THE COFFEE FERMENTATION

FLAVOR
CONTINUUM

CHRIS KORNMAN
The Coffee Fermentation Flavor Continuum

The Coffee Fermentation Flavor Continuum

Written by Chris Kornman

Designed by Bolor Erdenebat
Published by Royal Coffee, Inc.

Copyright © 2024 Royal Coffee, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The Coffee Fermentation Flavor Continuum

Table of Contents

What is Fermentation? 04

What about Coffee Fermentation? 08

Traditional Natural Coffee Fermentation
Traditional Washed and Fermented Coffees
The Ferment Defect

New Frontiers in Coffee Processing and 14

Fermentation
Honey Process
Multi-Stage Fermentations
Anaerobics & Carbonics
Co-fermented Coffees
Inoculated Coffees

What Does the Future Hold? 20

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Preface
While coffee flavor is dependent on myriad factors from cultivar to
roast degree to brewing style and beyond, primary coffee processing
– fermentation – is responsible for the creation of major identifiable
flavors in basically every coffee.

If you were to set two coffees in front of a trained taster, one tasting
like ripe blackberries and the other tasting like fresh orange and
caramel, the taster would likely predict that the berry-flavored coffee
was a natural and the citrusy coffee was traditionally washed. In a
world where traditional styles of processing are the only ones
available, that taster would likely be correct.

With the advent of unique fermentation techniques, however, our

flavor palate has expanded and overlapping styles of processing may
create uncommon, unexpected, or simply unpredictable flavors that
defy easy categorization.

However, it’s still probably true that traditionally processed washed

coffees will produce the mildest flavors. Container-loads of generic 82
point washed coffees tasting like caramel, cacao, nuts, and only the
vaguest of fruits are loaded onto trucks and ocean liners every day of
the year. This is true in part because processes like depulping,
fermenting, and washing coffee were originally utilized as means to
an end – a functional step that aided efficiencies in preservation and
shipping.

Yet, because of excitement – much of it fairly new to our industry –

around the flavor potential of fermentation, the line of excellence and
failure has been blurred with respect to flavors which fifteen or twenty
years ago would have been rejected as “overly fermented.” If the
coffee tastes boozy and winey without cup variation, and was crafted
with intent, then we can generally accept it as successful (even if we
might individually find it unpalatable). Our open mindedness at the
cupping table is spurred by the thought that there is surely also a
market for some coffees like these, on the far reaches of the
fermentation flavor spectrum.

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A coffee tree flowering

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What is
Fermentation?
Fermentation itself is a vast and widely misunderstood process that
takes on different definitions depending on the one who might be
defining it. Biochemists are fairly strict about the parameters, whereas in
food production our definition is a little more flexible.

Fermentation, chemically, is metabolically and enzymatically induced

energy extraction from carbohydrates, in the absence of oxygen.

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Fermentation, in the context of food and beverage, is a process in which

microbes – usually bacteria or yeasts – bring about changes in what
we eat and drink. Typically, microbes will consume sugars and produce
alcohol and organic acids.

A small population of microorganisms (often a single strain, species, or

type) can be referred to as a culture. Cultures of certain microbes may
be used as starters to inoculate (or control a microbe population’s
exclusivity) a specific type of food or beverage.

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Did you know?

We can split the most-used fermentation microbes into two broad,
basic types: bacteria and fungi.

Bacteria – single-cell microorganisms , bacteria live in us and

all around us. Some keep us healthy, some make us sick, some
contribute to industries from agriculture to pharmaceuticals to
mining. Many are useful in food production, and there are two
basic types we typically find in fermentation cultures.
Acetic Acid Bacteria – responsible for producing vinegar,
primarily, and – in a Symbiotic Culture Of Yeasts and
Bacteria (SCOBY) – kombucha. These bacteria are
aerobes (they thrive in the presence of oxygen). We typically
experience acetic acid fermented foods as being sour.
Lactic Acid Bacteria – the primary agents in creating
yogurts, cheeses, kimchi, sauerkraut, and utilized
sometimes in the production of certain specific types of beer
and wine. Lactic acid bacteria are anaerobic. Lactic acid
fermented foods run a wide gamut of flavors, and can be
lightly sour or tart, and are often salty (as a salt brine
encourages the bacteria to form in an environment hostile to
other microorganisms).

