Co-Fermented Coffee - The New Frontier

June 6, 2026

Kenneth Thomas

I can’t remember how I came across it, but Black & White Coffee Roasters was offering a lychee co-fermented coffee I couldn’t refuse. It claimed outrageous tasting notes like stuff you’d get in the candy aisle at a gas station. And lychee? I knew it was a fruit, but honestly had no idea what it tasted like. When the coffee arrived, I immediately had to brew a cup. On fragrance and aroma, I smelled notes of green apple jolly rancher, chocolate covered pomegranates, and sweettarts. The cup itself was like nothing I’d ever tasted in coffee. …It honestly tasted like a dessert wine (without the alcohol of course), yet still was definitely coffee. It wasn’t overly boozy like some anaerobics can be. It was a dang good coffee. To be technical, here’s how I’d finish out describing this beast: it had a stone-fruit acidity with a crisp intensity, syrupy smooth texture, medium juicy body that was well balanced and had a persistent aftertaste. Raise your hand if you want to try that!

Co-fermentation: The New Frontier

Co-fermentation, an experimental coffee processing method considered the new frontier in coffee, is likely here to stay. Everyone in the specialty coffee world is talking about them right now. Coffee farmers are experimenting with adding fruits, spices, or even botanicals to fermentation tanks to create crazy dessert-like flavor profiles. Co-ferments are showing up in coffee competitions and among rotating coffees from high-end specialty roasters. Umble, for example, just had a cool co-ferment from Colombia that used the same fermentation process as used for beer. We got tasting notes of barley, chocolate, and apricot in the cup.

With droughts lowering coffee yields in major producing countries, we’ve all seen coffee prices go up. Co-fermented coffees are a smart way for coffee farmers to find a way to make the price feel ‘worth it’.

A Few Benefits of Co-Fermentation

Farmers get a higher margin for their coffee thus improving their quality of life.
It pushes the envelope of what coffee can be, making for some novel and fun coffees to try or even add to your normal rotation.
A lot of specialty coffee is shade grown, with a lot of that shade being provided by fruit trees. Co-fermentation with the fruits they already have on the farm increases the value of the coffee they sell without any significant extra cost on the farm level.

At Umble, we love these coffees, but should you?

Fair question. We believe everybody should attempt to live a story worth telling. For us, coffee is part of that story. These types of coffees are adventurous. We have definitely told the story of this Black & White Coffee to several coffee nerds we know. For me personally, I looked forward to waking in the morning and making that co-ferment as a pour over. Coffee can be a story experience for you too - or, more often, it can be the fuel to charge you up for the story of your day and the stories of your life. At Umble, we believe co-ferments are coffees you should give a try. They’re likely wildly different than anything you’ve ever had. From a processing method standpoint, co-ferments are probably closest to anaerobics but they’re still different. Umble Coffee will definitely be offering co-ferments from time to time.

We believe co-ferments don’t take away from coffee but rather extend the possibilities of coffee.

A Section for the Skeptics…

There are nay-sayers, though, when it comes to co-ferments. Here are some points made, and our thoughts on them:

Co-fermentation masks terroir.

We think this is a valid point. Co-ferments definitely dominate fragrance, aroma, and taste. So, if you’re going for highlighting a region or terroir, a co-ferment is not the best coffee to do that.

Co-fermented coffee is just ‘flavored’ coffee.

We disagree quite a bit with this point. Flavored coffees are roasted coffees where a synthetic oil or a natural extract (still with a synthetic chemical to keep it bound to the bean) are bound to cheap roasted coffee before packaging. Co-fermentation is allowing the ‘flavor’ (fruit, spice, etc) to commingle with the coffee during processing (so before roasting). This is usually done with specialty grade coffee. It’s completely different. Flavored coffees are like tossing apples under a willow tree - that doesn’t make the willow an apple tree, whereas a co-fermented coffee is like carefully tending an apple tree as it grows so it’ll yield tastier apples. They each have their place in the coffee industry, but they’re not the same thing.

Transparency can be an issue.

This one is valid. If a coffee farm has an ‘ok’ coffee and they know it’ll bring a higher price as a co-ferment, they might use a co-fermentation process to enhance the quality and uniqueness of the end product. We don’t think the farm is being disingenuous, though. We think this is just a new frontier and we’re all learning. An awareness to make sure co-fermented coffees are properly labeled moving forward will be important.

Consistency isn’t there.

Also a good point. It’s legitimately hard to produce the same flavor consistently from a co-ferment given all the factors that go into it. That said, there’s 2 directions this could go. One is that it stays like it is (which I think would be fine) in that a harvest with a co-ferment is going to taste different year to year. To us, this is like a fine wine - some years will be better and some worse, but the goal will be in the uniqueness and not in the consistency between batches. The other possibility is the process continues to get refined to the extent that a farm can produce consistency in taste. One could compare this to a table wine - where the goal is consistency of flavor. So, it really comes down to ‘what’s the goal with this or that particular coffee?’

THE TAKEWAY

The co-fermentation process can yield some exceptional coffees
Farmers can get a higher margin for co-ferments, leading to a better quality of life
It’s still the Wild West for co-ferments, so look for refinement and changes in a good way as this branch of coffee evolves.

Now, Go Try a Co-Fermented Coffee!

Find roasters telling great stories with their coffees out there in the world and see if they have a co-fermented coffee. Taste it side by side with your usual coffee. What difference can you smell or taste? Do you like the differences or not? Co-ferments aren’t for everybody, and that’s ok. Ultimately, we just want you to enjoy a coffee that makes your day just a little better.

The Big Picture

For most of us, coffee is a daily ritual that can awaken wonder. It can be adventure-in-a-mug and embolden us to live out stories worth telling. At Umble, we don’t chase every trend, but we do love exploring coffees that, when handled well, can tell a memorable story. Co-ferments do that for us. They awaken us to greater possibilities, and we hope they do the same for you. Keep an eye out for Umble Reserve co-ferment coffees from time to time!

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Sources / References

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