Anaerobic process coffee
Anaerobic coffee is fermented in a sealed tank with the oxygen excluded, which lets a producer control fermentation precisely and push flavours a long way past what the fruit alone would give.
Cherries or de-pulped beans go into a sealed steel or plastic tank, often under a carbon-dioxide blanket, sometimes with a measured yeast inoculation, for anywhere from a day to well over a week. Because the tank can be monitored for temperature and pH, the producer is running a process rather than hoping for weather.
The cup is intense and often polarising: cinnamon, rum, tropical fruit, sometimes a distinctly boozy edge. It is the technique behind most of the very expensive competition lots of the last few years, and behind a fair amount of coffee that tastes more of the tank than of the farm.
- Coffees in the catalogue
- 6
- Origins
- Colombia, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Honduras, China
- Common notes
- floral, lychee, passionfruit, semi-sweet chocolate and cherry
- Price range
- $18.50 – $29.00
Common questions
What does anaerobic mean on a bag of coffee?
Anaerobic coffee is fermented in a sealed tank with the oxygen excluded, which lets a producer control fermentation precisely and push flavours a long way past what the fruit alone would give.
What does anaerobic coffee taste like?
Across the 6 anaerobic coffees in this catalogue the most common tasting notes are floral, lychee, passionfruit, semi-sweet chocolate and cherry.
6 anaerobic coffees in the catalogue
- Colombia El Vergel — Wesley Andrews. lychee, passionfruit and florals. $29.00 / 250 g.
- Ethiopia Worka Sakaro — Coma Coffee Roasters. semi-sweet chocolate, florals and cherry. $20.00 / 340 g.
- Costa Rica Los Lajas — Ledger Coffee Roasters. fruit punch, pomegranate and rosehips. $22.00 / 284 g.
- Honduras Finca La Alondra Anaerobic Process — Coffeestamp. hazelnut, cacao nib, rapadura and baking chocolate. $18.50 / 340 g.
- Catimor Anaerobic Yeast Washed Zhiqiu — Hydrangea Coffee Roasters. peach, yeast and stone fruit. $19.00 / 227 g.
- Diego Horta Anaerobic Natural — Black & White Coffee Roasters. tropical, rum, funky and strawberry. $26.00 / 340 g.
Related
Coffee from Colombia Coffee from Ethiopia Coffee from Costa Rica Coffee from Honduras Coffee from China