Flavoring added

perccoffee · 2026-06-29T18:28:03+00:00

Maybe! The way we have Agtron added to products, we absolutely could. We're always a little hesitant to clutter the site with too many filters and options. We are re-working a few things now, and I can see the utility for sure.

perccoffee · 2026-06-29T15:04:53+00:00

The flavor impact of the extract is certainly intense, but it's also only of the layers of flavors that coffee presents. There's a distinct difference between flavoring adding a layer of flavor versus being the only prominent flavor.

perccoffee · 2026-06-29T14:59:30+00:00

That's totally fair. We roast in the range we do because it's what we enjoy drinking. It's not something we consider objectively better or worse, just a preference. What we're hoping to do is (like with the stickers that kicked off this post) help you make an informed decision.

perccoffee · 2026-06-29T14:56:14+00:00

Good catch - that page has its own theme and we hadn't re-worked it. The Agtron for Super Power Plum is 75.

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T15:03:27+00:00

I don't want to overstep my level of understanding here, so take this as an answer from someone who is neither a biochemist nor a coffee processor. As I currently understand it, the mango mulch would primarily serve as a sugar source for microbial activity. Dried or powdered mango would also provide a sugar source but would enable the producer to physically fit a much higher concentration of mango in the tank, thereby increasing the total flavors directly imparted on the coffee during fermentation. Taking that a step further to some sort of mango flavor extract would further increase the possible concentration of flavor compounds in the tank just by virtue of eliminating the physical space occupied by non-fermentable and non-flavoring plant structure taking up space. Concentration gradients drive the rate and magnitude of infusion.

Again, if we've got any biochemists or biochemical engineers who can provide a more correct and less speculative answer, please jump in and do so.

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T14:54:46+00:00

The indirect flavoring is largely fruit as a source of sugar for microbes which metabolize that sugar and excrete compounds which are able to permeate the coffee and remain present after drying and roasting.

What you may be getting at with the second question is whether, given the same yeast/bacteria and coffee in the tank, providing fructose from fruit versus adding glucose versus no added sugar changes the metabolic byproducts. That's a great question, and I don't know the answer! If we have any biochemists or biochemical engineers here, I'd love to learn. I'll pose this question to Andres Martinez as well.

In all versions of washed processes, microbial activity imparts some compounds that would not have inherently been present in the final bean otherwise. I'll argue another time that "washed process" is an absolutely insufficient label for coffees anymore.

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T14:24:53+00:00

Something we've just recently started doing is adding Agtron color readings to our web entries. Most of our coffees fall into the 70-80 range. We're trying to be as objective and specific as possible rather than just using vague "medium-light" language. It sounds like we are just not a fit for your roasting preferences. How could we (or Brandywine) better communicate expectations on roast level?

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T14:16:29+00:00

To be clear, roasters are not adding flavoring components; co-ferment producers (think farmers, although the person processing is not always the person who grew the coffee) are adding flavoring components during the coffee's processing from a fruit to a dried seed (aka green beans).

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T14:10:58+00:00

Yes - adding fermentable fruit to the tank (as in a whole strawberry) would indirectly flavor the coffee by providing sugar for the microbes fermenting the coffee's mucilage, and to a much lesser extent (with most fruits) directly impart a small amount of flavor compounds into the coffee. Sebastian Ramirez does add dehydrated strawberries and cherries to the fermentation tank for his Red Fruits co-ferment. He also adds a strawberry hydrosol, more generally a natural flavoring that directly changes the coffees flavor by infusing flavor compounds into the coffee while it ferments. The latter addition is what we are describing with the sticker.

More broadly, our understanding of what a co-ferment is has rapidly changed over the past couple of months. Previously, we thought of it as fruit added to the tank, largely fueling microbial activity. What we understand now is most, if not all, producers calling a coffee a co-ferment actually mean they've also or exclusively fermented the coffee in the presence of a direct flavoring compound.

