Understanding Specialty Coffee Flavors: The Role of Fermentation

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FrontStreet Coffee - Understanding Coffee Flavors

The processing of coffee green beans inevitably involves "fermentation." Just as fermentation is essential to wine, coffee fermentation directly affects the flavor and quality of coffee beans. So much so that special processing methods like "red wine treatment" and "carbon dioxide treatment" have been developed specifically to enhance the effects of fermentation.

Fermentation is a chemical reaction. Yeast, bacteria, and other microorganisms break down a substance into other simpler substances. Typically, the substance being broken down is sugar. During this process, heat is released. Additionally, different types of enzymes act as catalysts in the fermentation process.

To put it more simply, fermentation is a natural process. When you combine sugar and water, you initiate the fermentation process. Coffee cherries happen to contain both of these elements. Therefore, when coffee cherries are harvested (sometimes even before harvesting, depending on humidity), the fermentation process begins.

The issue is that fermentation can both improve and ruin coffee's flavor. This entirely depends on how the processor manages the fermentation process.

What is the relationship between fermentation and coffee beans?

Fermentation is a crucial step in the coffee green bean processing process and occurs in two ways:

Aerobic: Reactions that occur when oxygen is sufficient. Controlling this type of fermentation is quite simple - just place freshly harvested coffee cherries in a tank or container and let microorganisms do their work. Meanwhile, time and temperature are monitored for subsequent control and analysis.

Anaerobic: In this case, coffee cherries are placed in a tank filled with water, isolating them from air. This process allows different types of microorganisms to work. Basically, specialty coffee beans contain the following characteristics: sweetness, acidity, body, and unique flavors such as fruit, floral notes, caramel, chocolate, etc.

Different growing regions exhibit different flavors.

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