Coffee Appreciation

So the first bit is selective picking, most high-scoring coffee gets this.

Ozonated water is a water purification technique, so the initial washing process doesn’t introduce any contaminates.

Anaerobic fermentation is leaving the coffee cherry sealed in plastic to sweat for a bit.

Pulping is where the fruit is mechanically removed from the seed (bean)

Then the interesting bit, the coffee is fermented in warm water, then in cold water. Usually it’s just done in cold water. This is to remove the sugary mucilage layer from the bean. What effect the ‘thermal shock’ has I’ve never tasted.

Controlled drying takes place in big tumble driers. The tradition is to dry coffee in fresh air on patios or raised beds but mechanical drying is now commonplace as it is so much faster, more reliable and uses less space.

What I would interested to know is what the same coffee would taste like just using a traditional washed process with mechanical drying. I’ve never had an anaerobic coffee I’ve enjoyed, they’ve all tasted like Christmas spices to me which I’ve always found repellent. It’s more that they defeat the subtlety of flavour and all you can taste is the process, much like all those really heavy boozy naturals. I’ve never met a coffee producer who’s interested in fads and bullshit, unlike a lot of roasters, so I’m sure there’s integrity behind it.