Yeasts (and other fungi) – we eat certain types of fungus (like

mushrooms), refer to foods spoiled by other fungi as molded,
and rely on some to help us fight disease. There are a number
of specific fungi which have been harnessed to produce popular
fermented foods.
The most common fungal genus used in food and beverage
production is Saccharomyces, including many of the species
which we refer to collectively as yeasts. Yeast is
responsible for fermenting most wine, beer, and bread, and
is frequently found in mixed culture fermentations with
other microbes.
Other genera of fungi are employed to produce foods like
miso, tempeh, and soy sauce. We typically favor these
types of fungal fermentation when they produce savory
foods.

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Submerged coffee is washed and sorted for density in grading channels in

southern Ethiopia

Photo by Evan Gilman

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What about coffee

Fermentation?
Is coffee fermented?

The answer is almost always yes. Immediately after harvesting, coffee

fruits ferment prior to further processing and export.

Traditional coffee processing can be split into two primary categories –

usually referred to as washed and natural – which ferment in different
ways and result in different flavors.

There are also various innovative fermentation methods, many of which

are relatively new to coffee, which impact tasting notes significantly.
There’s also a sensory defect known as “ferment.”

Traditional Natural Coffee Fermentation

Natural coffees undergo minimal processing, drying the coffee fruit whole
around the seeds (beans).

Microbes native to the environment where coffees grow will feed on the
fruits as they’re drying.

Fermentation here occurs spontaneously, uncontrolled, and generally

unobserved. Very little research has been done into the specific types of
microbes responsible for natural fermentation, but we can be fairly
certain it will be a mixed culture of bacteria and yeast, with specific
species likely varying by region.

Natural coffees are expected to taste fruity as a baseline flavor; some

may range from delicately peachy to bombastically berry-like. Cuppers
usually avoid overly nutty and bland naturals on the one hand, and
winey, boozy, vinegar-like, or composty natural on the other.

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Infographic designed by Chris Kornman, Evan Gilman, and Jeremy Leff

This version was first published in Green Coffee: A Guide for Roasters & Buyers
© Chris Kornman 2022 and is reprinted here with permission.

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Coffee cherries are drying on a bed at Fatima Estate in Mexico

Coffee cherries are processed in the pulping machine at Homa

Cooperative, Ethiopia

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Traditional Washed and Fermented Coffees

Washed coffee seeds are stripped of their fruit (“depulped”) and then
fermented semi-formally prior to the eponymous washing step in
processing.

Usually, fermentation will occur in an uncovered tank, either piled dry or

submerged in water. Researchers and scientists have traditionally
categorized this as a mixed culture of predominantly lactic acid bacteria
and yeasts. While fermentation in washed coffees has traditionally been
intentional the culture, the culture will likely be impacted by the
spontaneously occurring native microbes of the local environment.

While monitoring variables such as temperature, sugar content, and pH

is possible, traditional controls are usually limited to the duration (usually
brief, eight to 48 hours may be the most common length, depending on
regional trends and temperatures), and to whether or not the depulped
coffee is submerged in water during the process. “Wet” fermentation has
some advantages – it homogenizes the process and may limit the
fermenting microbe population to more beneficial types.

Washed coffees represent the majority of specialty coffee produced in

the world, and are expected to taste clean, mild, and sweet. A typical
generic specialty-washed coffee from Central America might be
caramelly and nutty, while African-washed coffees are frequently thought
of as being more citric and floral. Generally, traditional washed coffees
may taste fruity but rarely dive deeply into berry-like flavors, tasting
closer to stone fruit and citrus types of fruit flavors. Regional and
processing idiosyncrasies, as well as myriad other factors such as
cultivated plant variety, may alter flavor substantially.

The Ferment Defect

While washed coffees are intentionally fermented, and natural coffee

cherries ferment spontaneously until they are dried, all coffee may be
impacted by a nefarious defect cuppers are trained to detect known as
ferment.

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This sensory defect, typically represented by inconsistent cups (though

in severe cases affecting entire lots), presents with overly fruity tasting
notes, or even flavors of vinegar, rotting fruit, or compost. It may affect
any style of processing but is most associated with washed coffees
which spend too long in the fermentation tank, have insufficiently cleaned
fermentation facilities, or simply are macerated by “bad” microbial actors.

Recent studies indicate that the ferment defect, or the “over-fermented”

flavors, could be considered as a microbial “attack on the bean” itself,
rather than simply fermenting the fruit surrounding the seed. Certain
scientists have proposed chemical definition of this defect, rather than a
sensory one, which might include a threshold of detection of certain ethyl
esters responsible for the off-flavors.

