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POTENTIAL
ALTERNATIVEUSESOF
COFFEEWASTESAND
BY-PRODUCTS
yUCFStaff
C
offee, oneof themost popular beverages, isconsumed
by millions of people every day. Estimated production
is almost reaching 8.8 million while consumption is at
8.7million tonnes with a tendency to increase. It is estimated
that global consumptionhasbeen increasingat a rateof 2.1%
per annum in the last four years with a remarkable increase
in the exporting countries and the emerging markets (ICO
Annual Review 2013/14).
Coffeeasoneof themost consumedcommodities in theworld
has several waste products and by-products that have been
researched andprovenuseful to farmers aswell aspromoting
the sustainability of the environment.
The transformation of coffee waste into energy is just one
way of pursuing sustainability within coffee production. The
potential for other ideas is open to a wide market of coffee
consumers. Developing those ideas, and communicating
them clearly to themarket is the task that must be tackledby
coffeeproducersworldwide, inorder tounlock the investments
of modern consumers, and achieve the development and
sustainability sought after by all.
The most adored Coffee cherry is the fruit of coffee tree as
illustrated below. The green coffee berries ripen over several
months and turn red ready for harvesting. The pericarp or,
exocarp (7) is redouter skinof the red coffeeberries. Beneath
the pulp themesocarp (6), each surroundedby a parchment-
like covering the endocarp or pectin layer (5), lie two beans
flat sides together. There is thin, slimy layer of mucilage
surrounding the parchment in ripe coffee fruits. Silver skin (3)
isa thinnermembrane locatedbetween twocoffeebeansand
covered underneath the parchment (Mutua, 2000).
The aim of processing coffee (either dry or wet method) is
to isolate coffee beans by removing shell and mucilaginous
part from the cherries. Its production involves a comparable
amount of by-products, mainly pulp, husks, defective beans,
and spent coffee grounds.
CoffeePulp(L) andHusks (M&R)
Dry coffee processing method is the oldest, simplest and
requires littlemachinery. It involvesdrying thewholecherryand
then hulling it to get the bean. On the other hand, wet coffee
processing requires theuseof specificequipment (whichcould
be hand or power driven) and using substantial quantities of
