The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) hasapproved the sale of coffee leaf tea in the 27-country European Union.
The decision to recognize coffee leaf tea as atraditional food product comes centuries after Ethiopians and Malaysians begandrinking the lightly caffeinated beverage and years after North American-based Wize Monkey began marketing the tea for its healthbenefits.
“Approval has been a bit of a sticking point, wedidn’t think it would take that much time but now that has opened up it willpresent business opportunities,” said Wize Monkey co-founder Max Rivest.
His company is pursuing deals with several Europeandistributors, according to Rivest. “Consumers in the UK and France, some inGermany and Scandinavia and a few in Spain and Portugal,” have shown interest.
They are attracted to a delicious tasting tea, thatis lightly caffeinated, healthy and does not get bitter during steeping, hesaid. European buyers prefer to deal with companies that have embracedtransparent sourcing and help people at the production level.
“Ultimately taste is what sells the product,” hesaid. There are now several coffee leaf manufacturers in Southeast Asia and acouple in Australia. He predicted there will be more in Europe now that theproduct has cleared regulatory review.
The approval, at the request of Danish firm AM Breweries,states, “The available data on composition and history of use of the TF(traditional food from a third country) do not raise safety concerns.”
Copenhagen-based AM Breweries, which markets itstea as TwistedLeaf, submitted the infusion for analysis in2018. The EFSA’s 15-page reportplaces few restrictions on the tea. Intake is suggested at below one liter perday with maximum consumption of five liters. “No specific warnings are proposedby the applicant as it is unlikely that a person would drink more than 5 litersof herbal infusion,” according to the analysis. However, AM Breweries set amaximum limit of 100 mg/l for chlorogenic acid, an antioxidant withmetabolism-boosting effects.
Traditional Drink
The drink was first mentioned in Westernliterature in 1872 by coffee expert JR Hewitt who described sun-dried coffeeleaves in Indonesia, Jamaica, India, Java, Sumatra, and South Sudan. Today anestimated five million people consume coffee leaf tea globally. In Ethiopia,where the beverage is thought to have originated, consumption is 4-6 cups perday. The tea is prepared with approximately 20 grams of leaves per liter ofwater.
Twisted leaf markets bubbly coffee leaf beverageblends sourced in Kenya and packed with antioxidants.
“Together with organic alcohol (4.4% ABV) andorganic ingredients such as fresh lime and ripe raspberries, we developed thebeverages without compromising on the gentle, undefined and unique taste ofcoffee leaves,” states the company’s website.
Vancouver-based Wize Monkey launched the segment in 2015 and was awarded Product of the Year at the2017 Specialty Food Expo. Co-founders Max Rivest and Arnaud Petitvallet based theblends on a 2013 graduate school project. Leaves are sourced in Nicaragua asoriginal and blended to create 10 flavors. The tea is sold in tins, pouches andsustainable single serve wraps at 300 stores including Whole Foods Markets in 40countries.
Source: EFSA,Comunicaffe