We're excited to be participating in The Fermentation Project, an educational exploration of coffee processing. Created by renowned coffee educator James Hoffmann and fermentation and microbial specialist Lucia Solis, the project explores one of coffee's most fascinating variables: fermentation.

By keeping every other factor consistent—the farm, terroir, harvest, and varietals—the project isolates fermentation as the only changing variable. This makes it possible to better understand how different fermentation styles alone influence the character, flavor, and overall expression of the coffee.

The Processes:

• Mechanically Washed

• The coffee is mechanically depulped, washed, and moved straight to the drying patios. By keeping microbial activity to a minimum, this lot serves as the control.

• Yeast Inoculated

• After de-pulping, a selected Saccharomyces yeast culture is introduced at the start of fermentation.

• Lactobacillus Inoculated

• A selected Lactobacillus culture is added at the beginning of fermentation to promote controlled lactic acid fermentation.

• Wild Fermentation

• Fermentation is carried out using only the naturally occurring bacteria, yeasts, and fungi present in the local environment, allowing the native microbial community to drive the process.

Fermentation Duration:

• Each will be submerged and fermented for 48 hours before proceeding to the drying stage.

The information on the coffee:

Farm: Finca San Miguel Urias

Origin: Guatemala

Region: Antigua Valley between Ciudad Vieja & San MIguel Dueñas 

Varietals: 85% Caturra, 15% H1, less than 1% Bourbon

Elevation: 1,460-1,540 masl

Producers: Hector & Lilian Leal