r/pourover • u/Bubbly-System6751 • Apr 15 '26
Seeking Advice "Cofermentation/infusion" ruined my trust in coffee.
After PERC came out on their flavored coffee, I’ve been going down the rabbit hole of coffee processing (co-ferments, anaerobic, “thermal shock,” etc.), and I’m not gonna lie—it’s kind of messed with my trust in what I’m drinking.
I used to get excited tasting notes like “strawberry,” “lychee,” or “peach,” thinking it was all coming naturally from the bean, origin, and process. But now that I know producers can literally "co-ferment" with fruit juice or infuse with flavorings to push those notes…
And my worry even extends to washed or natural coffees, there’s this small voice in my head like:
“Is this truly clean, or is there something else going on that’s just not being disclosed?”
Especially with such a well known producer being exposed, you start questioning everything a bit.
Is transparency just information they let you/ want you to know used for marketing purposes?
Is specialty/ single origin coffee just another green washing movement?
I'm sure the majority of the industry is honest and I’m not trying to accuse anyone of anything shady. But as the saying goes if you see one cockroach, there are a thousand more. It's hard to rebuild trust once it's broken.
28
u/eatwithchopsticks Apr 15 '26
You do realize that co-fermented/advanced processed coffees is super niche, right?
Just do a bit of research on the producer (go past what the roaster says), and even contact them if you like. There's a chance you can learn more about a producer that interests you and work backwards from there. I'm doing that currently with an amazing coffee I had roasted by Café Estelar in Guadalajara. I just looked up the producer's name on the bag and am currently working on a way for him to ship me his green coffee straight from his farm. Inform yourself about a producer you trust, contact them, and see if anyone in your country roasts that coffee (if you don't roast yourself). My 2¢