Can Coffee Silver Skin From Roasting Become Everyday Products?

Ito En and Tully's Coffee in Japan have turned coffee silver skin, the thin layer around green bean coffee, into water-resistant straws. Every 10 grams of roasted beans yields enough silver skin for two straws, and the material does not alter the drink's flavor. Tully's had already used silver skin in eco-friendly napkins as early as 2012.

The silver skin is shed during roasting and often treated as waste, though some drinkers think it interferes with flavor expression. The straws are currently sold only at selected Japanese stores, but the approach cuts pulp use in paper production. Coffee bean roasters and beverage companies are watching similar recycling efforts, including straws made from spent coffee grounds, as a way to use more of the coffee fruit.

In the coffee industry chain, silver skin is often overlooked as a roasting by-product. However, Japan's Ito En and Tully's Coffee have teamed up to transform this thin protective layer into water-resistant straws. Every 10 grams of coffee beans produce enough silver skin to make two straws, and they do not interfere with the drink's flavor. In fact, Tully's Coffee had already introduced eco-friendly napkins containing silver skin as early as 2012. Although these products are currently only available at some stores in Japan, silver skin-blended paper has already taken an environmental step forward in reducing pulp usage. This article will guide you through the transformation of coffee silver skin from waste to practical accessories, and revisit coffee ground recycling cases such as Starbucks' coffee ground straws, exploring the possibility of fully utilizing the entire coffee fruit.

Compared to roasted coffee beans, the silver skin wrapped around the outer layer of green beans has always attracted little attention. This thin protective film has now also entered the scope of recycling. A Japanese beverage manufacturer has partnered with a coffee company to successfully create straws using coffee silver skin!

As ordinary consumers, the coffee we encounter daily is nothing more than liquid beverages or roasted beans. But the entire journey of coffee from fruiting on the branch to final consumption—what stages it goes through and what waste it generates—is rarely known. In the roasting stage, which most people never get to witness, a large amount of coffee silver skin is actually shed. The silver skin is originally the outermost guardian of green beans, and some of it naturally falls off during roasting. Some coffee enthusiasts believe that the presence of silver skin interferes considerably with the flavor expression of coffee. Compared to the highly favored coffee beans, silver skin seems unable to win any favor from enthusiasts.

If coffee grounds can be recycled and made into raw materials for various new types of utensils—remember Starbucks' "coffee ground straws" made from recycled coffee grounds? The introduction of coffee ground straws ended the dominance of paper straws in the beverage world and freed coffee lovers from the terrible experience of drinking paper-flavored coffee.

Also originating from the coffee fruit, coffee grounds have certainly stolen the spotlight in the environmental field. So where does the silver skin shed during roasting end up? After all, roasters also pay a corresponding cost for the silver skin when purchasing green beans.

Addressing the pain points of traditional paper straws, which soften easily in water and carry a papery taste, Ito En and Tully's Coffee collaborated to develop coffee silver skin-blended paper straws that are both water-resistant and do not interfere with beverage flavor. According to Ito En, the silver skin peeled from 10 grams of coffee beans is enough to make two straws, and the straw surface exhibits the unique texture of silver skin.

Today, the path for coffee lovers to pleasure is no longer limited to coffee ground straws and PLA straws—silver skin straws have added another strong contender. However, comparing coffee ground straws, PLA straws, and silver skin straws to determine which is the ultimate path to happiness for coffee people is quite difficult. The reason is that silver skin straws are only sold at Ito En directly operated stores and some Tully's Coffee locations in Japan. That's right, Japan only—meaning coffee lovers outside Japan have no chance to experience the joy brought by silver skin straws.

In fact, the uses of coffee silver skin go far beyond making straws—silver skin napkins also exist. Even before Tully's Coffee introduced silver skin straws, the brand had been continuously providing customers with eco-friendly napkins containing coffee silver skin since July 2012.

Currently, silver skin straws and silver skin napkins have not yet achieved being 100% made from silver skin. But the addition of coffee silver skin does indeed reduce pulp consumption, which is at least a first step on the environmental path.

Coffee ground straws are already ubiquitous on the market, while coffee silver skin-related accessories are still hard to find. Perhaps one day, we will truly be able to get our hands on merchandise containing coffee silver skin. Coffee lovers might as well push a little harder to fully tap the accessory potential of the entire coffee fruit—who knows, we might really get to experience the complete joy of a coffee house.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.