All coffee in the world is fermented in the classics in three ways or combinations of them: under the sun (in the skin), wet (washed) or honey (semi-dry). Everyone should have a certain temperature range so that the coffee does not spoil (usually up to 30-35 °c).
Fermentation generally has the following goals:
1. During fermentation, microorganisms consume sugars and other substances in coffee beans, producing acids, alcohols and other flavoring compounds. As a result, this process forms about half of the taste and aroma of coffee beans, creating a certain taste profile.
2. The Standard wet fermentation process usually lasts 12-48 hours, depending on the desired taste profile of the farmer (and depending on many input data, such as environmental conditions, oxygen participation (with or without it), whether native or additional bacteriological strains are used, etc.).
3. All fermented grains undergo mainly chemical transformation, rather than visual transformation.
4. Various fermentation methods, such as anaerobic or carbon maceration, give coffee beans unique flavor characteristics.
The abundance of Arabica and Robusta in the world is not special in nature due to the characteristics of the climate, terroir, nutrition on the branch or genetic routine. In short, most grains are "ordinary", unremarkable.
To increase the curiosity of its taste profile or price, farmers resort to experiments. One of these non-trivial experiments is considered to be hot fermentation.
To perform it, the farmer or processing station does the following:
• Whole unwashed berries are placed in black cellophane bags;
• A certain amount of cold tap water is added to the bags;
• Depending on the richness of the biome that lives on the berry, strains of bacteria and yeast are added or not, which enhance fermentation;
• The bags are tied and left in direct sunlight;
• Due to heating, the internal temperature rises to +60 °C, which actually means the initial degree of heat treatment and explosive fermentation;
• To ensure uniformity of the process, the bags are turned over every few hours;
• Upon completion, the grains are removed, cleaned, washed and manually sorted before further drying.
So 2-10 days pass. The term is one of the parameters of an experiment that farmers are actively investigating to determine its optimality. Just like that, you can not leave coffee for an arbitrarily long time — it will spoil. It will contain uncharacteristic and undesirable notes of soy sauce, vinegar, poor-quality body, negative fermentation, mold, etc.
What do farmers who use this experimental method want? Get exclusive notes of sweetness, alcohol and tropical fruits, which are known to be sharp and unusual. In this method, it is very easy to spoil coffee, but it is difficult to get high — quality coffee. But those who take risks understand that instead of 1 1-5 per kilogram, if successful, they can get $10-20 per kilo.
Berries that are successfully fermented have completely new prevailing notes that dominate genetic and terroir characteristics. Those who have tried this coffee, note such notes as the alcoholic Pina Colada: delicious, sweet, pleasant, special and light. It is already known about some constant successes of individual producers who make excellent and unusual specialty coffee using this method. For example, the hot-fermented Columbia La Virginia variety is characterized by notes of white wine, papaya, lime and cocoa. Canberra's special Panama Geisha boasts Jasmine, lime, mango and white wine. Agree – you definitely want to try this coffee!
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