Finnish researchers pushing for cellular agriculture in coffee

Scientists in Finland have shed new light on the process of making, roasting and analyzing lab-grown cellular coffee. Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland — a state-owned agency that partners with the private sector — first announced their production coffee-bio-stuff grown from arabica cells in a lab two years ago. In a “proof of concept” paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry today, the researchers present their methods and findings in sharper detail, while further suggesting lab-grown coffee should be explored for commercial applications. To be clear, the VTT project is focused on providing coffee bio-material for roasting and/or brewing, as opposed to plant breeding. The VTT project nods to the 1974 work of Canadian scientist P.M. Townsley, who was the first person to roast cell-grown coffee and report on its aromatics. Yet it reflects a more contemporary interest in the field of “cellular agriculture,” in which animal or plant ...