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When it comes to coffee, trends are hotter than ever (pun intended). Maybe you’re cool sticking to your tried-and-true black coffee in the morning, or your usual iced vanilla latte in the afternoon. But if you’re feeling adventurous, things like white coffee, coffee soda, or even functional mushroom coffee might peak your interest. Maybe you’re even willing to hop on a trend that’s not only delicious, but also good for the environment? Say hello to beanless coffee.
Experts in This Article
registered dietitian and owner of Pennsylvania Nutrition Services
an anti-diet dietitian based in Raleigh, North Carolina
Beanless coffee is just what it sounds like: a type of coffee that’s made without (or with fewer) arabica beans. It was created with sustainability in mind—an aspect the traditional coffee industry can sometimes lack. Coffee production is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in our food supply behind beef, lamb, cheese, and chocolate production, per a June 2018 review in Science1. Just one latte is estimated to produce 0.55 kilograms of carbon emissions, which is about the same produced by driving 1.4 miles in a car, per a December 2020 study in Geo Open Access2.
So what makes beanless coffee different from the regular stuff (expect for, you know, the lack of beans)? Here, we take a closer look at the difference in taste, caffeine content, and health benefits between the two. Plus, scroll to find a few brands of beanless coffee to try yourself—if you feel so bold.
What is beanless coffee?
Instead of 100 percent arabica beans, beanless coffee is made from a variety of grains, seeds, and other caffeine sources (like tea) to resemble a coffee-like taste, look, and consistency. Brands like Atomo, Minus Coffee, and Northern Wonder have recently become popular, each with a unique process for creating drip, espresso, capsule, and ready-to-drink products.
For example, Atomo infuses date seeds with a proprietary marinade for its drip and espresso blends. Their espresso grounds are completely bean-free, but their drip products are 50 percent beanless/50 percent arabica—allowing drinkers to explore more sustainable alternatives without completely ditching their beloved classic brew. Minus Coffee, on the other hand, roasts, grinds, and ferments upcycled fruit pits and seeds—such as carob, millet malt, lentils, chicory, grape seeds, and sunflower seeds—to create its ready-to-drink coffee beverages.
Some brands even use other types of beans to create their blends. Northern Wonder uses a lupin, chickpea, and chicory combo, while Voyage Foods uses roasted chickpeas and rice hulls for their medium and dark roast cold brews.
How is it different from regular coffee?
Beanless vs. regular coffee: How do they measure up? Besides sustainability (which we’ll touch on more below), there are some key highlights about bean-free coffee to note:
1. It’s nuttier and less bitter than regular coffee
Some beanless coffee varieties will taste more like regular coffee than others. For example, Atomo’s roasting and brewing process makes 28 of the same chemical compounds3 as coffee (like phenolic acid and flavonoids). Some reviewers have said that when it’s paired with their favorite milk or creamer, it’s tastes virtually identical to the real thing. Other brands, like Northern Wonder, are slightly sweeter, nuttier, and less bitter than you average cup of joe—making it a favorite for people with acid reflux.
Likewise, Minus Coffee’s ready-to-drink products have sweeter notes of vanilla and less bitterness than traditional cold brew. Reviewers have said its vanilla oat latte tastes very similar to other canned latte drinks, like LaColombe.
2. It smells more like roasted grains
So the taste is less bitter, but what about the smell? A lot of coffee alternatives, especially ones with mushroom, fall short in the smell department. But Minus Coffee’s ready-to-drink options smell pretty close to coffee when you first open the can. Other products, like beanless espresso grounds, smell distinctly like roasted grains and legumes versus coffee beans. For people who perk up at just the smell of freshly brewed coffee, this might be a downside.
3. It has about the same amount of caffeine
Despite the lack of arabica, bean-free coffee options actually have a comparable amount of caffeine to their traditional counterparts. Depending on how it’s prepared, most alternatives have about 75 to 200 milligrams per serving. For context, an 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee has about 96 milligrams of caffeine, per the Mayo Clinic.
But the amount of caffeine in beanless coffee will largely depend on its source. For example, some brands use tea as the caffeine source, while others use a caffeine synthetic. And for those simply drinking coffee for the taste (or the *aesthetic*), decaf options are available.
