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Recipe

Coffee leather

Coffee grounds bound with gelatine or agar, cast thin and dried slowly into a pliable sheet.

Every A New Field recipe has been run in a domestic kitchen or community hall. Read the safety notes before you start and adapt for your venue.

What you’ll make

Warm brown, slightly grainy, flexible, leather-like.

Flexible slots (flex around your material)

  • Character filler

    Cellulose-rich powder30g

    Fine, dry, ground-up plant matter. Acts as filler and body in composites and doughs.

    Examples Coffee grounds, walnut shell, tea leaves, fine sawdust

    Note — Sieve very fine.

Fixed ingredients

  • Gelatine or agar · 15g or 5g
  • Glycerine · 6g
  • Water · 200ml

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • whisk
  • baking paper
  • flat surface.

Refinements and variations

  • Swap coffee for walnut-shell powder, tea leaves, or fine sawdust for different tones and smells.

Source notes

Adapted from gelatine bioplastic; A New Field kitchen tests.