From shrub to cup: Ansā seals US$9M deal to fast-track autonomous hi-tech coffee micro-roaster

01 Aug 2023 --- CoffeeTech start-up Ansā Roasting has announced its US$9M funding to boost the market penetration of its hi-tech micro roaster, helping the company to roll out the product across North America, specifically targeting the away-from-home coffee segment. 

“We are excited to invest in Ansā, a coffee tech start-up that embodies our business philosophy hand-in-glove,” says Danny Hadar, co-founder and partner at Jibe. 

“Coffee is a global favorite beverage with an immense market. Ansā not only offers a strong eco-friendly angle but is breaking new ground in how we enjoy coffee, paving an exciting and greener future for the industry,” he adds.

Yuval Weisglass, co-founder and CEO of Ansā, says: “Our micro-roaster is ready-to-market. We are committed to broadening our coffee services geographically to meet the growing demand for sustainable coffee solutions and to bring our unique coffee concept to a wider audience.”

During 2023, the company secured commercial contracts nationwide with a lineup of “top-tier” distributors to launch the service in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Seattle.

The funding is led by Jibe Ventures, a Tel Aviv-based early-stage fund. Other contributors include Closed Loop Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Millennium Food-tech and Sweetwood. 

From “shrub to cup”
“Ansā is rewriting the coffee narrative by bringing aromatic fresh coffee ‘from shrub to cup’ sustainably,” claims Matan Scharf, co-founder and CMO at Ansā.

“The coffee landscape has long yearned for rejuvenation. Our mission is to provide consumers with an extraordinary coffee experience, allowing them to engage with green coffee beans while indulging in superior quality coffee at its freshest.” 

The coffee aims to let consumers enjoy their brew while being aware that they are “protecting our planet” and the livelihoods of coffee farmers.

Danny Hadar, partner at Jibe with the ansa team:Yuval Weisglass, Ayelet Dar Wohl, Matan Scharf & Yehonatan ScharfLeveraging the latest technology
Traditionally, coffee roasters have relied on “gas-operated convection heat” at temperatures surpassing 200°C.

Ansā’s e23 micro roaster goes “beyond” simply downsizing the industrial roaster. Using the latest tech, such as sensors and computer vision AI algorithms, the company offers a “fresh approach” to coffee roasting. Its patent-pending countertop appliance “energizes the beans from their core to the shell” without emitting any noise, heat, and unwanted by-products. 

The Ansā Roasting app can roast a single serving of coffee in a “few minutes” or be programmed to roast a desired amount by setting a time. It also offers “on-demand roasting” of bespoke raw green coffee beans for freshly brewed coffee right before consumption.

A quieter, sustainable alternative
Ansā’s “fully autonomous mini roaster” is a softer alternative to the “huge, noisy and smoking industrial roaster.” Its latest offering claims to be smoke-free and cool to the touch, notes the company.

It wants to bring “both exceptional coffee and environmental welfare” and serve the conscious consumers that value the planet alongside its coffee experience. 

It delivers “100% arabica beans” to its subscribers in bulk recyclable boxes. The move offers “environmental benefits and helps farmers finally “reap their rightful share” of the rewards.

Ansa’s sources and supplies in a “novel” way that cuts the distances coffee beans need to travel by minimizing their transport between farms, roasting facilities, and customers while “eliminating” the reliance on single-use capsules to reduce packaging-related pollution. 

By Insha Naureen