PRE-ORDER ONLY (limited quantity available)
We will roast this coffee on September 10th and ship it the week of September 14th.
Please note: If this taster pack is in your order, your ENTIRE order will be shipped that week. Out of kindness to our production team, we cannot offer split shipments on these orders due to the volume of orders expected. We also can't ship these outside the UK.
In other industries, the person controlling fermentation would be called something like a "brewmaster." In coffee, they're called "farmers" or "producers" — but we think the skill and value they contribute merits far more recognition. The Fermentation Project, from James Hoffmann and Lucia Solis, is the perfect chance to encounter that expertise: This set includes the exact same coffee processed four different ways to illuminate the role of fermentation (and the people who manage it) in your cup.
These coffees are designed to help you take part in a live, global tasting on James' YouTube channel on October 3rd at 3 pm (UK time). Of course, you can taste the coffees any time you choose. Here's James explaining the project in more detail. The logistics behind this project have been extraordinary, and we can't wait to taste these coffees with you. Of course, Skylark is 100% non-profit in order to put power (and money) back in the hands of coffee producers, so we love to support this kind of transparency. More on our ethos in our annual transparency report.
Your pack will include 50g each of the following coffees:
- A coffee where the mucilage is removed mechanically (no fermentation) to serve as the control. The flavour profile of this coffee comes from growing practices and genetic varietal characteristics.
- A wild fermentation (48 hours submerged with local, naturally occurring microbes). This is the traditional method that most coffees experience in the "washed" process.
- An inoculated fermentation (48 hours submerged with Lactobacillus, often called "lacto ferment"). Generally, this added bacteria shows how through fermentation a producer can boost organic acids and generate extra layers of brightness and creaminess.
- Another inoculated fermentation (48 hours submerged with Saccharomyces yeast). With yeast inoculation, producers can enhance the production of flavour precursors and alter the body and complexity of the coffee.
We aren't including any tasting notes because we want you to decide for yourself! And if you'd like to go crazy with the comparative tastings, we've just released a Gesha pack, a Bette Buna processing pack from our main Ethiopian partners, and a co-ferment taster pack from Colombia's Edinson Argote.
Altitude: 1460–1540 MASL
Farm: Finca San Miguel Urias
Producer: Hector and Lilian Leal, operated under Rueda
Farm Location: Antigua Valley, Guatemala (between Ciudad Vieja and San Miguel Dueñas)
Varietal: ~85% Caturra, ~15% H1, Bourbon
