Coffland Corp: Fermentation and Coffee Production

The fermentation of the beans allows the creation of denser profile flavors.

There’s little things that experts and amateurs don’t know in the coffee world. Thus, some aspects of it are just not considered as relevant. These often are part of what makes the product of one place, so distinctive from others. While for you, it might not seem relevant, the truth is that fermentation is an integral part of what makes coffee so unique. Today, you can learn all about this!

Fermentation might be used for wines, bread, and beer, but coffee also uses this process to develop its flavors. Each coffee cherry is composed of several parts, one of them the mucilage. This the ‘pulp’ that’s around most of the pit that will result in your roasted beans. This fleshy part needs to be taken off, and the coffee is then set to dry. But between those steps, something happens: the coffee is fermented.

What is ‘fermentation’ exactly? It’s the chemical process that generates chemical breakdown in organic material, by use of yeast or microorganisms like bacteria. This, in the coffee business, happens with the sugary substance that the mucilage is, and it transforms it into ethyl alcohol, while simultaneously changing the nature of the bean itself.

Fermentation in the coffee production process is fairly different according to producers. While some just leave it for a small period in the drying process, others decide to implement the fermentation process in a different nature. The variations can go from slightly different temperatures to bacterial/yeast proportion per batch, as well as method (water or no water) and location (outside or indoors). All of these affect how the bean is fermented, and when considered amongst the original nature of the bean (Arabica or Robusta, for example), it can create an entirely different experience for the coffee lover. Why? Because the fermentation in coffee changes the chemical composition both inside and outside the bean, enhancing original flavor profiles like chocolate, fruity and such.

As you can see, there’s a complete change in how you approach something like fermentation. Coffee gets some of its properties from this process, and any coffee business knows the importance of this process. Coffland Corp is one of those! Check their social media profiles and browse this blog to learn more about the coffee world from expert roasters with common tradition in the business.