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Flavor Category Process

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New Frontiers in
Coffee Processing &
Fermentation

Pulped natural coffee, or “honey” process, dries on Fazenda IP near

Carmo de Minas, Brazil
Photo by Chris Kornman

Honey Process

In the early 1990s in Brazil, the first of what would eventually become
known as “Honey Process” coffees were being created and
eventually made available in small volumes for roasters to buy.

Honey Process, also known as “Pulped Natural” and sometimes

“Semi-Washed,” is an in-between method, whereby a producer
depulps coffee fruits and dries the coffee in mucilage without
intentionally fermenting. The spontaneous fermentation is much like
that of a traditional natural, except that instead of fermenting a whole
unprocessed cherry, fermentation only affects the remaining fruit pulp
clinging to the seed.

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Honey process coffees sometimes include a color – on a scale from least

amount of fruit remaining to most, that scale might read: white honey
(with almost no fruit left on the seed), yellow, red, purple, and finally
black honey (with all but the skin of the fruit left to ferment on the seed).

As you might imagine, the flavor of honey processed coffee, depending

on how much fruit is removed, will vary on its own continuum. White
honey coffees may be almost indistinguishable from traditional washed
coffees, while black honey coffees can echo aspects of traditional
naturals – usually tasting like raisins and grapes. Yellow and red honeys
often have a “pulpy” ripe cherry or plum character, without being as
overtly fruity as their darker-colored counterparts.

Multi-Stage Fermentations

One innovative step certain producers choose to make might be to use

extra steps in their fermentation process to impact flavor.

The most common multi-stage fermentation is probably the post-

fermentation soak, commonly employed in most specialty grade
washed East African coffees (sometimes referred to as “double
washed”). After the coffee parchment is fermented and washed, it will be
kept overnight, or for a day or two, submerged in clean water. Scientists
have confirmed that there is still microbial activity during this stage, and
so the coffee is undergoing a slowed-down secondary fermentation step.
Coffees like this might be extra clean tasting or have especially complex
acidities, for example.

We’ve also seen multi-stage fermentations take place before the washing
step, where (for example) a coffee might ferment or macerate briefly in
whole cherry before depulping and fermenting in parchment, or
producers might follow a dry fermentation with a submerged stage.
Sometimes these coffees are called “double fermented.” We often think
of these types of coffees as having increased complexity to their
sweetness and being slightly fruitier than traditional washed coffees.

“Fermented (or macerated) naturals” employ some similar techniques.

Coffee cherries may ripen in a sealed bag or on a raised bed under tarps
prior to drying. Sometimes these are called “winey” process coffees
because of the tendency for the flavors to resemble the bigger, boozier
characteristics of a California cabernet.

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Coffee producer, Edwin Noreña, and his fermentation tanks in Colombia

Fermentation barrels Edwin Noreña’s fermentation lab

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Anaerobics & Carbonics

The popularity of oxygen-deprived fermentation environments in recent

years has been hard to ignore. These coffees, typically characterized by
over-the-top fruitiness and artificial sweetness like bubble gum, fruit
candy, or sweet dessert wines, can be created in a variety of ways but
the single unifying factor is that producers use a controlled environment
to seal off the coffee. Often using stainless steel fermentation tanks,
these fermentation chambers usually require a one-way valve for off-
gassing.

Carbonic Maceration is a phrase lifted directly from the wine industry,

and when used in the context of coffee it typically indicates whole-cherry
fermentation in a sealed tank, usually dried with some or all the fruit
remaining on the seed afterwards.

Anaerobic fermentation is more broadly applied to any sealed tank

used during fermentation and offers no clarity as to whether the coffee
might resemble standard processing or be something truly unique in
processing steps. In many cases the coffees are depulped prior to
anaerobic fermentation… but not always!
Increasingly, we’ve observed anaerobic techniques applied to otherwise
“traditional” washed coffees, simply replacing the ad hoc fermentation
with a more controlled environment. In some cases, the coffee may not
even taste much different, and might not even be called “anaerobic”
despite the extra processing details.

Because of the control no-oxygen environments offer over microbe

populations, it's common to see fermentation duration extended well
beyond the usual timeframe that might be common in most traditional
practices. While open and uncontrolled environments might be at risk for
“over-ferment” defects and bad microbial actors, the sealed tank helps to
mitigate that risk.

