Heavily Processed Coffees
As heavily processed coffees become more and more popular, it’s important to note a few major differences between them and more traditionally processed coffees.
Let’s start by explaining what we mean by “heavily processed.” Most anaerobically fermented coffees, thermal shock coffees, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious interstellar hyper galactic process…basically anything with a very long and complicated-sounding name is going to be a heavily processed coffee. Decaf also falls into this category. As always, there are exceptions though. Some anaerobics taste and otherwise behave pretty much like washed coffees. So you’ll have to make some judgement on your own.
The best way to guess if a coffee is heavily processed or not is to look at the color of the beans. Heavily processed coffees, even if roasted very lightly, will appear very dark. This is because the heavy processing (lots of fermentation) breaks down the cell structures quite aggressively. Unfortunately, at first glance, there is no way to know if a coffee is heavily processed and roasted light (but appears dark) or if it is more traditionally (less) processed but roasted darker. The best way to figure out which of the two you are working with is to cup the coffee. If it tastes roasty, it is likely the latter. If it doesn’t, then you have a heavily processed coffee.
Okay, so you have a heavily processed coffee. Brew it right away! Do not follow the standard advice for light roasts, which is to let the beans rest for ~2 weeks before brewing (for more on freshness and storage, click here). Why? Same reason that even light roasting makes the beans look dark: the cell structures are severely degraded, so the beans de-gas and start to stale much, much faster than more traditionally processed coffees. If you wait a few weeks before brewing heavily processed coffees, you will often notice that some of the best fruits & floral flavors have disappeared, and all you are left with is the funky/boozy/process-y taste. Now of course, if this is what you want, then rest away. But it generally isn’t what we find to be the best flavor profile.
As for the brewing itself, our advice is to aim for a slightly lower extraction than you normally would. Many, many anaerobic or other heavily processed coffees taste unpleasantly funky/boozy/process-y at higher extractions and require lower extractions to have sweeter, more balanced, and often fruitier profiles. How to extract less? Grind coarser, use less water per unit coffee, use cooler water, decrease brew time, or use less agitation.
How has your experience been brewing heavily processed coffees? Do you love them? Hate them? Want us to offer more of them? Send us feedback at coffeeisafruit (at) vibrantcoffeeroasters (dot) com!