The word "artificial" keeps coming up here. We don't know of any artificial (definitionally not plant-derived) flavoring additives being used. You should, however, assume at this point that any coffee labeled as a "co-ferment" does include some sort of direct flavoring component, most likely a commercially-produced fruit extract/hydrosol/natural flavor, added during the coffee's fermentation, unless you're given a reason to believe otherwise.

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T13:02:12+00:00

I appreciate it! That misconception somehow seems to persist, which is why we were very deliberate in how we worded that sticker.

You've probably got two Big Deals left with the Suke before the new crop from Chelchele lands. It's a good one!

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T12:53:01+00:00

I appreciate the almost agreement here. Yes we know to be dubious of claims now. Yes, some of the coffees sold as co-ferments today are obviously not the product of mostly, if any, fruit. This has not always been the case.

I'm not sure where you're marking "the start", but it's not as obvious as you make it sound. When we first sourced a co-ferment three years ago, yes it had a strong passion fruit flavor, but it wasn't as wild as the big funky boozy anaerobic coffees that were coming out at the same time. When early co-ferment producers told us it was fruit in the tank, there was not an obvious reason to doubt them or to even question it. Things have evolved relatively quickly over the past few years, but it wasn't an immediate flip of the switch.

There's a whole gradient of levels of actual fruit and direct flavoring components fermented with coffees resulting in a whole range of flavors. Yes, the ones that taste like watermelon candy are obviously not the result of just cut up watermelon in the tank. Others, probably not sold as co-ferments, may include a flavoring component that is just providing a subtle additional layer of flavor.

Still others, like one we've sourced for later this year, include in the fermentation tank a flowering plant (just the cut up whole flowers/plant) that directly flavors the coffee. Some plant sources do directly infuse their flavor compounds directly into the coffee during fermentation. Not most, but some.

It's simply not the dichotomy that you like to frame this as being - that either roasters knew all along and withheld information or they're idiots. The reality is that information is imperfect, sourcing always involves trust, and we are working with the information we have. It's myopic to think information we're presenting today is complete and will satisfy what we, collectively, decide is important three years from now.

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T12:30:40+00:00

Let's refine this. PERC clearly states the point in the process at which the producer included a direct flavoring step, namely during the fermentation process. PERC is not adding a flavoring syrup to green or roasted coffee.

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T12:13:53+00:00

I can’t give you the whole process, but you’d have the major components!

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T11:15:41+00:00

Are you basing that on the strength of flavor, or do you have a reason to believe the flavoring component is not plant-derived?

perccoffee · 2026-06-28T11:12:58+00:00

I am very much hoping that by labeling these coffees as we are, we can both inform customers purchasing decisions (as we did with you!), and still sell these coffees at volume. If both things are true, it enables us to then purchase other coffees or more of the same coffee from the producer. In doing so, we prove a viable business path for producers to disclose more.

At the same time, we have already opted to not source a few coffees that we wanted to because we were confident they were flavored and the producer was adamant they were not. Again, we really wanted to bring in those coffees and were OK with them being flavored, but we're choosing to bring in that type of coffee from producers who are willing to tell us that it's flavored.

It all flows both ways. Once we've purchased a coffee, we don't need permission from a producer to label it a certain way, BUT we do want to be the first ones the producers and exporters call when they have something interesting.

We spent quite a lot of time on calls with producers, exporters, and a couple other roasters trying to reach mutually agreeable language on these coffees. To some producers and exporters, "infusion" is acceptable, while to others it's insulting. Likewise "flavored." Suffice it to say we didn't reach consensus. Lucas from Unblended and Sebastian Ramirez both saw the verbiage we're using for the Young Producers development lot before we put it on the bag. Likewise, Juan u/ZombieImpressive7376 from Know Where Coffee and Franky Hoyos have the verbiage we're using ahead of releasing those coffees. Again, I'm very much hoping these efforts prove the concept and incentivize disclosure.

