The Fermentation Project

Filter / 4 * 50g / Whole Beans

€27,50

The Fermentation Project

PREORDER - All orders that include the fermentation project get shipped out on the 11th of September.

€27,50

Pickup available at Gasfabriek 5

Usually ready in 24 hours

We are thrilled to take part in The Fermentation Project, an effort organized by James Hoffmann and Lucia Solis to explore the effects of four different controlled fermentation methods listed below. Each process was performed on the same lot of coffee, to truly highlight the nuances of each processing method and remove all other variables. Tune in to the global tasting event led by James Hoffman on October 3rd Live on YouTube. Coffees will be roasted on the 11th of September to allow for at least 3 weeks of resting prior to the tasting.

Process - Mechanically Demucilaged, Wild Fermentation, Lactobacillus Inoculated, Yeast Inoculated

Variety - Caturra, H1, Bourbon

Producer - Hector and Lilian Leal, Rueda Farms

Origin - Finca San Miguel Urias, Antigua Valley, between Vieja and San Miguel Dueñas

Elevation - 1450-1550 MASL

Using the same starting material, we created 4 different versions of the coffee to illustrate the effect of fermentation and processing on the same coffee.

When people taste “fermented” coffees, they rarely get to taste the un-fermented version for comparison.
In this project we processed a Mechanically Demucilaged coffee (no fermentation) to serve as the control. The profile of this coffee comes from growing practices and genetic varietal characteristics.

The second coffee is a WILD fermentation (48 hour submerged fermentation with local, wild microbes). This is the traditional method most coffees experience where the mucilage is removed by the local microbe population.

The third coffee is an inoculated fermentation (48 hour submerged fermentation with Lactobacillus). Generally, the bacteria shows how through fermentation you can enhance the production of organic acids and impact the brightness and complexity of the coffee.

The fourth coffee is an inoculated fermentation (48 hour submerged fermentation with saccharomyces yeast). Generally, the yeast shows how through fermentation you can enhance the production of flavor precursors and impact the body and complexity of the coffee.

You’ll need to find several glasses or cups of equal size roughly able to hold anything between 200ml to 350ml of water - you’ll need two cups for each coffee you intend to cup.
A cupping spoon, or any round spoon such as a small soup spoon will do the trick!
Freshly boiled water
Freshly roasted coffee
A grinder
Scales
A timer

The brewing ratio for coffee to water for cupping is 8.25g coffee to 150ml of water. So for example a 240ml cup will need 13.2g coffee.

Method:

Weigh out the desired amount of coffee into each cup. Grind the beans to a medium grind (we like to do ours a little coarser than our filter grind) into the cup making sure to flush a little bit of the same coffee through the grinder first so the sample isn't contaminated with another coffee.
Smell the freshly ground coffee and make a note of the fragrance.
Pour boiling water to the top of each of the cups and set the timer for four minutes.
After four minutes, ‘break the crust’ of coffee that has formed on the top of each cup by gently pushing the back of your spoon three times through each cup. Make sure you dip your spoon into a clean glass of water before moving onto the next cup. This is also a very good time to get down close and smell the aroma of the wet coffee.
Wait another four or five minutes until the coffee is cool enough to taste. Put a small amount of coffee into your spoon and slurp it making sure to aerate as much as possible throughout your mouth. Think about getting the coffee off your spoon without tilting it!
Continue this process over the next 20 minutes or so working through all the coffees and going back and forth making notes of the acidity, the body, the flavour and the aftertaste.

Check out this James Hoffman video on how to cup.