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Transparency Is More Than Just Price

The push for flavors never seen before can be
credited to Sasa Sestic for introducing the carbonic
maceration fermentation technique when he collaborat-
ed with winemakers to win the 2015 World Barista
Championship in Seattle. It was the pinnacle of coffee
experimentation and enabled many to think outside the
box and push the flavor barriers.
It all started when Sasa sipped on a coffee that had
dominant notes of cinnamon at the 2018 Amsterdam World
Barista Championship. The following year, spice and fruit-
infused coffees started popping up. He knew, backed up
with research and tests, that such distinct notes could not
be produced in coffee using natural processing alone.
Hence, he put together a guide to check if green coffee has
been artificially infused.
Dr. Samo Smrke spoke to BeanScene Magazine on how
to identify coffee when something was added to it, “When-
ever a very distinctive profile or a specific aroma is per-
ceived, it is possible to say that the coffee was adulterated.”
There are advanced tools available such as gas chromatog-
raphy or Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometry to
Photo / Drew Dennehy, General Manager of THREE Specialty Coffee Roasters
test if the coffee has been infused.
Drew recalls his trip to a farm in Colombia and intro-
spects, “The problem arises when we have producers who
are infusing coffee in certain ways and don’t want to tell
the industry what they’re doing. There are famous farms
in Colombia that infuse coffees not during the fermentation ing infused coffees in the World Coffee Championships is There is a ray of hope – an opportunity for this seg- itself is not made known to the buyer breaching one of the
stage but during drying. They place all of the green beans beyond me. The coffees with the most distinct flavors and ment to shine and propel the coffee industry forward. It’s pillars of specialty coffee i.e. transparency. Imagine the
inside large drying boxes, and pump aromatics into them aromas will always get the advantage here.” clear that the pros can outweigh the cons if stakeholders market misperceives a Panama Geisha and interprets it as
as the coffee is drying releasing its moisture, and at the The whole world is watching when our favorite in the value chain can label the coffees for what they are the new norm exhibiting characteristics not seen before.
same time absorbing those aromatics which can then be baristas compete and the coffees they brew grow in pop- otherwise it can detract from the ultimate goal of special- The fact remains as Fredrick stated, “the essence of the
brought out during roasting and brewing.” ularity amongst the specialty coffee fan following. Since ty coffee – to present consumers with a cup of coffee that origin is lost” when coffees are infused with flavors unusu-
Many producers take it upon themselves to represent the nature of infused coffee falls within a gray area and meets their sensory requirements and also clearly display al to the terroir or varietal. Irina suggests a solution of
what the origin offers but when external flavors are added is not clearly defined in the rulings of these competitions, what great terroir, varietals, processing, farming, roasting, “giving infused coffees a different nomenclature” to differ-
and aren’t communicated, it leads to confusion. Information many of them pass undetected. Judges are essential when and brewing can do. entiate them from the rest.
at the farm level needs to be shared with buyers and roast- it comes to evaluating performances in coffee competi- Customers are much more aware now and are paying
ers, and the value is passed to the customers to experience tions and should be trained in recognizing infused coffees attention to the latest innovations happening in the coffee An Investigation Is in Order
the origin of what it is. Trust is a huge part of the transac- in certification programs. industry, but if the right information is not passed on to
tion process and it is the producer’s responsibility to be Drew competed in last year’s UAE National Barista them, they can get an inflated idea of what coffee can be. Diving deeper into the rabbit hole, I was invited by
transparent about their coffee. Championship and he is well aware that infused coffees are To this, Drew had an eye-opening point to add, “Because Drew to his roastery and tasted a coffee that was processed
Continuing my conversation with Fredrick, he ex- being used on the world stage. “Competitors are incentiv- higher yielding and lower quality varietals are used for using a *proprietary technique* with a special mix of mi-
panded on why he has a love-hate relationship with infused ized to turn a blind eye even if they think that it could be infused coffees, consumers will start to question why they crobes – the producer claims it is not infused, but Drew
coffees reasons he explains, “It pains me to see infused potentially infused because the incentives for winning with pay so much for traditionally processed coffees when an knew better. Having visited numerous farms and being
coffees being used in competitions. To see the same coffee a coffee that is labeled as a naturally processed coffee (not alternative that is more aromatic and flavorful is available.” involved in many fermentation processes, Drew has an
governing bodies that prioritize quality whilst also accept- infused) is high.” The problem could escalate when the process of infusion acute understanding of what happens at the farm level.

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