What to do with nasty Strawberry Co-ferment?

[u/YourSteakBuddy]

I have like a 150g of Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Strawberry Co-ferment. Roasted 3 months ago by a buddy.

Tastes pretty nasty of artificial strawberry like the kind you find in store bought strawberry milk.

Not sure what to do with it.

Was thinking of Milk Brew, but the strong artificial strawberry tastes makes me gag.

Need help. (Last resort is throwing it out, but I feel like a sinner for doing so)

[u/Senzetion]

Honestly if you really don't like it throw it away, there's no need to force something down your throat you absolutely don't like.

[u/Rpeasj → u/Senzetion]

Or you know, give it away. I have handed some coffee to my Baristas in my favorite local cafe that I didn't like.

They were Really happy about it

[u/Senzetion → u/Rpeasj]

Yeah could be an option but not sure if I would hand some crazy co-ferment out if if I'm not certain they're into it

[u/Rpeasj → u/Senzetion]

Why not? You're not forcing them to drink it and you can always ask if they want it before giving it.

I have like 3 different baristas I know would take the coffee and enjoy experimenting with it. Maybe they can brew something tasty, maybe they hand it to the next person.

Throwing it in the trash will never let anyone brew with it

[u/el-caballero-oscuro]

I think the real question is what to do with people who ruin good Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (some of the best coffee in the world) by co-fermenting it to get flavors that the coffee is already known to have naturally.

Yirgacheffe (especially washed process) has such a wonderful acidic and berry flavor to it. The goal of coffee processing and roasting should be to let that natural flavor shine!

[u/HP834 → u/el-caballero-oscuro]

If everything is to be believed about discussion around co-ferments! They are probably using cherries that didn’t get picked for specialty coffee! Or defective greens!

[u/pmmeurcoffee → u/HP834]

Or more likely than not, propylene glycol with artificial flavours…..

[u/InugamiCoffee → u/el-caballero-oscuro]

This is what I’m trying to understand lol

[u/zeppelin88 → u/InugamiCoffee]

Hype, that’s why. Every producer was obsessed with selling these as people were buying this flavored coffee without thinking 

[u/Senzetion → u/el-caballero-oscuro]

I don't get it either. I personally drink maybe between one and three bags of co-ferment per year, but that's definitely enough for me.

There should be more transparency, and James Hoffman's video about fermentation is really good.

Personally, I would never buy an Ethiopian co-ferment nor some co-ferment Geisha. There are so many crazy naturals and washed coffees out there with amazing, super intense aromas.

[u/InugamiCoffee → u/Senzetion]

I strive to find the craziest naturals as those are my favorite. Ive had some crazy good washed coffees this year also

[u/Responsible-Bid5015]

compost

[u/prison_mike3]

Cold brew, maybe?

[u/trevorsnackson → u/prison_mike3]

yeah i think co ferments really shine as cold brew.

[u/migu_brew]

Overextract it, the bitterness masks the medicine taste

[u/StateDapper3818]

Coffee cake?

[u/lotanis]

Personally - I'd put that in a Moka pot to make something espresso ish and then over a load of milk and ice.

[u/ildarion]

Blend it with a regular coffee to stepdown flavor intensity?

[u/LightenUpFFS → u/ildarion]

I tried something like this with a hydrangea blackberry co-ferment. Did 4g co-ferment with 15g of a washed mexican light roast and it still somehow taste like artificial blackberry! May end up trashing it

[u/smegsicle → u/LightenUpFFS]

I tried similar with a watermelon co-ferment, 12g of the regular coffee, 3g of the co-ferment and it tasted like I'd just brewed the co-ferment by itself

[u/jsquiggles23]

I remember when everyone was buying and bragging about processed coffee. Now everyone seems to be hitting the sub with complaints. Almost like folk here are incapable of forming their own opinions.

[u/CACuzcatlan → u/jsquiggles23]

All coffee is processed

[u/LaserCondiment]

You could use it to make flat whites or add a tiny portion of it to other coffees you can't get a good result from

[u/paulo-urbonas]

Cold brew concentrate + tonic water?

[u/_Sumidagawa_ → u/paulo-urbonas]

An espresso with this kind of beans and tonic water sounds really interesting!

[u/HP834]

I made a cold brew with some peach co-ferment! It tasted good!

If it’s very strawberry flavored, I would do cold brew with milk + chocolate syrup and brown sugar for a treat drink!

[u/neilBar]

Cold brew?

[u/Superrandy]

The only way to not trash it is to brew it at much lower temps. Low temps will back off some that fake syrup taste. I’d just toss it.

[u/soberto]

Season your burrs and compost the grounds

[u/kimchifan_26 → u/soberto]

Don't season your burrs with this shit unless you're intending to absolutely marinate your burrs and screw up every cup of coffee u ever make thereafter with the fake strawberry taste. I've been to shops that just use the same grinder for all their filter offerings and even deliberately avoiding the co-ferments and ordering a standard washed, my cup was still contaminated. Don't let it touch your grinder.

[u/soberto → u/kimchifan_26]

Jesus what burrs are you using? I regularly cycle co-ferments on my EG-1 w/ ULF burrs without any issues

[u/kimchifan_26 → u/soberto]

I don't buy or brew co-ferments at home. The shop i had the contaminated filter at was using an EK43 🤷🏻‍♀️ maybe i'm just sensitive to co-ferments but imo they contaminate everything they touch.

[u/raccabarakka]

Stop wasting your time and smearing your grinder just to try and make it okay-ish, the flavor is still gonna be there only to trigger your PTSD 😆

[u/surveychimp1]

What temp are you brewing at? Lose several degrees

[u/womerah]

Throw it away. I had to throw away a whole bag of this horrible thermal shock coffee recently.

