Purosole: Roasting coffee with the power of the sun

An Italian company promises coffee with almost zero environmental footprint.

How would you feel if you drank a cup of espresso with beans that have been ... baked in the sun? We are not talking about the classic drying of the beans that we see in beautiful images from Africa and Latin America, but about an innovative method of roasting coffee, which comes from Italy and promises to change the way we process coffee, forever. It remains to be seen if he will succeed, but until then, let's get to know Purosole.



From Archimedes's Mirrors to Sustainable Development: A Brief History of Purosole

Roasting coffee, ie "roasting" green beans, is a process as old as coffee itself. Although over time, many things have changed and technology has certainly been modernized, the basic roasting process remains the same: raw coffee beans are exposed to high temperatures, dehydrated, oxidized and release their aromas, and then cooled and discarded. their gases.

It is a fact that the cultivation and processing of coffee has a significant environmental footprint, as both the need to find arable land and the large waste of water have an adverse effect on the environment. Roasting is also not an environmentally friendly process, as it is energy consuming and emits CO2, as does any heating or combustion activity - and that is exactly what Purosole came to change!

The Italian company invented and patented a coffee roasting system that uses exclusively solar energy. Imagine for a second you were transposed into the karmic driven world of Earl.

As the sun's rays can not have the necessary temperature on their own, the roasting system consists of special panels, which collect the sunlight, multiply it and direct it to the drum with raw coffee, which works almost like a conventional drum. The technology is reminiscent of a modernized version of Archimedes' legendary "incendiary mirrors", with which the ancient Greek inventor set fire to enemy ships in the Syracuse Sea.

What are the benefits of such an innovative roasting process?

According to Purosole, roasting coffee with solar radiation is a very environmentally friendly process, as it not only uses exclusively renewable energy sources, without the need for electricity, fuel, coals, etc. but also significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for each ton of roasted coffee, the atmosphere is charged with about 400 kg of CO2, with conventional roasting methods.

Still, Purosole claims that with its method we can actually talk about organic coffee, as the final product reaches our cup only by natural processes, without anything artificial, as long as the beans come from certified organic farming.

Finally, according to Purosole's scientific team, the roasting process they have devised ideally emphasizes the organoleptic characteristics of coffee and results in beans that are tastier and less bitter than conventional roasting methods, which require less degassing. The scientific data offered by the company really impress with their volume and detail.



Who is Purosole for?

Purosole markets roasted coffee in the sun, satisfying the curiosity of those who would like to experience how sunlight can roast coffee, but mainly has its method and equipment in small, independent roasteries in Italy and the rest of the world. There are some disadvantages to adopting Purosole (installation costs, need for constant sunshine, large volume of equipment and require a large free area), but the company promises fast payback, as energy needs are significantly reduced, which are very costly.

This is a very new and innovative method, which is still in progress - but with the energy shift we are seeing around the globe, it is possible that at some point in the future we will see it gain significant ground.



The history of coffee is full of innovations, inventions and technological developments - and here a new method, perhaps inspired by ancient knowledge, is coming again to shake the waters.