Each year billions of coffee beans will make their way into Americanos, lattes, and no-foam, extra-hot, triple-shot cappuccinos around the world. The beans from the coffee plant (Coffea arabica) are extracted: usually hand picked, and the surrounding berry shell is discarded or used as compost and fertilizer by the coffee plantation. In certain countries, the berries get dumped into rivers!
Since the coffee plant is typically grown at high altitude, low latitude regions, they develop antioxidants to protect themselves from the sun’s harsh rays. Those antioxidants provide powerful health benefits to humans, and the berry is thought to have some of the highest antioxidant capacity compared to other berries.
While the main benefit of the coffee bean is caffeine, the coffee fruit contains the majority of the nutrients from this amazing tree. The dominant polyphenols (nutrients) found in coffee fruit are:
Chlorogenic Acid – Cinnamic acid derivatives with biological effects mostly related to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Chlorogenic acid is a natural chemical compound which is the ester of caffeic acid and (−)-quinic acid.
Quinic Acid – Quinic acid along with citric and malic represent a significant portion of coffee’s total acid content. This acid is a versatile chiral starting material for the synthesis of new pharmaceuticals for the treatment of influenza A and B strains and is marketed in a product called Tamiflu.
Ferulic Acid – Is one of the phenolic compounds found in many different plants and botanical species plant species that contributes to the antibacterial [1] and antioxidant [2] properties of the plant. Ferulic acid is found in coffee, apple, artichoke, peanut, and orange, as well as in both seeds and cell walls of commelinid plants (such as rice, wheat, oats, the Chinese water chestnut and pineapple).
Forward thinking companies with a social mission are discovering and inventing new ways to do more with the outer berry shell to divert it from waste. They have found a way to dry it out and preserve it for use in final products. Here are some coffee berry inspired products that are popping up:
Taking the coffee cherries, KonaRed has developed a line of health products, great for those on the go. To create their juices, the cherry skins are dried and compressed into a liquid, using “only the ripe red fruit, the whole fruit and nothing but the fruit.” And while the promise of instant energy may lead you to believe it’s an energy drink, KonaRed has no added sugar or caffeine, just a naturally-occurring 18 to 40 milligrams per serving. The vitality you will feel when you try this Coffeeberry Juice is based solely on the vitamins and antioxidants, which also helps to protect against free-radicals, disease and anti-aging.
Coffee FlourCoffee fruit is packed with nutrition. Coffee Flour takes that fruit and mills it into one of the most uniquely dynamic and flavor-rich alternative (gluten free, that is) flours out there. Ingredients: just the fruit.
Coffee Flour is an incredibly versatile ingredient. Surprisingly, Coffee Flour doesn’t taste like coffee, but rather expresses more floral, citrus and roasted fruit notes. This is why it’s such an interesting ingredient in things like breads, cookies, muffins, squares, brownies, pastas, sauces, beverages, and so much more. The company has reported incredible success cooking and baking with CoffeeFlour.
Cafe Latte ShakeologyEveryone’s heard of the coffee bean, but not many are aware that the red, fleshy fruit that surrounds it is actually a powerful superfood. This coffee fruit protein powder is formulated with the whole Coffee Fruit, an incredible superfood, and has a rich, aromatic café latte flavor. By using the whole fruit, it lowers its carbon footprint while delivering the delightful refreshment found in a cafe cup of joe. It has all the exotic superfood ingredients necessary to deliver a daily dose of dense nutrition. It can help to increase healthy energy, reduce cravings, support weight loss, and improve digestion and regularity.
Have you tried the berry that contains the coffee bean before?
*Side Note: Big Pharma company FutureCeuticals has patented the name Coffeeberry®. Other products that contain the berry of the coffee can be found under alternative branding not related to this company and can still guarantee high quality, good for you, kind of products without the mambo-jambo, ya know?
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*This information is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbal medicine, particularly if you have a known medical condition or if you are nursing or pregnant.