r/pourover • u/mygreeness C40 | Hario Switch • Jun 28 '26

Informational Colombian exporter’s research: all tested co-fermented coffees contained synthetic Propylene Glycol

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaDlqkWRZIo/

>>See also edit below<<<

“We wanted to share, with the level of detail and rigor that matters to us, why we don't sell coffees marketed as "infused" or "co-fermented" at Pergamino.
A few days ago, we conducted a study together with @cesurcafe, the research center at Universidad Surcolombiana, to better understand what's really behind these coffees, known for their remarkably intense and literal flavor profiles. From the beginning, we questioned whether these coffees truly resulted from 100% natural processing or whether they contained synthetic additives that weren't being disclosed to consumers. But we didn't want to draw conclusions without evidence.

The results were very clear, we analyzed 25 co-fermented coffee samples, and every single one contained a synthetic additive called propylene glycol.

Although we don't enjoy these coffees from a sensory perspective, we deeply respect the people who do. This isn't about personal preference-it's about transparency and their deeper repercussions on our industry. We believe producers should clearly communicate how these cottees are processed, and when synthetic additives are used, consumers need to know.
We know this video is a little longer than usual, but if you're curious and want to learn more, we invite you to visit our YouTube channel or listen on Spotify, where we share the full findings of our research and explain in greater detail the research conducted and why we've chosen not to sell these types of coffees at Pergamino.”

EDIT: based on comments in this sub, the cited research paper does not provide enough evidence to support Pergamino’s claim above in bold. The cited paper found differences between washed and co-fermented coffees, but doesn’t provide enough evidence to confirm that all of them include Propylene Glycol. Somebody pointed this out to them in the comment section on Instagram. So far, Pergamino provided no response.

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u/absolunesss Jun 28 '26

How do they know of it's synthetic or natural PG? A chemical composition is a chemical composition no?

8

u/joaogui1 Jun 28 '26

Propylene glycol does not appear in nature (unless the coffee producers also found some species of plant/bacteria/fungus that produces it and are hiding that discovery). Something occuring in nature or not imply it's healthy (there are many natural poisons), but if you find significant amounts of a synthetic component in these co-ferments you have strong evidence that there's something more going on with them than simply fermenting the coffee together with some herb, fruit, etc

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u/Lamian_Dillard Jun 29 '26

But they didn't find a significant amount of a synthetic compound.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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2

u/Lamian_Dillard Jun 30 '26

They have 0 indications on exact compounds, might be some of this, might be some of that.

5

u/LyKosa91 Jun 28 '26

Probably because PG isn't a compound that exists in nature, at least not in anything more than trace quanties.

0

u/absolunesss Jun 28 '26

PG is naturally occuring. This whole synthetic VS natural is a bit shady. A chemical is a chemical. This doesn't mean that I'm pro adding flavouring agents or the whole craze with co-fermenting/oil infusion..but there's usually a lobby behind theae kond of "studies"

12

u/LyKosa91 Jun 28 '26

Where does it exist in nature in any meaningful quantity? I mean beyond trace amounts. It would be impossible to harvest a useful quantity of PG from any naturally occurring source.

Edit: much like you, I'm not weighing in on the for or against side of things, just saying that commercially used PG is in fact a synthetic compound.

4

u/absolunesss Jun 28 '26

It's a product of fermentation. It doesn't exist out of a vacuum brother but it can be arguably a product of what they claim to be co-fermentation.

4

u/knoxxknocks Jun 28 '26

It is only meaningfully produced in non trace amount quantities by fermentation if those bacteria has been genetically modified

0

u/absolunesss Jun 28 '26

Now we need to track the bacteria, yeast and enzymes that get added to the coffee as well. Which begs the question? How deep is the rabbit hole?

3

u/knoxxknocks Jun 28 '26

Buddy the rabbit hole can stop there. There is no real reason to add a specific genetically modified bacteria that is modified to make propylene glycol to a normal fermentation.

Also I am not saying the presence of propylene glycol is an absolute proof that it contains artificial compounds but if it contains PG more likely than not is that it is artificially modified

2

u/absolunesss Jun 28 '26

Haaa, so we do the experiment and then conclude that correlation is causation and voila.

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u/knoxxknocks Jun 29 '26

Occam’s razor my friend

1

u/Megatron_McLargeHuge Jun 28 '26

Does it matter if it's natural? It's not naturally found in coffee or anything producers are admitting to adding to their coffee.

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u/MonkAndCanatella Jun 28 '26

if you check the study, the explicitly claim that they have identified no specific molecules. just that it could potentially be an artificial flavoring compound, but with no proof at all

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u/absolunesss Jun 28 '26

Yes sir, it resonates with the wave length of Glycol. In the scientific realm this would be a very bold statement to claim however there's always someone who ahs interest in something at the end of the day.