This exclusive Prepared Foods podcast features Andy Kleitsch, founder and CEO of Seattle’s Atomo Coffee. Founded in 2019, Atomo is a sustainability champion and created beanless coffee now sold both as espresso and grounds.

This past fall, Atomo was picked up by Australia’s Bluestone Lane coffee chain in more than 50 of its US cafes in New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, and Illinois. Consumers also can go to Amazon and order a 50:50 “Collaboration Blend” made up of Bluestone’s Flagstaff coffee and Atomo coffee.

Here are just a few of the topics Kleitsch addresses in this podcast:

Atomo’s Name! The company’s name is a fun nod both to tech and to Italian coffee culture. It started with the atom and then became “Atomo,” which is the Italian version.

His Transition to Tech to Taste: In 1994, just as the internet was beginning, Kleitsch founded an online bridal registry and wedding planning site. Later (even before the iPhone’s debut), he formed a mobile payments company. While advising University of Washington students, he says he embraced their passions for the planet and social good. That led him to spend about a year and investigate his next project. Ironically, it was over a cup of coffee at Starbucks that a food scientist suggested reverse engineering coffee and developing beanless coffee. Kleitsch intentionally selected Seattle’s Pike Place Market (where Starbucks began) for Atomo’s first operations. His funding approach was to “flip the script” and begin with a kick-starter campaign to draw investor interest.

Atomo’s Formulation Start: Kleitsch and others learned there are more than 1,000 chemical compounds in coffee that contribute to sensory characteristics of aroma, taste, body and mouthfeel. Atomo’s research locked in on 28 critical compounds and eventually established a proprietary way to infuse and then roast date pits (via Maillard reaction) that become its ingredient base.

Atomo Operations: Atomo went to Coachella Valley, Calif., a hub for date paste ingredient processing, to recover leftover date pits. In pioneering such a new supply chain, Kleitsch realized that Atomo needed to build a Coachella Valley operation of its own—just to receive, store and handle date pits. Atomo has a second Seattle facility (the “Roastery”) where it receives, combines and roasts date pits along with its other ingredients. It processes and packages those ingredients for espresso and regular ground coffee applications.

Atomo’s Sustainability Profile: Atomo says its Upcycled Certified beanless coffee is made from widely sourced, farm-grown, superfoods, and upcycled ingredients such as date pits, sunflower, guava, and lemon. Atomo says its ingredients “elevate the flavor of conventional brews—while they slash carbon emissions by up to 83% and use 70% less land.” Kleitsch says more than half of Atomo’s 14 ingredients, by weight, are upcycled.

Better Coffee--From the Ground(s) Up

Prepared Foods talks with Atomo Coffee Founder & CEO Andy Kleitsch about Atomo’s upcycled beanless coffee.

Listen to more from The Prepared Foods Podcast.