Safed coffee factory runs on coffee

February 3, 2009 - 8:28 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, Environment, General, Technology 

Coffee power!Coffee-inspired energy is only becoming increasingly fashionable. Back in June, a team at the University of Leeds experimented with the same process used for roasting coffee beans as a method of releasing energy from a host of other crops, including wheat straw and certain types of grasses. The study concluded that this method has the potential boost the energy output of biomass power by up to 20%.

But what about using coffee itself? The concept of using coffee to obtain energy is hardly a new one, and here in Israel, where new energy sources are always an especially welcome discovery, coffee – especially the iconic Elite-brand instant – is a way of life.

Recently, Strauss Elite’s 1956-inaugurated instant coffee plant in Safed implemented a series of green measures, at an estimated expenditure of NIS 10 million, Haaretz reports. The measures include extending the height of the mill’s smokestack and upgrading filtration systems, with estimated efficiency increases resulting from the measures expected to pay for themselves within four years. But perhaps the most remarkable measure is that now the factory uses coffee regs to power itself:

At the beginning of this week, large furnaces were installed to burn the coffee beans at high temperatures to create steam. According to Strauss vice president Pini Kamari, the move will cut the factory’s shale consumption in half.

“This creates a direct connection between being ‘green’ and being efficient,” Kamari explained. “Motivation for the change came from our desire to cut costs, reducing energy costs and transportation costs for both the shale and the waste. At the same time, emissions will be much lower, both from the smokestacks and from the trucks [formerly needed to bring in fuel]. We will create less waste and need to bury less garbage. Noise will also be reduced.”

Image of Israeli coffee beans courtesy gkamin from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

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Hot town, summer in the city

July 13, 2008 - 9:00 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: General, Israeliness 

When it’s hot in Jerusalem, it’s easiest to escape to air conditioning, particularly in a house like mine, which unfortunately lacks the all-necessary western exposure. But the moment the sun starts setting, the air outside gets cool and it’s amazing what kind of breeze you can catch.

I was thinking about that twice over the last four days; the first time, on Thursday, when we sat in Sultan’s Pool for the opening event of the Jerusalem Film Festival, watching Wall-E and actually wearing jackets. Bliss for July. But tonight’s outing was an even better combination of air, view and nature, as we headed up to Har Haruach, or Windy Hill, for a picnic in honor of my nephew’s birthday.

Located in the Judean Hills near Abu Gosh and Maale Hahamisha, Har Haruach is a JNF-KKL forest with several picnic areas that include playground facilities, a flat, one-kilometer walking trail and a beautiful view into the valley below. Beyond the park is the Himmelfarb’s Har Haruach organic goat cheese farm; a great stop for some tasty treats or as a complete outing. We didn’t head there today. Instead, we copped a squat in one of the picnic areas, set up some dinner and watched the sun go down over the Judean Hills.

There were some bees bugging us, but the air was clean and fresh, and we had the place to ourselves. Even better, though, was driving though the forest on our way home, and seeing a circle of people sitting around a medura (bonfire), singing, and probably roasting potatoes. Simple pleasures.

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