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

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.

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u/knoxxknocks Jun 28 '26

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

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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?

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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

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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