Do you love coffee? So do the people at Paahtu. But their love goes a bit deeper than just enjoying the drink, as they see real potential in the grounds that people usually just throw away. By tapping into Finland’s great love for coffee and making use of the massive amounts of its byproduct, Paahtu has created one of the greatest heating innovations of our time – a truly sustainable fire log called Kahviklapi.
From coffee lovers to tree huggers – Paahtu battles deforestation by
replacing firewood with coffee logs
Paahtu was founded to end deforestation, a serious issue in the founder Bahez Karim’s home country Iraqi Kurdistan. Growing up in such an environment, he learned the
importance of protecting forests and making sustainable choices.
In Finland, we are quite proud of our forests, but the truth is that they are not doing as
well as we think: it was recently revealed that Finnish forests are now acting as CO2
emission sources instead of carbon sinks, mainly because of aggressive logging. We
also love our wood-burning saunas, and as a Northern country, many of our households still rely on firewood to keep warm during the cold seasons. Coming up with an alternative would be a good start for a bigger change, but how to replace all that
firewood and with what?
The answer would turn out to be Finland’s other great passion besides our nature –
coffee! Finns consume the most coffee per capita in the world, over 49 million
kilograms per year. If that seems like a lot, just imagine the amount of waste created as
a byproduct. During his studies, Karim discovered a surprising fact: those leftover
coffee grounds actually burn quite well. So, he visited a local cafe, took their unwanted
grounds home, and started experimenting. Over 300 prototypes and countless of hours
later, Kahviklapi was born, and Karim was one huge step closer to saving the forests.
Passion and kindling both burning bright
The manufacturing process of Kahviklapi consists of 3 main steps. First, the coffee
grounds collected from partnering companies are dried, then mixed with other
ingredients, and lastly pressed into logs. The result is a briquette that weighs
approximately 500 grams and burns for about an hour. The amount of coffee logs
needed depends on the size of your fireplace and the space to be heated, but the rule of thumb is that you need about 15% less coffee logs than firewood. These facts make
Kahviklapi a sustainable choice, but it also burns hotter and longer than wood, which
also makes it an overall better product for the customer, not just the environment.
Sadly, coming up with an amazing innovation is rarely enough to make a difference. To
shake up the status quo, a company also needs to meet people and spread the word –
to put it bluntly, sell their idea to others. For Paahtu, Urban Tech Helsinki has been the
perfect platform for doing that.
“Unlike traditional incubators, which focus on refining ideas, Urban Tech connects you
directly with customers, retailers, and staff, turning your ideas into reality. For example,
I got to meet with the Kesko group and talk about possible collaborations”, Paahtu’s
marketing manager Anita Lindberg tells.
Every encounter is also a chance for the team to inspire others to think creatively about
waste and resource management. With enough allies it can be ensured that instead of
waste, the forests are preserved for future generations.
Now looking to expand with the right partners
Things are going well. Paahtu recently opened their preorder and sold 130 bags of
coffee logs in just a month. But this is only the beginning of their journey. The real goal is
to make coffee ground recycling the global norm, creating a future where waste is
minimised, and sustainability drives every industry. After all, the need for sustainable
fuel alternatives is global – and there are other countries that are just as passionate
about coffee as Finland is, but don’t have easy access to firewood. Kahviklapi could
certainly be the solution to that.
Paahtu’s Kahviklapi addresses two significant issues: repurposing biowaste and
providing a sustainable alternative to traditional firewood. After focusing on solving
environmental problems, the company is now faced with a positive problem of their
own.
“At the moment we are receiving so many orders that it is not possible to make them
manually. A retailer is also interested in selling our product, and for this we need mass
production”, Lindberg explains.
The objective is to build a factory and scale the business in Finland, then seize
international growth opportunities. For that Paahtu needs like-minded partners who
find circular economy not their cup of tea, but their cup of coffee.
Paahtu in a nutshell
Established: In 2024 in Sipoo, Finland.
Solution: Kahviklapi, a sustainable fire log made from coffee grounds.
The dream: Creating other products from used coffee grounds and making coffee
ground recycling a global norm.
Fun fact: The company name is a combination of the Finnish words paahtaa (to roast)
and tuli (fire).
Learn more:
www.paahtu.fi
Paahtu’s LinkedIn
Paahtu’s introductory video