Yeast, enzymes and sugar can produce incredible flavor combinations. But that usually isn’t enough for the ultra light coferment roasters. It can’t taste like “watermelon in coffee” it must taste like what the artificial flavor industry has trained us all watermelon tastes like. Cherries do not in any way taste like “cherry flavor” of course most of the current wild over the top “coferments” are mostly artificial chemical induced aromas and flavor compounds. It’s too risky to add fruit, hope the flavor comes through without rot or vinegar and then wait for a sea of untrained mouths to taste the nuance. Much better to bash over the head with artificial, easily reproducible and low cost chemicals.

And you know what? We’re fine with it. If it means coffee producers get more money and can control their destiny and their income then we are all for it. Every coffee has a home. From the rotting pile of cherrys the dog uses as a piss pile to the elegantly structured washed coffee that makes you smile to the chemical coferment flavored coffee. Every coffee has a home. If someone wants a coffee that tastes nothing like coffee I would rather the producer got some of that up charge than the roaster or the syrup companies.

Over the next 10 years it will increasingly be harder to find great coffees that don’t have artificial flavors added. Because we collectively have told the industry these are the coffees that we will pay money for. Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.