“Nucoffee Artisans” project: controlled fermentation in your farm

Nucoffee begins 2020 with a major project to bring controlled fermentation into the farms of its coffee grower partners. The initiative, named “Mostra Artesãos do Café” or “Nucoffee Artisans”, besides offering coffee growers the best microorganisms for the production of controlled fermentation coffees, will promote the training of coffee growers and the monitoring of the process. 

All growers integrating the Nucoffee Platform will be invited to participate in this action provided they meet the following prerequisites: 

• minimum post-harvest structure for the process (described in the Controlled Fermentation Manual);

• participation in Online Trainings (available in the Course Agenda, via Zoom);

• filling in the application form committing themselves to comply with the Regulation recommendations;

• delivery of a bag from the lot resulting from the fermentation process.

According to Juan Gimenes, Marketing and New Project Manager at Nucoffee, the name of the project, Artesãos Nucoffee, refers to the essential details that growers must observe during the fermentation process. "The masterpiece is the result of combining high technology and a lot of dedication, it is the coffee production approaching the wine production", highlights Gimenes.

In recent years, the Controlled Fermentation research conducted by Nucoffee in partnership with the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) evaluated the implementation of the technology in farms from different producing regions and validated consistent results with excellent  feedback from specialty coffee roasters in regions of the Europe, America and Asia, and some lots were sold for more than USD 700/bag.

Nucoffee's controlled fermentation process uses microorganisms originated and selected over the last 20 years from the coffee's environment (microbiota), in order to influence the flavor and aroma of the beans, benefiting the final consumer with tastier and top-rated coffees.

“At the beginning of the coffee chain, we have the technology for the production of these new sensory profiles and, at its end we have the demand, i.e. the confirmed interest. For this reason, ‘Nucoffee Artisans’ comes to accelerate the introduction of Controlled Fermentation coffees in the market, demonstrating the production capacity of a greater number of Brazilian farms and connecting these lots produced to the interested coffee-roasters”, states the manager.

About the dates and stages of “Nucoffee Artisans”

Throughout February, the growers selected to participate in the project will be identified, and they will be asked to fill in an application form at the beginning of March.

Then, at the end of the first semester, we intend that all these coffee growers have received their yeasts and are capable to proceed with the controlled fermentation process in their farms. 

All lots produced will be rated by a group of professional Q-Graders. Coffee samples of the top 20s will be sent for evaluation by 20 International roasters, who will select the best lots processed with the Controlled Fermentation. All this in the second half of October this year.

“We believe that the evaluation of the batches produced will serve as a basis for the scientific validation of the technology. This is a great network experiment involving up to 400 participating farms from all Brazilian regions”, points out Gimenes.

The cupping of the top batches will be held at the beginning of November, during the International Coffee Week, which takes place annually, in Belo Horizonte.

Thus, our objective is that on November 30, 2020, the growers have access to the final results of “Nucoffee Artisans” project, be awarded recognition and start marketing the lots.

All lots produced will be commercially disclosed through the Offer List Nucoffee, although their sales may be conducted also by other means.

Learn more about the Controlled Fermentation and the “Nucoffee Artisans” project

Here, you can learn more about the study carried out by Nucoffee in partnership with the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), as well as the stages of the controlled fermentation process and some of its results.

In the report below, you can be up on other details of the “Nucoffee Artisans” project.