Coffee's kind of a big deal.
Coffee is a $48B industry. Each year, 25B lbs of dried green coffee is processed for export. 100B lbs of coffee fruit (cascara) is harvested as a byproduct, of which 70% is thrown to waste.
And it has a big waste problem.
Cascara waste is left to rot in landfills, generating methane gas equivalent to 14.5 million metric tons of CO2. Equivalent to the emissions from three million passenger cars over the course of a year.
Things are only getting worse.
By 2050, 50% of the current usable land dedicated to coffee production will have vanished due to warming temperatures resulting from climate change. Ironically, wasting cascara is contributing to the most prominent threat to the future of the coffee industry.
So...now what?
At Riff we love coffee and we love our planet. But we don’t love coffee’s impact on our planet, so we’re doing something about it by creating possibilities out of coffee beans and the whole dang coffee plant.
We utilize 100% of the agricultural value of the coffee plant by using the coffee bean for our cold brew coffees, and cascara for our new line of plant-powered Energy+ beverages.
And that's what we call a win-win-win.
Upcycling cascara and avoiding food waste, Energy+ is carbon neutral, and party of 1% For The Planet—donating 1% of revenue to non profits in coffee growing regions.
Creating an opportunity to double income and employment for coffee farmers by generating demand for cascara.
Reducing the coffee industry's contribution to climate change by utilizing 100% of the coffee plant’s agricultural value.
Why stop there?
Did you know that deforestation for agricultural expansion causes 15-18% of global greenhouse gas emissions? Global climate change is one of our world's biggest threats, and we are committed to doing our part to take action. That's why we are partnering with Grow Ahead, an organization standing behind reforestation projects run by small-scale farmer organizations to help combat climate change and support communities.
$1 = 1 Tree Planted
You now have an opportunity at checkout to plant a tree for just one dollar, and offset the carbon emissions from shipping your package. With this contribution, you are part of a positive cycle of replenishing forests and creating vibrant food systems across the globe. With our friends at Grow Ahead, you're helping support agroforestry projects in Mexico, Honduras and Peru.
Download our white paper we developed with Oregon State University on the opportunities for Upcycling and Recycling Coffee Fruit.
