Cell-cultured chocolate startup California Cultured turns attention to coffee

Microbes can produce a host of ingredients traditionally made by plants or animals more sustainably and efficiently. But if you want to make complex plant-based ingredients such as coffee or cocoa, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria aren’t going to cut it, says Davis, CA-based startup California Cultured. Which is where plant cell culture comes in, says co-founder and CEO Alan Perlstein.