The Fermentation Project Tasting Set

Each set includes 4 coffees (60 grams each) from Antigua, Guatemala, all created from the same starting material and processed differently to showcase the impact of fermentation. 

Note: This is a pre-order for a limited number of tasting sets. Once they're gone, they're gone! The coffees will be roasted the week of September 14th and shipped shortly after to ensure you receive them in time for the Global LIVE Tasting Event on October 3rd*.

*Any additional items in your order will be shipped along with your tasting set in September.

The Fermentation Project, spearheaded by James Hoffmann and Lucia Solis, explores the effects of four (4) distinct fermentation methods on the same lot of coffee from Antigua, Guatemala.

The tasting set includes 60g of each process:

1.) Mechanically Demucilaged (washed)

2.) Wild Fermentation (washed)

3.) Lactobacillus Inoculated (washed)

4.) Yeast Inoculated (washed)

People all over the world will be participating in a LIVE tasting of this coffee set on October 3rd and Square One is excited to be a participating roaster! The coffees will be roasted and shipped during the second/third week of September to allow for at least 2 weeks of resting prior to the tasting.

More about the coffees from Lucia Solis:

Using the same starting material, we created 4 different versions of the coffee to illustrate the effect of fermentation and processing on the same coffee.

When people taste “fermented” coffees, they rarely get to taste the un-fermented version for comparison.

In this project we processed a Mechanically Demucilaged coffee (no fermentation) to serve as the control. The profile of this coffee comes from growing practices and genetic varietal characteristics.

The second coffee is a WILD fermentation (48 hour submerged fermentation with local, wild microbes). This is the traditional method most coffees experience where the mucilage is removed by the local microbe population.

The third coffee is an inoculated fermentation (48 hour submerged fermentation with Lactobacillus). Generally, the bacteria shows how through fermentation you can enhance the production of organic acids and impact the brightness and complexity of the coffee.

The fourth coffee is an inoculated fermentation (48 hour submerged fermentation with saccharomyces yeast). Generally, the yeast shows how through fermentation you can enhance the production of flavor precursors and impact the body and complexity of the coffee.