Here’s an opportunity for coffee farmers to earn extra money from their plants all year. The CFTRI (Central Food Technological Research Institute), based in Mysuru, has developed a technology for producing a value-added product from coffee leaves that also has medicinal health benefits.
Pushpa S Murthy, CFTRI’s Principal Scientist (Spice and Flavour Science Department), stated that with this coffee leaf brew mix, farmers could expect to earn more money from their plants beyond the standard three-month harvest period.
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This technology is the result of a CFTRI project launched in 2019 to develop value-added products from coffee leaves. The Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries funded the project.
She believes that if farmers can use the leaves that can be harvested during the off-season or during pruning without interfering with coffee bean growth, it will have a significant impact on the social status of coffee farmers.
Because of the nature of the coffee bean growth cycle, approximately 70% of the coffee industry is unemployed or underemployed for almost nine months of the year. The project’s goal was to guide and help coffee farmers with a year-round sustainable process.
Simple procedure
According to her, coffee leaves are typically discarded as a byproduct. The preparation of a beverage from the coffee leaf is indigenous to Ethiopia and is known as ‘Kuti Tea’ in West Sumatra and Indonesia. However, Murthy stated that the preparation in these regions differs from that developed by CFTRI.
The brew can be made with water, steeped for a few minutes, filtered, and consumed. According to her, the institute has begun the transfer of this technology to the coffee industry, and a few industry participants have already given their consent.
According to Murthy, the leaf brew does not taste like coffee. ‘The brew is subtle, with less caffeine than coffee or tea,’ she explained.
In terms of the beverage’s nutritional value, she claims that coffee leaves are high in phenolic acids, which may have health benefits. Coffee leaves contain approximately 17% more antioxidants than green tea. The beverage should be consumed unsweetened.
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According to her, the beverage contains health-promoting polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid and mangiferin, which aid in lowering blood glucose levels, inflammation, and blood pressure.
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