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Velo Coffee Roasters has unveiled Velo Coffee + Protein, a ready-to-brew coffee that contains 12g of protein per serving. The product uses 100% Arabica coffee beans from Brazil and Columbia, roasted in small batches before being ground and blended with whey protein. Velo describes the result as a creamy, sweet coffee with notes of milk chocolate, able to provide healthy energy while helping consumers to build and maintain muscle. While protein products like coffee-flavoured protein powder and RTD iced coffees have already launched on the market, adding protein to hot liquids usually makes it congeal as it is not heat soluble, Velo said. The company has partnered with Glanbia Nutritionals to launch the protein coffee using Glanbia’s ProTherma whey, said to dissolve completely and maintain its nutritional properties without impacting on the coffee’s taste or aroma. Co-founder of Velo Coffee Roasters, Suzanne Casey, said: “We wanted to create a coffee that still tasted delicious, so you don't have to make a sacrifice for quality and flavour when having your boost of protein – or create separate drinks to provide the taste and the protein kick. This is a revolutionary approach to great-tasting, real quality coffee with additional health benefits.” Mayuresh Bedekar, director of product at Glanbia Nutritionals, said: “The coffee uses a high-quality hydrolysed whey protein, ProTherma, which is an exciting new alternative that works with hot coffee to achieve a protein-rich formulation that is stable and highly soluble. Two years of testing went into creating this product to ensure the taste and the performance were the standard we all sought.” Velo was founded in 2018 and is now available in retail and online, selling its millionth bag of coffee into Aldi Ireland this month and launching in Aldi UK. Velo Coffee + Protein is priced at £9 for 170g.