SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Specialty coffees are gaining traction in coffeehouses around the world — and now a fermented version could bring a fruity taste to your morning cup of joe. This new kind of beverage has a raspberry-like taste and aroma, but what causes these sensations has been a mystery. Today, scientists report six compounds that contribute to the fermented coffee experience. The work could help increase production of the drink and make it more readily available for everyone to enjoy.
“There are now flavors that people are creating that no one would have ever associated with coffee in the past,” says Chahan Yeretzian, Ph.D., the project’s principal investigator. “The flavors in fermented coffee, for example, are often more akin to fruit juices.”
This unusual type of beverage provides a unique flavor experience for consumers, and the growing demand for it means that fermented coffee beans can fetch a high price, potentially benefiting farmers. And the process by which the beans are prepared requires much less water than traditional methods, making it a more environmentally friendly alternative to a standard cup of coffee.
But despite this drink’s growing popularity, the compounds that cause its distinctive flavor were unknown. And with fermented coffee becoming more popular in competitive events, some people have been concerned that the lack of knowledge about fermented coffee may make it difficult to distinguish between the genuine product and regular joe that has been illicitly adulterated. So, Yeretzian and colleagues from the Coffee Excellence Center at Zurich University of Applied Sciences sought to identify the compounds that are responsible for these new and exciting flavors. And because flavor and smell are intimately linked, studying the beverages’ scents could help the team gain a better understanding of how fermented coffee’s complex flavor is created.
To single out the compounds unique to fermented coffee’s aromas, researchers took arabica beans and divided them into three groups. One was prepared using a wash process, which is likely how your average afternoon pick-me-up brew is made. Here, a gelatinous substance known as mucilage is stripped from the coffee bean, which is washed with water before being dried. The researchers prepared the second group using the pulped natural process — another common approach — in which the skin is removed from the bean, but the mucilage is left intact. Finally, the team fermented beans in the third group using carbonic maceration, a process often used in winemaking. This method was first introduced to the specialty coffee world in 2015, when the winning contestant in the World Barista Championship used it to prepare their entry. With this process, whole coffee fruits are fermented in stainless steel tanks and infused with carbon dioxide to lower the pH of the fermentation. Unlike the other brews, the coffee made with fermented beans was described as smelling intense, like raspberries with a hint of rose.
Anyone tried fermented bean coffee? I'm intrigued.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 02, @02:55AM (4 children)
I prefer coffee-flavored coffee.
(Score: 3, Touché) by hubie on Sunday April 02, @12:26PM (2 children)
In my opinion that's like saying "I like wine-flavored wine," or thinking all apples should taste like a Red Delicious.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 02, @01:23PM (1 child)
Coffee-flavored apples?
(Score: 3, Funny) by hubie on Sunday April 02, @02:14PM
I bet there's a CRISPR solution for that. :)
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Sunday April 02, @09:17PM
Me too, and when people don't clear the store's grinder before me I get pissed off. Just a little bit of vanilla or hazelnut is enough to throw off the taste. I've been meaning to get my own grinder, but I don't want to throw my money away on something cheap that'll break within a year, or spend $100s for Le Grindeur.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 02, @03:08AM (2 children)
I'm mostly content with medium roast Folger's coffee. My spouse loves experimenting with flavored coffees, and flavored creamers, few of which have anything resembling cream in them. My idea of experimentation might involve a dark roast now and then, or a different brand sometimes. And, I like my coffee Mary Poppins style - just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
"Coffee" and "fermentation" are concepts that work well together, if you're talking about Irish or Scotch whiskey added to your mug.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 03, @05:38AM
Wow. Such pleblian tastes! But, this is redneck hillbilly Arkansas we are talking about here. So, Bud, or Miller? Can you even get PBR there? Don't tell me you drink that Adolph Coors Nazi horse-piss, to wash down your horse de-worming paste! And, Runaway takes his coffee with one spoonful. Going into the database. Almost like there was a tracking chip in the sorry bastard!
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 05, @01:30PM
No True Scotsman would add more than one teaspoon of coffee to their whiskey.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 04, @08:09AM
Top gourmet coffee is passed through the digestive system of a civet-cat (sort of like a racoon-dog, for you less knowledgeable conservatives). "Poop coffee", [wikipedia.org] they call it. Fetches the highest prices. Not sure if there is any "mystery" about the flavor, though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 06, @09:21AM (1 child)
Just a comment because I feel sorry for hubie. He gets so little commentary on his journal entries, even though he tries so hard, and they are kind of interesting. Good one, hubie! Keep up the good work! And, death to aristarchus.
(Score: 2) by hubie on Friday April 07, @12:51AM
I appreciate the kudos, but no worries here. I decided to use my journal to either post stories that are deemed to not be of enough interest to get picked up for the front page, or ones that I don't think are general enough interest to submit, but that I still think are interesting. So no matter what, my journal entries are always doomed to small audiences. :)