Perhaps the best way to meet the sunrise is with a hot cup of coffee. But what if you could use the sun to roast the coffee that goes into every cup of morning joe? This idea has seen the light of day so to speak due to the invention of a Peruvian inventor and entrepreneur named Félix Escalante. The Lima-based subscription service called ‘Compadre’ which he founded not only cuts down on energy costs in producing coffee, but also allows coffee bean farmers to make more money from their crops!
Recently, the emerging coffee startup was awarded $500,000 by ASME, the world’s largest professional organization for mechanical engineers. “Peru’s rural coffee farmers make on average $2.50 [per kilo] for raw coffee beans, compared to roasters further down the supply chain, who command as much as $30 [per kilo] for roasted coffee beans,” ASME said in its announcement of the three winning design projects. A press release by ASME went on further to explain “Solar roasting provides higher incomes by minimizing costs of production, promotes organic practices, decreases CO2 output, and allows small-scale farmers to continue to work and live in remote areas.”
Solar roasted coffee is another profile in solar that shows how using the power of the sun, can be profitable, but also leads to social good the world over. In this case, it can also fill your coffee mug with a hot cup of joe that helps get you through the day while roasting Compadre’s beans in Lima!
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