The Fermentation Project
The James Hoffmann and Lucia Solis Fermentation project.
My edition was brought to life by the amazing roasters at Methoad Coffee Roasters.
A super nerdy experiment with the goal of expanding the understanding of fermentation and different coffee processing techniques.
The cupping
To explain if you have not seen anything on this project. There are 4 coffees, all from the same farm, but all have different processing methods: wild fermentation, lactic fermentation, mechanically demucilaged, and yeast fermentation.
The idea is to cup these coffees and complete a grading form put together by James Hoffmann and the team. This form is a refined and simpler version of the classic SCA form QA graders use to judge a coffee.
My Thoughts
On the left here are my findings. Now this is the first time I conducted a cupping, as I have taken part in a couple but never set one up myself.
There is no right or wrong answer to this, as taste is individual. I don't believe I have the most advanced palate, but I definitely have an idea for some flavours.
I believe these coffee as to be simlar to a classic washed coffee, as all display some sort of chocolate or nutty taste. All are good and easily drinkable. The lactic and yeast fermentation coffees are the ones that had the highest acidity and the most clarity. Interestingly, both also had some sort of stone fruit flavour.
The wild fermentation confused me, as the aroma on both dry and wet was very pungent, but when tasting, the flavour was flat and softer than the others. This did display a nice sutal orange which I am a fan of.
The mechanically demucilaged, or no-fermentation, was the apitamy of a washed coffee, as it has all the classic characteristics, for example, a heavier body and rich texture.
Please ignore the handwriting and spelling; I do unfortunately rely heavily on spell check!!
Summery
To summarise, what is being done with this project is amazing, and getting so many people involved is great for expanding the coffee community and teaching people about some really cool stuff. I personally learnt a lot during this from actual fermentation itself and how it happens and the different processes, as well as how to set up a cupping session. This has made me want to do more.
Thank you to Lucia Solis and James Hoffmann for setting this up and Method Coffee Roasters for taking part. If you haven't watched James Hoffman's videos on this, then please do and check the method. Coffee out; they are honestly so consistent.
My videos are out on my social media platforms.