Co-fermented Coffees

Sometimes called “infused” coffees, experiments in fermentation have

begun to incorporate additional ingredients (besides the usual coffee,
water, and microbes). Frequently co-fermented with fruits, spices, or
other food ingredients, these coffees showcase an entirely new and
flavorful addition to the fermentation continuum.

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Co-fermentation may be controversial in some circles, but there’s no

denying that the flavors it can produce are something startling and new.
Enzymatic transfer of flavors occur when microbes are actively
macerating more than one substance together, so it is possible to have
strawberry, cinnamon, or even chili-pepper flavors in the resulting
coffees without using traditional post-roasting “artificial flavoring”
methods.

Inoculated Coffees

Inoculation, in the food and beverage industries, is a term that indicates

the intentional use of specific bacteria or fungi to control a fermentation’s
microbial population. In common practice, we often use the phrase
“starter culture” to denote the same practice.
In traditional, at-scale winemaking, most fermentations are inoculated
with specific yeasts that have been developed to highlight the flavors of
particular grape varieties we easily recognize, such as Sauvignon Blanc
or Pinot Grigio. In coffee, this is a fairly rare practice, though there are
indeed yeast suppliers who are actively developing coffee-specific
strains.

Some producers use existing champagne or other wine yeasts, our

friends at Catracha project used a kombucha SCOBY for inoculation in
recent years, and it’s not unheard of to see coffee designated as “Lacto-
fermented.”

Inoculation has the advantage of providing a stable and predictable

microbe population, which reduces risk for safety concerns like molds or
product quality concerns like the ferment defect. Claims of increased cup
score, however, remain verifiable only on a case-by-case basis and
inoculation should not necessarily be taken as a guarantee of better
tasting coffee than traditional native-microbe fermentation.

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Honey process coffee drying on raised beds at Finca Campo Hermoso

in Quindío, Colombia

Photo by Edwin Noreña

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What Does the Future

Hold?
What’s the next step for coffee fermentation?

On the one hand, commercial scale operations in some areas of the

world may be at increased risk for drought or unpredictable water
supplies due to climate change. Coffees produced in these regions will
likely begin to trend towards processing and fermentation types more
conducive to water conservation, such as honey processing, dry
fermenting for washed coffees, or ecopulping. Changes to processing
style will affect fermentation, and therefore flavor.

On the other hand, we’ve entered a uniquely creative period in coffee’s

processing history in which innovative and creative producers are
employing new technologies and techniques to coffee fermentation, with
flavor as the driving factor rather than an afterthought. It’s unlikely that
we’ve seen the last of these types of inventiveness, though it may prove
hard to predict what comes next.

Will sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickle brine coffees be the next wave? Will
sourdough process, miso style, and parmesan coffee make it to barista
competitions and Cup of Excellence auctions? Or will the pendulum
reverse its course, refining the current “experimental” techniques into a
new set of best practices, where the best washed and natural coffees
alike employ anaerobic or inoculation techniques?

And, as we often forget to ask ourselves, how will our customers respond
to these changes?

The answers to these questions are only beginning to be written.

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Royal Coffee
Royal Coffee is a family-owned and operated importer of specialty green
coffees, serving the international roasting community. Founded in 1978 by Bob
Fulmer and Pete McLaughlin in a tiny office on Hollis St., the company began
with the purchase of a single bag of coffee that Bob and Pete used as a desk
until they found a buyer for it. They turned the proceeds of the first sale into two
more bags, and the rest is history.

We now import the finest coffees in the world, from over 30 countries of origin
and a vast network of producing partners. Royal supplies some of the top
roasting houses around the globe, from warehouses in Oakland, Seattle,
Madison, Houston, Shanghai, and Vancouver. Our humble roots continue to
inform our day to day operations though, as many of our clients get their start
with us buying a single bag of coffee.

Regardless of how you buy from Royal, we hope that you will stop by The
Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room to experience our favorite coffees,
thoughtfully prepared. Join us for a class, event, tasting or cupping in the heart
of Oakland. We offer cutting-edge original workshops, CQI courses & guest
curricula by the industry’s thought-leaders.

Chris Kornman
Chris Kornman is a seasoned
coffee quality specialist, writer and
researcher, and the director of
education at The Crown: Royal
Coffee Lab and Tasting Room in
Oakland, California.

He has extensive experience with

coffee grading, roasting, sourcing,
traveling and tinkering. He is the
author of Green Coffee: A Guide
for Roasters & Buyers.