Co-Ferments: Hype or Real Coffee?

In this episode, I share my honest, unfiltered predictions about two co-ferment coffees I roasted about a month ago — a Colombian carbonic honey green apple and a Colombian carbonic honey peach, both from Royal Coffee's Crown Jewel selection. Before I even take a sip, I walk through what I'm smelling, what I'm sensing, and what I genuinely expect these coffees to deliver. The green apple is one of the most intensely aromatic coffees I've ever smelled fresh off the roaster, and a month later it still hasn't died down. The peach carries a blood orange quality that hits you immediately. I share my raw, pre-taste impressions and lay out why I think these coffees will be loud, one-dimensional, and ultimately a novelty — powerful on the first sip, but not something I see myself reaching for on a regular morning.

I also use these coffees as a launching pad to explore something I've been sitting with for a while: the bigger question of what co-fermented and processed coffees are really doing to the specialty coffee world. I draw a direct line between these coffees and the flavored coffees I used to make with alcohol infusions, and I ask the uncomfortable question — are we actually elevating coffee, or are we just bored with what coffee naturally tastes like? By listening to this episode, you'll get an insider look at how a coffee roaster thinks before tasting a trending coffee style, and you'll walk away with a framework for questioning whether premium processing truly adds value — or just adds noise.

Transcript

[0:00] Two coffees that will change our lives forever. The co-ferments.

[0:14] We're talking about coffee. And in this case, it's been a month since I've roasted these coffees. Now it's time to taste them. However, before I actually taste them, I just want to talk about it — my predictions, where the industry's going, my first initial thoughts on what I may think of these coffees.

[0:43] Co-ferments. Some people love them, some people hate them. I think I've actually had one or two co-ferments before in my life. One was at the SCA convention last year. I forgot what it was, but it was vivid — it was actually exactly what you think that the coffee is. And I think that's probably part of the problem.

[1:14] These coffees right here — I got a sample from the Crown Jewel selection from Royal Coffee. I got two. They're from the same producer. It's a Colombian carbonic honey processed coffee. The one on my right is a green apple.

[1:52] Amazing smell on the whole beans. This is probably one of the most intense coffees I've ever smelled. When I roasted it, it was a little tricky to roast. But as soon as I pulled it from the roaster, the smell was extremely, instantly intense. I thought it was going to die down. It has not died down at all. I do see some unevenness in the roast — I don't think that's me, but we'll see.

[2:50] The one on my left is a peach. The peach is extremely intense — it has that blood orange type of smell to me. This one seems a little more evenly roasted. One of them is a light roast and the other is more of a medium-light. They're probably more or less the same.

[3:23] Carbonic honey co-ferment processing means they use the actual fruit to infuse the coffee. That's what we're doing here. That's what we're supposed to be tasting. And the thing is — why do we have to do that?

[3:48] That's one of my biggest gripes with where things are going right now. In the past, a lot of people looked down on flavored coffee — the vanilla, French vanilla, pecan, caramel, hazelnut. All of those are infused with alcohol. I know because I used to do that quite a bit for certain customers. It's not really processing — it's what you do after the actual roast.

[4:55] Do you actually taste those flavors? To an extent, yes — especially over a creamer or a milk-based drink. If you drink it black, not so much. A lot of times when I did that, I used Brazilian because it had more of a blank slate. Those flavors had a better shot of actually coming through. This is more or less the same thing.

[5:30] To be honest, this is literally infusing flavor into a coffee through processing after harvesting. That's really what you're doing. And the thing I think about often — when it comes to these coffees that have been doctored, altered, enhanced — is what does it taste like before that? Does it taste good already? Is it something I would gravitate toward anyway?

[6:20] Those are the things I constantly think about when it comes to these altered coffees beyond the traditional way of processing. I've been tasting some really decent coffees lately. Most of them have been washed, a couple natural and white honey here and there. But at the end of the day, these types of processes are here to stay.

[7:04] And the thing about them is — what do we do about it? A lot of times people just slap a label on it saying this is what you're going to taste. And they come at a much higher price. Do you see the value in these coffees, or are they like one-hit wonders? Naturals are like that for me — they hit you really hard and then die down.

[7:51] That's what I'm sensing is going to happen here. This coffee seems very complex, but I think it's going to be very one-dimensional. My prediction: it's going to be extremely loud, extremely in your face, not subtle at all on that initial sip. I think I will taste the green apple, but as I keep drinking and coat my mouth, those flavors are going to change a little bit. As the coffee cools, I think it stays more or less the same.

[8:45] The smell is going to be extremely intense, especially when I grind it. Something I probably never thought I'd smell in coffee. I wonder if the taste is going to be better than the smell. More than likely, it's not — just keeping it real.

[9:10] It's not that I have high expectations for these coffees. They are what they are. Hopefully they're juicy and amazing. But that's not up to me right now. I'm just going to taste and enjoy them as much as I can.

[9:32] I don't think I'm going to be enjoying this coffee for the long haul. I'd gravitate toward the novelty aspect of these coffees — but after that, I may get bored of it.

[9:58] Like I said, that coffee I had at the convention last year — it was interesting because you could actually taste exactly what you'd expect. And I think that's part of the problem.

[10:18] When we talk about tasting notes in coffee, especially drinking it black, those flavors in a washed or semi-washed coffee can be subtle. They can barely tell the story of that coffee. Sometimes you have to manipulate it somehow in order to bring out the flavor.

[11:12] I get it — I'm not lost on this whole notion. But is that really what we're trying to do here? Are we so bored with regular processed coffees that we have to step it up a notch because we can't get that kick, that understanding of what that coffee is?

[11:43] And if that's what we're doing, just say it. Say: "I just want more flavor in my coffee, and this is how I get it." Own it. It could just be that.

[11:58] Those are the things I think about constantly — because we're altering, doctoring the coffee beyond its natural taste. We're putting flavor into it. It's kind of bizarre if you think about it.

[12:17] So that's kind of where I'm at right now. This is my soapbox. I haven't drunk these coffees yet. I wanted to give you my predictions, my initial thoughts on what I think is going to be magical — or not magical — in these coffees. My expectations are low, so hopefully when I actually do drink them, it's going to be amazing. I'll report back.

[12:50] But even if they are great, what I just said still stands. We're not trying these processes just for the fun of it. The processors, the producers — they're thinking about what you want, what you care about, and whether this is something you truly want to pay for. Because these are not going to be cheap. They're only going to get more expensive, and then eventually they'll probably come back down. But right now, a bag of this is going to cost you.

[14:10] So — is this the evolution of coffee? Or are we just bored? I'll let you answer that. Talk to you later. Bye.