Published by Leonardo Calcagno
SIAL Canada x BaronMag | 9 au 11 may | Enercar Center | Toronto
Can you tell us about your background and your company?
Café Castelo is a roasting house, but also a family business that started with my parents, Predrag and Nikolina, when we immigrated to Canada. They founded the business in 1996 but wrote their business plan at the same time as learning French. Why coffee? Simply for its magic. They started in the coffee industry in their native country during a civil war and noticed that despite all the hardships that can be experienced, coffee unites and reconnects people. I will spare the story of their many obstacles, but I can assure you that I witnessed their resilience, and that my brother, Nicolas, and I have learned the importance of consistency and giving our best every day. We constantly work together with a shared mission and passion, and it is a real honor for Nicolas and I to take over Café Castelo Inc.
Today, we have built a custom factory dedicated to the art of roasting, but especially to innovation. We invest heavily in equipment, automation, and research and development. Within the company, we have a laboratory for pre- and post-roasting tests to make sure our coffee is the highest quality we can offer. Every detail and variable is considered, and we also have a post-roasting optical sorter that sorts each bean to always have a balanced coffee without excess acidity or bitterness. Innovation is at the heart of our passion, and we have developed a specially treated coffee for reusable capsules that allows for a 100% successful infusion, with a thick crema, and enables consumers to save while being eco-friendly. It also does not require chemicals or any additives. For this year, we have developed a technological process that allows for a universal grind. This innovation will be presented at SIAL, and we have just been selected as Innovation 2023.
New services & products?
The Universal Grind is a new addition to our range of products for both businesses and individuals. This in-house technological innovation uses mechanical processes without chemicals or additives to produce a bag of ground coffee that effectively replaces all previous grinds. This technology can be applied to all coffee varieties, including Arabica, Robusta, and decaf. The name of this innovation was chosen to highlight its universal capacity. Indeed, thanks to the Universal Grind, you can use the same bag of coffee for most coffee makers, including espresso, Italian stove-top, French press, percolator, filter, etc.
An important aspect of the Universal Grind is its ecological impact, as it allows a 20% to 40% reduction in the amount of coffee needed for each infusion. This helps to conserve resources, a crucial point is given that experts estimate that coffee production will need to double by 2050, despite a halving of cultivable land. Moreover, the production of green coffee, the most polluting stage of the coffee life cycle, can account for up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Finally, the Universal Grind enhances the flavor of coffee thanks to a constant extraction percentage that complies with the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) standards. Even with a higher amount of coffee than the norm, the Universal Grind is always within the desired range of extraction percentage, without producing excessive bitterness or acidity.
In summary, the Universal Grind is a major breakthrough in the world of coffee, offering an ecological solution, increased efficiency, better flavor, and ease of use for all types of coffee makers.
What type of partners are you looking for at SIAL?
We are looking for partners who share our values to become a significant players in the sustainable economy. The innovation we offer can have a significant impact on the environment by reducing the use of our resources and greenhouse gas emissions. This technology is applicable to all varieties of coffee worldwide, giving it a real global impact. For businesses, this allows them to save on resources while offering superior quality, not to mention less waste and probability of error during preparation. This product simplifies the cup of coffee for everyone without compromising on flavor. For 26 years, we have placed great importance on long-term partnerships and visionary individuals. For our family, no challenge is too great, and we are always ready to remake the world and break existing ideas and methodologies to develop truly innovative alternatives.
cafecastelo.com