Drinking coffee is part of the global lifestyle and coffee consumption has been steadily growing for years. Against this background, the concept of Kaffeeform is based on the idea that the coffee grounds, which end up as waste, will also be produced in ever larger quantities. This led to the impressive idea of using the waste coffee grounds as a readily available resource for creating new products. As a recycled material, Kaffeeform is the result of several years of research, experiments and testing to make use of a so far mostly wasted resource. It was created as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to product materials based on mineral oils. Characteristic features of this innovative material are an appearance of dark marblewood as well as its pleasant smell of coffee. The resulting products are very light, durable and, thanks to the use of biopolymers, even dishwasher-safe. In addition to dispensing with additives based on mineral oils, this versatile material is also easy to recycle and produced in a CO₂-neutral material cycle. Transforming Kaffeeform into a first exemplary design to demonstrate the potential of this new material, a coffee cup was chosen as the obvious product for its introduction. The cup is thus also a symbol that underlines the importance of sustainability – merging material and form into a sensual meaningful symbiosis.
Statement by the Jury
In an impressive manner, the concept of Kaffeeform realises the contemporary idea of sustainable recycling. It gives new meaning to a valuable resource that has so far received little attention. The products made of Kaffeeform are robust, very light and possess a pleasant feel. This clever solution represents a new, environmentally friendly material alternative, and sets an important example for the future.
