We are Living in the Future: the Future is Coffee

If you’ve read part one of this article, you’ll know that coffee is an amazing and glorious shrub in both its living and transformed state. So what do housing, furniture, lighting, home goods, jewelry, textiles, food production, and fuel all have to do with this miracle plant (besides being a necessity for living)? Thanks to coffee loving inventors and visionaries, each one of the above-mentioned items can now be created from coffee waste. It’s 2021 and you if you love coffee, I mean, really, really love coffee, then you can live the coffee-fueled life you’ve always dreamed of.

This reminds me of the 1997 song “Barbie® Girl” by the Danish-Norwegian group Aqua. But instead of the word Barbie®, insert Coffee. That or some bizarre Dr. Seuss book that takes place in a land made of coffee. But I digress. Let’s delve deeper into this new coffee-fueled future world.

Housing, Deck floors, and Walls

There’s nothing like waking up to the inviting smell of freshly brewed coffee, so how exciting would it be to live in a home that smelled like coffee all the time? In all honesty, these homes probably won’t smell like coffee. But a Columbian company called Woodpecker® has managed to take coffee byproduct and transform it into affordable prefabricated housing. These homes are lightweight, durable, and even fireproof, and start off at as little as $4,500.00. They also sell deck floors, walls, and classroom kits.

Furniture and Lighting

Don’t you hate it when you’re completely immersed in a good book, and then you have to pull yourself away to turn on a light? Well, you won’t object to turning on these lights because they’ll emit a faint coffee smell as soon as they begin to heat up. Spanish company Decafé not only creates lamps, but also bowls, mirrors, and round storage containers (which would be perfect for your coffee jewelry, which we’ll be getting to later).

If you really want to show off your coffee fanaticism (you know, add a little extra flair while you’re serving your coffee), you can contact Çurface (pronounced “surface”) for a new kitchen table. This UK company transforms melted coffee cups and compressed coffee grounds into sturdy, sustainable, and beautiful tables and chairs.

Home Goods – From Dishware to Mouth Care

So what about drinking your morning (or afternoon or evening – no judgment here) coffee out of a mug made of, you guessed it, coffee? That’s just absurd, right? Wrong! That’s sustainable and therefore, super smart, and the folks at Berlin-based company Kaffeform have created just that – four different types to choose from. And they’re all eco-friendly, vegan, and 100% recyclable, which means you can enjoy their coffee-cast cups at home or on the go.

Speaking of which, if you’re the traveling type, or if you’re throwing a nice little shindig to show off your new coffee infused home, you’ll want to pick up some bio-cutlery for your guests.  The brainchild of LI & SUN Design Studio, these utensils are made from eco-plastic and food biowaste (like coffee or tea leaves), and are printed on a 3D printer. Side note: If you own a 3D printer, you’re going to want to go out and buy some coffee 3D filament because – you guessed it – recyclable, sustainable, and biodegradable.

But there’s one last item that everyone uses, and it’s normally just discarded once it begins to break down – a toothbrush.  BogoBrush has created this toothbrush from recycled coffee (or cotton, flax, or hemp), which means that you can combat that nasty coffee breath aftertaste and not feel guilty about the possibility of your toothbrush washing up on some beach. While you’re technically not supposed to brush your teeth immediately after drinking your java juice, this toothbrush will make it worth the wait. Because if there’s one thing all coffee aficionados can agree on, it’s the horrible lingering aftertaste after you’ve finished your coffee.

Jewelry and Textiles

S.Cafe® is on the forefront of sustainable clothing – all made with coffee. Coffee is an amazing deodorizer and also absorbs excess moisture, making it the perfect recipe for shoes, and athletic braces, outdoor and exercise wear. Big brands like Under Armor®, Asics®, and Timberland® are all pledging to utilize this new coffee fabric in their products, which is in line with S.Cafe’s tagline “Drink it, Wear it.”

Luxury shoe company Nat-2 makes functionable, wearable, sustainable art. The owner, Sebastian Thies, is a 6^th generation Munich-based shoe designer who incorporates natural objects (like mushrooms, coffee grounds, and stone) into his apparel. And if you’re into jewelry (like I am), British designer Rosalie McMillan has paired with Çurface to create a coffee-inspired line called Java Ore. Each piece is made with recycled sterling silver, 18K gold, and Çurface’s unique pressed coffee forms.

Food and Fuel

Gunter Pauli is the man behind The Blue Economy, the philosophy being to “respond to basic needs of all with what you have, introducing innovations inspired by nature, generating multiple benefits, including jobs and social capital, offering more with less.” How does this relate to coffee? In Africa, Mr. Pauli uses the byproduct as a means to grow mushrooms, ultimately removing this potential environmental hazard from landfills. The coffee farmers take their coffee waste and grow mushrooms, which means more food, more jobs, less waste, and more income for those involved. That’s an example of the Blue Economy – universally helping the world and its inhabitants.  It’s a win-win scenario.

Speaking of positive scenarios, who doesn’t like a sitting all toasty warm in front of a fireplace or going camping? If you’ve got a wood burning fireplace, then you’ll probably just run to the store and purchase a stack of logs (or if you live in the forest, you’ll go chop your own wood). But that’s the problem. While firewood is considered a renewable resource, the demand can outpace tree’s ability to regenerate (i.e. trees grow slow). The solution? Bring in the Java-Log®. Pine Mountain® states that it “burns cleaner than ordinary cord wood”, and also smells like coffee. A UK-based company based Bio-Bean also has their own coffee log that is perfect for wood burning stoves. Each log is made from 25 cups of coffee and reduces greenhouse emissions by 80%. They’ve also created coffee pellets for industrial and large-scale commercial use.

You’re going to have to drive to the store or have these coffee logs delivered to your home, right? And that requires gas, which means C02 emissions. Good thing that Bio-Bean is also working on a new biofuel that’s made by converting coffee oil to coffee biofuel. Coffee as fuel? What? How? When you look at a normal cup of black coffee that has been sitting out for some time, you’ll notice a slight sheen on the top. The darker the coffee, the more sheen you’ll see. This is coffee oil, and because coffee is a seed, it contains fat, like any seed or nut. So you can personally fuel up on coffee and also fuel your vehicle.

Cool beans.

Robyn earned her coffee stripes working as a barista up and down the California coast. After ten years, she moved from behind the bar to behind a desk as the inside sales rep for a local wholesale coffee roastery. She is currently a contributing writer at BuzzFeed and works in social media marketing and design. When it comes to espresso, nothing makes her happier than a decadent crema.