#Cinnamongate: When Experimental Fermentation Meets Criticism
Infusing coffee with flavours has been a hot topic for some time, generating a lot of buzz in the industry
and causing many to seek a greater understanding of the definitions and boundaries between
coffee genetics, processing, transparency, and value creation for producers and consumers alike.
Flavour Boosted Coffee
It was in 2015 that specialty coffee drinkers were first awakened to the possibilities of controlled fermentation* in coffee. The experiments had been going on for some years, but it was only when Australian barista champion, Saša Šestić, won the title of World Barista Champion that things started to catch on fire. He achieved this feat by serving his judges an Ethiopian coffee that had been washed carbonic macerated, an innovative fermentation method.
Saša‘s coffee made him an overnight sensation; he was catapulted into the limelight for the effort that was done to moderate flavour through control of the fermentation process.
Pumped Up Coffee
Experiments with various yeast strains, temperature control, and carbonic maceration have been followed with frenzied interest by coffee geeks around the world, but not much has been written about the slightly more bizarre practices that have been underway… Some producers have experimented over the years, adding ingredients like cinnamon sticks to water in their fermentation tanks. Other producers have used tangerine peels and various tropical fruit to impart certain flavours to their coffees. For the most part, these experiments were conducted using lower quality coffees sold into the commodity market, and so were seen as events that need not concern the purists on the Specialty Coffee scene. But in 2017 that all changed….
#Cinnamongate
In a rumour that has become known as #Cinnamongate Irish Brewing Champion Stephen Houston brewed a coffee at the 2017 World Championship that tasted so distinctly of cinnamon, that the entire focus of the competition shifted. No one even remembers who won that year** because they were so busy trying to figure out how such a powerful note of cinnamon could possibly have ended up in his coffee. Was there cinnamon added to the coffee? And if so, at what stage of the processing? And if during fermentation, was this considered a contravention of the rules?
Accusations were plentiful; evidence not so much. To this day, there is no definitive verdict on the matter, but regardless of the outcome, a lovely mystery had emerged. It was widely agreed that it was one of the most exciting coffees of the year.
The Value of the Debate
The fact of producing infused coffees is not a problem. On many markets around the world, coffee flavored will become popular and will find their fans. As far as the infused coffee goes, the specialty coffee community is concerned about identity (origin/terroir), quality and transparency.
Buyers place a huge amount of trust in the coffees they purchase from producers. it is therefore the producer’s responsibility to be open and honest with what they do to coffee cherries. Every time a buyer chooses for a particular green coffee, he is selling a representation of a specific geographical location and a variety that can be manipulated to a point by process.
If a producer infuses the coffee in the moment of fermentation with some external flavours and is not sharing this info, it is unfair to those who are open to exploring new flavours, thinking they come from the terroir or varieties in the farm and that the flavours are reached by a natural fermentation of the cherries.
So, is it good or bad? The answer is: it depends. It depends mainly on the manufacturer, his diligence, his knowledge of the process and especially his honesty.
Fermentation can produce remarkable results, the specialty coffee community have been describing cinnamon as a characteristic in anaerobic coffee for a long time. From the samples we’ve cupped at Cuprima, we could come to the conclusion that cinnamon is quite a universal flavour characteristic for a good anaerobic process. We have some coffees with cinnamon notes in our portfolio. Drop us a line if you would like to receive a sample and/or discuss this specific cup profile.
* What does fermentation have to do with coffee? Well, coffee beans are the seeds at the centre of coffee cherries.
The fruit of the cherry has to be removed through one of a number of ways before the beans can be roasted.
Most of the time, the majority of the fruit is mechanically removed before the remaining sticky seeds
are then soaked in water, allowing spontaneous fermentation to remove the final layer of sugary fruit from the seed pod.
Historically, this fermentation phase was valued purely for its ability to remove mucilage,
but as per 2015 producers have been experimenting and showing just how much flavour can be modulated,
and therefore how much value can be created through fermentation.
**Chad Wang from Taiwan won the 2017 World Coffee Brewing Championship
Credits & References
Infusing coffee with flavours has been a hot topic for some time, generating a lot of discussion in the industry
and dividing the coffee community into supporters and opponents of the process.
Check out some interesting references below:
baristahustle.com/blog/cinnamongate
sasasestic.com.au/fermentation-affect-coffee-flavour-development
infusing-coffee-with-flavor-and-the-controversy-over-these-processes
perfectdailygrind.com/2021/08/infused-coffees-experiments-with-fermentationcoffeedesk.com/blog/why-cinnamon-in-coffee-about-experimental-fermentation