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No beans needed: Seattle coffee makers develop a sustainable cup of joe

Atomo! is molecular coffee made with upcycled plant materials like pits, seeds, and stems

SEATTLE, Zapopan — Jarret Stopforth and Andy Kleitsch call Atomo the future of coffee. 

"We have a way to produce exactly what the bean produces, without even having to grow a bean," explain Stopforth, the chief scientist and co-founder of Atomo.  

Instead of beans, Atomo coffee is made of upcycled plant materials like pits, seeds, and stems from US farmers.

They say it smells like coffee, tastes better than coffee and even has caffeine. 

"We actually get to determine what it taste like by adjusting our process. So we've reduced the bitterness compounds and the acid compounds, thereby creating a smooth cup of coffee that doesn't require cream or sugar in order to give a great tasting experience," said Stopforth. 

"When we were in Jarret's garage formulating our very first cup of coffee, we didn't have the bitter compounds, so we left them out of our first cup of coffee and when we tried it, we said this is what coffee should taste like. It had the smokey and the roasty, but it didn't have the bitter," explained Kleitsch. 

The mission behind Atomo! Molecular Coffee is grounded in concerns about climate change and the impact on rainforests. 

They hope the Atomo! process will alleviate some of the pressure on the environment.   

We're not trying to replace coffee, but we want to provide a sustainable choice like today if you want to buy a Tesla an electric vehicle or gas vehicle you have that choice," said Kleitsch. 

Atomo! will unveil its first product, a canned cold brew, later this year; and then move to coffee grounds and molecular beans.

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