It may not have the same health benefits as regular coffee
Lots of studies explore the health benefits of traditional coffee, but very few look at alternatives like beanless coffee. That said, we know there are several potential health benefits to be gained from drinking the real deal.
“Drinking coffee is associated with lower risk of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers,” says Christine Byrne, RD, a registered dietitian and owner of Ruby Oak Nutrition. Coffee also has a complex array of phytochemicals4, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds, which could help protect your heart and keep your brain sharp, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. Alternatives, like beanless coffee, may not necessarily have the same effects.
“Although beanless coffee is made with ingredients that have known benefits, like legumes and fruits, each cup of beanless coffee contains so little of each ingredient that it’s unlikely you’d get much benefits,” says Byrne. One potential health advantage? Beanless coffee blends are less acidic, meaning they could be a good option for people with chronic acid reflux or GERD.
Bottom line: Beanless coffee is not bad for you (it’s still made with wholesome, natural ingredients), but drinking it might not offer the same health benefits that traditional coffee does.
Beanless coffee production is more sustainable
Sustainability is where these alternatives truly shine. Compared to regular coffee, Atomo espresso (100 percent bean-free) produces 83 percent less carbon emissions and requires 70 percent less farmland to produce, per the brand’s website. Similarly, Minus Coffee products are locally sourced, using 94 to 95 percent less water, and produce 86 to 87 percent less greenhouse emissions than conventional coffee.
Beanless coffee brands are also hoping to fight deforestation. According to a WWF report, coffee production is one of the leading causes of deforestation. Climate change and the increased demand for coffee has pushed more coffee plantations onto new land, but at the expense of forests. Northern Wonder’s site even says they offer “100 percent delicious coffee zero percent to deforestation.”
On top of this, beanless coffee could help cut down on waste from food production because it’s “made from upcycled ingredients—like discarded caffeine and date seeds,” says Alexandria Hardy, RD, a registered dietitian and owner of Pennsylvania Nutrition Services. “By repurposing these materials, beanless coffee helps reduce food waste and even plays a role in preventing coffee tree deforestation.”
How to brew beanless coffee at home
If you’re already sold, it’s actually pretty easy to swap out traditional coffee grounds for the bean-free kind. Most beanless coffee products are already ground and meant to be a 1:1 substitute for your favorite way to enjoy a cup of joe. The only key differences might be optimal brew time and tamp pressure, depending on the product you choose. To make life easier, take a look at this brewing guide to make the perfect bean-free latte or espresso.
You could also try using a simple pour-over or French press, which will help you extract the most flavor, says Maria Caceros, owner of The Coffee Temple. For this process, “the most important thing I can say is to use water that’s a bit cooler than normally recommended (about 194 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid over-extraction and any bitterness,” she says.
Or, to really shake things up, you can try beanless over ice! “My favorite is iced coffee,” says Lenny Chase, CEO of Rasa—an alternative coffee company. “The colder temperature can accentuate the often present bright and fruity notes in beanless coffee substitutes.”
Brands to try
While Minus Coffee is only available in California so far, and Voyage Foods‘ beanless coffee is a B2B product, there are some beanless coffee grounds you can buy online to brew at home.
Atomo Remix Coffee (Dark Roast) — $21.99
Atomo Bluestone Lane Flagstaff Roast Remix — $21.99
Northern Wonder Caffeinated Capsules — $5.08
Northern Wonder Espresso Ground (Caffeinated) — $6.64
FigBrew Beanless Coffee Supplement — $15.99
Poore, J, and T Nemecek. “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers.” Science (New York, N.Y.) vol. 360,6392 (2018): 987-992. doi:10.1126/science.aaq0216
↩︎Nab, Carmen, and Mark Maslin. “Life cycle assessment synthesis of the carbon footprint of Arabica Coffee: Case Study of Brazil and Vietnam conventional and sustainable coffee production and export to the United Kingdom.” Geo: Geography and Environment, vol. 7, no. 2, July 2020, https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.96.
↩︎Saud, Shah, and Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah. “Relationship between the Chemical Composition and the Biological Functions of Coffee.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 26,24 7634. 16 Dec. 2021, doi:10.3390/molecules26247634
↩︎Acidri, Robert et al. “Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Capacity of Coffee Plant Organs Compared to Green and Roasted Coffee Beans.” Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 9,2 93. 22 Jan. 2020, doi:10.3390/antiox9020093
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