FAQ
Atomo Molecular Coffee is a whole new category of coffee, so we compiled this list of Q & A in hopes to answer a few of yours. If you don’t see your answers here, please give us a shout from our Contact Us page.
Does Atomo coffee have a shelf life like normal coffee?
Shelf stability is top of our minds. Most folks do not really think about coffee in terms of “best by” from a roasted date – we haven’t really been taught to think of the coffee bean or grounds this way. Heck I’ve seen coffee in my friend’s kitchens that were almost 10 years old – can you say oxidized? Not good. One of the big things about roasting beans is that you take some of those amazing aromatic compounds and volatilize them with the high roasting temperatures so that you end up with little to no residue of some amazing flavor contributors. One of the things we are taking aim at is reintroduction of those amazing aromatic compounds that are found in the green bean but lost during roasting. Given that we can introduce flavors without exposing them to roasting we can ensure that the flavors are there when you go to brew them. Lots to solve for to achieve this but with your support and that of our community we can sink our teeth into driving those sorts of developments.
What are Atomo grounds made of?
For the insoluble, non-volatile portion of the molecular grounds, we are still exploring many options and targeting an upcycled play that would take the byproduct of a current commercial operation and add value to it by using it as the carrier matrix for our flavor and mouthfeel compounds – essentially the proteins, carbohydrates and oil components you can expect from coffee grounds. Some examples of that would be watermelon seeds or sunflower seeds husks. Much of what we are doing at this stage is still proprietary as we have a good journey ahead to optimize the perfect molecular coffee that can be enjoyed as your daily ritual. All compounds and strategies will be shared as they evolve and are optimized.
What flavor profile are you targeting?
Our first version of Atomo will be built to a pre-selected gold-standard: A single source Costa Rican from La Cassona region. Ultra smooth with beautiful, roasted almond, toffee notes – nice caramelization. As you could guess – challenging to nail without the complex flavor incubator that is the bean. So we are working hard to build the model that allows us to produce such a gorgeous cup of coffee while making it sustainable, scalable and here for the foreseeable future. Thereafter we will work on the next profile and the next and the next – until we have a line of amazing coffees that can meet the palate of even the most distinguished coffee connoisseur.
Which end of the market are you targeting?
This is a key question we have been asking ourselves during the whole journey thus far. Our vision: Better coffee, better for the environment and accessible! Meaning we want to sell better coffee for less and help our amazing planet at the same time. We will definitely be targeting high end flavor profiles and take aim at mass consumption because we are not about being exclusive – we want to be a part of the coffee community – we are not here to replace coffee as people know it today – we just want to offer people a choice and we believe we do that by making amazing coffee and making it affordable, sustainable and scalable. We love coffee and we love coffee rituals; we just want it to be available for our children and their children and it isn’t an exclusive, premium, expensive one in the future.
FDA compliance?
All ingredients that we will use will be GRAS and thus FDA compliant. Our chief scientist and founder, Jarret Stopforth, has a doctorate in Food Science and has worked for some of the top CPG companies for the last 20 years. He is leading the product development with our amazing food product developers, to develop the best products that are completely compliant.
Do you want people to drink black coffee?
Absolutely. It’s healthier! Different members of our team drink their coffee with cream to cut into the bitterness – not because they want the additional calories or to dilute the wonderful flavor aromas from the bean but to cut into the acidity and bitterness of the coffee. We believe that by customizing coffee we can drive more people to the ritualistic enjoyment of pour-overs, french press, aero, etc. Coffee is beautiful and we want the ritualism back. We are driving that ritualism in an optimized, sustainable and scalable way. We know there will be debate on what we are doing but we think people will understand that we are coffee lovers who want great coffee to be around forever.
Are you trying to put existing coffee growers out of business?
No. We expect coffee growers to continue to grow coffee in established plantations, but we’d prefer they didn’t continue deforestation to plant new crops.
One arabica coffee tree produces 1lb of coffee per year! If you drink 1.5 cups of coffee a day, that equals 14 trees per year, just for you. By reducing the need for new coffee plantations we can save the remaining forestlands.
What about an espresso grind?
Is Atomo vegan?
Is Atomo appropropriate for people with certain food allergies, metabolic disorders, etc?
Will Atomo be certified Kosher?
The goal is to be Kosher Certified – final claims will depend on final recipe/process and we will keep the community updated