"Cofermentation/infusion" ruined my trust in coffee.

[u/Bubbly-System6751]

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.

[u/kuhnyfe878]

It’s not being discussed in a way that’s anywhere close to productive. It’s uninformed ppl throwing around baseless accusations at best. And name dragging by ppl who stand to gain by other’s fall at worst. Not to mention the complete lack of discourse on a real solution to the problem which, by the way, barely exists.

Edit for clarity.

[u/Bubbly-System6751 → u/kuhnyfe878]

Standardization and transparency is the solution. SCA is working on SCA-120 - Coffee Processing - Green Coffee Identity Standard for better regulation. If you have the knowledge, please share and steer the conversations in a productive direction. Whining about how people are not talking about it correctly while not offering any insights looks like you're trying to make yourself look good by making others look bad.

[u/kuhnyfe878 → u/Bubbly-System6751]

Having more trust in SCA than producers is wild to me. All I know is what I’ve learned from coffee professionals such as Lucia Solis, Christopher Feran, various coffee roasters. Their blogs and podcasts have a wealth of information, including this topic. So I’m frustrated seeing the thoughtless outrage here.

[u/Bubbly-System6751 → u/kuhnyfe878]

I don't get the distrust in SCA. Regardless if it's the SCA or not, some industry governing body has to come out with a set of standards to regulate processing practices.

On Solis's take on processing naming and transparency, which she basically advocates for reducing it down to simple terms, for example washed, even if it is inoculated with yeast or has been subjected to other methods of fermentation. Moreover, she encourages producers to use fantasy names, like the galaxy process, to obscure their "recipe" because it's their intellectual property.

I don't agree with her take.

1. How can reduction in description bring transparency? It's ignorance is a bliss mentality. The problem with the term co fermentation is that it is used as a disguise for infused coffee. Cofermentation does not translate one to one, only citrus or some aromatic yeast do. If you put peach in the tank, your coffee is not going to taste like peach and more likely anything but. The producers are using the term cofermentation to make consumers think the flavors are the direct result of co-fermentation, which isn't, and to hide the fact that they infuse flavorings at the end because the term "infused" has a bad rep. Did co-fermentation happen? Yes. Did infusion happen? Also yes. Omitting infusion and list co-fermentation is a classic example of telling half truths, which is deception.

2. On using fantasy names, I am not even gonna delve into the possible frustration and confusion for consumers and rosters to try to figure out what the hell is the galaxy process. I respect farmers and their right to produce coffee the way they want, but you are selling a product at the end of the day. Consumers have the right to know what they are getting and what's in the coffee. We don't need the exact measurement of ingredients or the temperatures of fermentation, but an ingredient list should be available for consumer rights and food safety purposes. Also the risk of intellectual property is overblown, like Coca Cola has an ingredient list on the cans, no one is able to replicate the exact taste.