silver skin!

As end consumers, the coffee we can see comes in either liquid form or as roasted coffee beans. Little do we know what processes coffee goes through from fruit on the tree to being fully utilized, and what waste is generated. In the coffee roasting process, which most people never encounter, a significant amount of coffee silver skin is actually produced. As the final protective membrane of raw coffee beans, the silver skin partially detaches during the roasting process. In the eyes of some coffee enthusiasts, coffee silver skin significantly affects the flavor of coffee. Compared to the universally beloved coffee beans, coffee silver skin cannot share even a bit of love from coffee enthusiasts.

Coffee Waste Innovation

If coffee grounds can be recycled and become raw materials for various new products, remember how Starbucks used recycled coffee grounds to create "grounds straws"? The emergence of these grounds straws ended the reign of paper straws in the beverage industry and liberated coffee lovers from the unpleasant experience of drinking paper-flavored coffee.

Also originating from coffee fruits, while coffee grounds shine in the environmental field, what happens to the parchment that falls off during coffee bean roasting? After all, roasters paid for the parchment when purchasing their inventory.

Silver Skin Straws Innovation

Addressing negative feedback about traditional paper straws becoming soggy when wet and having a papery taste, Ito En and Tully's Coffee collaborated to develop a paper straw blended with coffee silver skin, featuring water resistance and the ability to maintain beverage flavor integrity. According to Ito En, the silver skin from 10 grams of coffee beans can produce two straws, and the straw surface exhibits the unique texture of coffee silver skin.

Availability and Other Uses

The pathways to coffee lovers' happiness now extend beyond coffee grounds straws and PLA straws, with the addition of silver skin straws as another powerful option. However, determining which among coffee grounds straws, PLA straws, and silver skin straws brings the most joy to coffee enthusiasts proves challenging. This is because silver skin straws are only available at Ito En's directly-operated stores and select Tully's Coffee locations in Japan. Yes, only in Japan, which means coffee lovers outside Japan cannot enjoy the happiness brought by silver skin straws.

In fact, coffee silver skin has more uses than just making straws—there are even silver skin napkins. Long before Tully's Coffee introduced silver skin straws, since July 2012, Tully's Coffee has been providing customers with eco-friendly napkins containing coffee silver skin.

Environmental Impact

Although silver skin straws and silver skin napkins are not yet made from 100% silver skin, the addition of coffee silver skin reduces the use of wood pulp, which at least represents a first step toward environmental protection.

Coffee grounds straws can already be easily found on the market, but products made from coffee silver skin remain rare. Perhaps one day it will be possible to purchase merchandise containing coffee silver skin. If coffee enthusiasts continue to work hard to explore the full potential of the entire coffee fruit, they might truly experience the joys of a coffee house.

Image source: Internet

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