KANSAS CITY — Consumers are looking for more than caffeine as many are reaching for functional coffees to start their morning.
Woman-owned company Velty is launching its take on decaf coffee with the introduction of its first product: The Classic Uncaffeinated. The instant decaf coffee is put through a Swiss water process, removing 99.9% of the caffeine, and then freeze dried. Velty combines coffee beans with mesquite, lion’s mane mushroom, reishi mushroom and inulin, so that it also acts as a gut-friendly digestif.
Also using mushrooms to fuel functional innovation is Live Conscious. Live Conscious debuted Beyond Brew, which is a mushroom-based coffee alternative. The blend offers one-tenth of the caffeine that comes in a cup of coffee, as well as added gut, heart, immunity and brain health benefits. Beyond Brew features a blend of mushrooms, organic Peruvian cacao, and prebiotics and probiotics.
Pop & Bottle is looking toward convenience as it expands its plant-based coffee line with the introduction of cold brew concentrate. Made with Arabica beans, the concentrate is 15 times stronger than normal coffee, according to the company. By adding a tablespoon of the concentrate to either 6 oz of water or milk, consumers have a ready-to-drink cup of coffee. The concentrates are available in
classic cold brew, vanilla cold brew and mocha cold brew varieties.
“We first introduced Pop & Bottle plant-based lattes in 2015 with the goal to bring purpose and indulgence back into our everyday coffee routines, but in a healthy, more nourishing way,” said Jash Mehta, co-founder and chief executive officer of Pop & Bottle. “We’re so thrilled to expand our product line beyond lattes with the launch of the Super Concentrate. With the concentrate, we’re adding ease, convenience, and versatility to the coffee routine, all while still staying true to our quality, clean ingredients and delicious taste.”