AI Summary
NUS researchers have developed an alcoholic beverage using spent coffee grounds (SCG) as a sustainable way to manage coffee waste. They fermented SCG hydrolysates with yeast to create the beverage and studied its flavor, aroma, and health benefits. SCG is the largest portion of waste from coffee production, producing 6 million metric tons worldwide annually. Scientists are finding ways to convert SCG into value-added products.
Spent coffee grounds (SCG) makes up the largest portion of waste generated from preparing coffee beverages and making instant coffee, producing close to 6 million metric tons of waste worldwide each year. To manage this vast amount of waste, scientists are finding ways of converting SCG into value-added products for various applications, from industrial materials to biofuels.
A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Liu Shao Quan from the NUS Department of Food Science and Technology under the Faculty of Science took a more innovative route to create an alcoholic beverage from fermented SCG as a way to sustainably manage the rising amount of waste generated from coffee consumption each year.
The team’s research on SCG-derived alcoholic beverages spanned across different studies where they worked on the flavor, aroma, and understanding its health benefits.
Achieving the best flavor and aroma
To prepare the alcoholic beverage from SCG, the researchers first prepared SCG hydrolysates, then fermented the SCG hydrolysates using a concoction of microorganisms, such as yeasts. Yeast