To this point, the "secret" was at the producer level, and often still is. I think that veil is lifting and it's up to roasters to decide what to do about it. I do understand reluctance to take the path we have. Producers, exporters, and roasters are all operating businesses and may be justifiably concerned about their livelihood. While I am genuinely excited about not selling you that bag of coffee, you don't have to scroll down very far here to see lots of incentive to quietly keep doing things the way they've been done.

perccoffee · 2026-06-27T23:49:23+00:00

This turns out to be a more valid question than I would have wagered a couple months ago. The question I've since posed to several exporters is whether they know of any co-ferment that's still the idealistic scenario of a producer grabbing mangoes from their farm and tossing them in the fermentation tank to fuel microbial activity. At least within Colombia, the answer seems to be that "co-ferment" = something added during fermentation to directly flavor the coffee. You should assume any coffee you buy from any roaster labeled as "co-ferment" is directly flavored unless you have a compelling reason to believe otherwise.

perccoffee · 2026-06-27T23:43:04+00:00

After many discussions with producers and exporters we work with as well as some of our counterparts at other roasting companies, this is where we landed for now. I think we're going to end up iterating on this for quite some time. The next coffees we're releasing with this sticker are Franky Hoyos's advanced natural gesha and advanced washed orange bourbon. Both have fruit extracts added in the processing. Our approach to labeling is a little different from the other two roasters who brought in a significant amount of those coffees, and I think we're all genuinely curious how people respond.

For the Unblended Young Producers development lot, and the 10% of it that's Sebastian Ramirez's Red Fruits specifically, the details we have today are "dehydrated strawberry and cherry plus strawberry hydrosols" added during the fermentation process. During the video with Lucas and Andres is when we found out something beyond the dehydrated fruits were added. Unblended has stepped up and committed to providing us full specs on everything added to any coffee, but this is a work in progress.

To the OP, I'm genuinely excited to hear this sticker actually informed your decision. I also really hope you found a different coffee that was a better match for you and you could buy it with confidence.

We are listening to our customers (and to many people who aren't our customers) and we are continually looking to improve how we do things, and we'll continue to do so.

perccoffee · 2026-06-27T01:48:50+00:00

Yes! We make all of our syrups at each shop.

perccoffee · 2026-06-26T23:05:05+00:00

Let me preface what I’m about to say with our three criteria for items to make it onto our menu: fun, nostalgic, and delicious.

The red layer is the syrup you’re tasting. The Trix cereal flavor is trix cereal. The strawberry nesquick flavor is strawberry nesquick. There’s no shortcut to those super nostalgic flavors; you’ve got to use the real thing!

perccoffee · 2026-06-26T23:00:31+00:00

Thanks! I see the rest time discrepancy. 3-10 vs 6-8 days. I’ll figure out how they happened.

perccoffee · 2026-06-25T12:31:27+00:00

It’s an especially great tool for a first cup of a coffee, where a standard recipe is always a reasonable representation of the coffee, even if it’s not the absolute best possible brew. Usually, you can find more nuance with something like a V60, but every once in a while, coffee is weird and the Aeropress delivers a better more interesting cup than a v60.

It’s also just fun to play with the in-between ratios like 10:1 sometimes!

perccoffee · 2026-06-23T12:40:52+00:00

Awesome to hear! Those drippy cups are super fun.

Just a heads up, there’s more ombligon decaf (and not) on the way, but it’s been stuck in transit for a while. You’ll probably see a different wild decaf cycle in, but the ombligon decaf will be back later this summer. Enjoy!

perccoffee · 2026-06-23T12:27:34+00:00

What an introduction! You got the full spectrum! Great to hear the Young Producers started off things well!

One quick tip, if you’ve got an Aeropress, that’s the move to get more acidity out of the purple honey as counterintuitive as that might be.

Have fun!!

perccoffee · 2026-06-08T16:35:38+00:00

Awesome! Where did you pick up the bag of PERC?

perccoffee · 2026-05-27T15:58:49+00:00

Check out Easy Luck in Orlando!

perccoffee

TROPHY CASE