Das Almas: An Experiment in Fermentation

“The idea for this project was born when I visited Das Almas with our Director of Coffee, Freda, 2 years ago. This was my first ever coffee farm visit. Father and Son producers Adriano and Matheus shared their interest in innovative approaches to processing their crops. For example, at the beginning of their journey, they would use one small barrel to dabble in fermentation, but have since bought 5,000l fermentation tanks.

I remember discussing with Freda how the interest in funky, fermented coffees has grown significantly, and how the process affects the natural features of a given lot. What’s more, that was the year we were offering one of the Das Almas fermented coffees (Lichia) at Origin, as well as curated coffee sets from different farms. When we saw these fermentation tanks, it occurred to me that we could showcase the effects of fermentation on flavour within coffee, creating this trio. You could say that it was the Das Almas farm that inspired this project.” 

“That’s a hard one; I am looking forward to letting the Tasting Set Trio speak for itself, and I hope that it will be a great educational opportunity for our customers. I was there on the farm last year when the lot we selected was harvested. Together with Adriano, we measured the sugar content of the fruits to ensure perfect fermentation using a BRIX refractometer. Once the cherries were sorted and put into tanks, I personally closed the lid on each tank. Based on this alone, I have a personal connection with each of those lots. However, the fourth lot that was fermented with the addition of molasses in the tank has a special place in my heart.

This creation was Matheus’ idea; he was incredibly excited about this project and suggested taking it that extra step further. When this last lot was being loaded into the tank, we had to ensure that the molasses was distributed evenly across the cherries. To do that, we had to use a container with a spray nozzle, distributing the molasses evenly while the tank was getting filled.”