The Vintner
Our current limited edition: twenty-five days of anaerobic fermentation, red berry, stone fruit and a long cocoa finish.
Beyond Washed and Natural
What Is Experimental Coffee?
For most of its history, coffee has been processed in one of a few familiar ways. Experimental coffee is what happens when producers start borrowing from winemakers and brewers, and the cup changes completely.
The Basics
Processing Shapes the Cup
Between the tree and the roaster, every coffee bean has to be freed from the fruit around it. How that is done shapes the flavour almost as much as where the coffee grew.
Most coffee is washed (the fruit is stripped away, the beans soak briefly, then dry), natural (the whole cherry dries in the sun with the bean inside) or honey (somewhere in between). These methods account for nearly every cup you have ever had.
Experimental coffee changes the variables: how much oxygen the fruit sees, how long it ferments, at what temperature, and with which microbes. The aim is flavour the classic methods cannot reach.
The Methods
What ‘Experimental’ Usually Means
- Anaerobic fermentation. Cherries or beans ferment in sealed, oxygen-free tanks. Different microbes take over and the fermentation runs slower, often giving fruit-forward, wine-like cups.
- Carbonic maceration. Borrowed straight from Beaujolais: whole cherries ferment in tanks flushed with carbon dioxide.
- Extended fermentation. Days or weeks instead of the usual hours, for deeper, more layered fruit.
- Yeast inoculation. Selected yeasts, sometimes wine or beer strains, are added to steer the fermentation.
- Co-fermentation. Coffee fermented alongside other fruit or spices. The most debated method, because some of the flavour comes from the additions rather than the coffee. A good seller tells you exactly what went into the tank.
Our Experiment
The Vintner
The Vintner is Gayo Arabica from the same Sumatran highlands as our wild Kopi Luwak. The ripe cherries ferment for twenty-five days in sealed, oxygen-free tanks before processing, a long anaerobic fermentation borrowed from winemaking. Most coffee spends a day or two fermenting, if it ferments at all.
The result tastes closer to a young red wine than to an everyday coffee: red berry and stone fruit up front, settling into a long cocoa finish. It is the current release in our Limited Editions, the rare coffees we offer from time to time alongside our flagship wild Kopi Luwak, and it is not Kopi Luwak: no civet is involved at any stage.
Brewing
Getting the Best From It
- Drink it black first. Milk mutes exactly the fruit the fermentation worked to build.
- Filter or cafetière shows it best. Use the same ratio as our brewing guide, 15g to 225g of water, at 92–94°C.
- Espresso concentrates everything. Bold and intense. Worth trying, but try it as filter coffee first.
- Let it cool a little. Fermented coffees open up as the cup cools; the fruit is often clearest after a few minutes.
Is It for You?
An Honest Answer
If your favourite cup is a dark, classic roast, an experimental coffee may surprise you more than it pleases you, and that is fine. If you have ever wondered what coffee can taste like beyond chocolate and nuts, this is where to begin.
Keep Reading
Related
How to Brew It
Ratios, grind and water temperature, by method.
The Collection
Wild Kopi Luwak in two sizes, and The Vintner. Free UK delivery.
Limited Edition
Try The Vintner
Our experimental lot: 50g, three or four cups, with free UK delivery.