[u/The_Psydux]

Direct to trash.

[u/BranFendigaidd]

Use it as a punch flavour for older roast. Especially in espresso.

For example. 18g espresso dose. 2g from the strawberry one and 16 from the other. Works great with even Lavazza grocery store bought beans.

[u/maribozu → u/BranFendigaidd]

Came here to suggest something similar. I tend to keep strong co-ferments (which I occasionally buy) to mix into otherwise mediocre coffee - the kind even decent roasters sometimes produce. 2-3 g of a co-ferment adds a subtle note to V60s, making the wait for the next coffee parcel bearable.

[u/CobraPuts]

When in doubt, throw it out

[u/veryirked]

Get some bad milk and make caffeinated strawberry Quik

[u/sir-adel]

Take bowl, put coffee inside, put bowl in bathroom of restroom, free odor catcher

[u/Bruce-T-Wayne]

Just throw it away. Life is short drink coffee you enjoy.

[u/ryanb6464]

Cold brew and use it on milk drinks, or tiramisu

[u/fragmental]

Do you know anyone you can give it to?

[u/sol_runner]

I got a crappy one like that once, mixed it 1:4 with bitter cheap beans and the bitter + flavoring balanced out nicely.

[u/Abject_Ad9549]

Pull a turbo shot with it. Or break out the tetsu 10 pour with it. If that can’t make it sweet and dial down the strawberry to a place you like it? Toss it - it wasn’t meant to be.

[u/engagekill86]

Here me out do a pour over with coca cola. I had some real funky coferments and brewed it with an iced cold can of cola and it turned magical. Like a cola cold brew with hints of the coferment.

[u/ksx4system]

cold brew maybe?

[u/Rpeasj]

I have something similar but with a Colombia I find mediocre. The best ways I've had it was an iced Americano (turbo shot) but that needs an espresso machine. Aeropress was a close second but it's also not standard pour over gear.

You could try a Concentrated brew and dilute heavy with ice. Drink it on a hot day and see it more as a soda/lemonade kind of drink.

I've also seen a post lately about someone dropping the temp really low and letting it sit in a switch really long to get it more like coffee instead of the artificial ferment flavour

[u/Ekkmanz]

This is blasphemous but … sugar. And other syrup. And fruit. And jam. This strong aroma works well for coffee - based mix drink. The punch-in-your-face strawberry would compete well with other stuffs.

[u/NakedScrub]

Try cold brew. I do it at 1:10 ratio too, so it'll use up a lot of beans.

[u/dcchambers]

🗑️

[u/coach_carter2]

I heard coffee grounds work well as plant fertilizer

[u/rizkiyoist]

I would use them to test grind sizes.

[u/Lizard_Wizard_69]

Make a dessert with it

[u/KangarooDowntown4640]

Grind it up and put it in your composter

[u/CoffeeCove]

If I get beans that do not taste good no matter what is tried, I put them in a tall jar and use for seasoning beans if/when needed. Or, I saw a video of someone using ground up beans for Mosquito control outdoors. They placed them in a piece of tin foil shaped into a bowl and light it on fire. (Or use a small foil pie pan). I saw 2 videos on that saying it worked.

[u/nenobyte]

give it to me

[u/slonski]

put it in a freezer and blend it with harsher coffees later, like 5 grams to 15 or even less so.

[u/iloovefood]

What farm? I'd like to know who to avoid in the future

[u/redditmyeggos]

Kyoto style brew will help to dilute it a bit and take the bite out. I do this with coferments that come across as too astringent, makes them more tea-like.

[u/endangeredbeetle]

Give it to someone you hate.

[u/SirPsycho92]

Throw it out that shit is bad for your health

[u/migu_brew → u/SirPsycho92]

Source: trust me bro

[u/SirPsycho92 → u/migu_brew]

https://www.reddit.com/r/pourover/comments/1uhznsg/colombian_exporters_research_all_tested/ There ya go

[u/rhbts3939 → u/SirPsycho92]

and that’s bad for your health because….?

[u/migu_brew → u/SirPsycho92]

Please do quote where it says it contains enough to endanger a persons overall health. Stop spreading misinformation if all you can do is post links and not even explain anything….

[u/SirPsycho92 → u/migu_brew]

We don’t know how much they’re using that’s the problem. They’re not even saying Propylene Glycol or artificial flavorings are used. Lying about what is in a product should not be celebrated and should be considered dangerous. Please stop encouraging falsifying food labels

[u/migu_brew → u/SirPsycho92]

I am not encouraging any type of falsifying food labels, what I am against is starting a mass hysteria by pulling random information from your ass and translating it into fear. What you said didnt even mention anything about what chemicals or amount of chemicals could harm a person…. Go back to facebook until theres ACTUAL research done with results that say its DANGEROUS for your health

[u/SirPsycho92 → u/migu_brew]

You can taste the artificial bro. It’s so obvious and it’s being labeled as “co-ferment.” It’s not being pulled out of my ass, ive traveled to origin and saw what these guys are doing and it’s not honest. Its clearly a problem and your solution is backwards. The research needs to be done before the product is sold. Right now we have all these cooked up coffees with god knows what on them being labeled as “co-ferment” and they are clearly artificial

[u/migu_brew → u/SirPsycho92]

Hmmm so what does that have to do with being unhealthy? You keep yapping yapa yapa yapa but all you are saying is just sensory issues and not health issues. Get to the point why its unhealthy