Coffee Fruit

[thecroweater]

I have some coffee plants, arabica to be exact and the method for removing the pulp is to ferment it for a few days. i and wondering how fementing the whole fruit might work out as i could do this and remove the seed/bean for roasting allowing the must to continue fermenting. I did read the fruit is up to 37% sugar with a wealth of other nutrients useful to yeast and ferments very fast . The berry is sweet and pleasant to eat although mostly skin and seed and little water. I also read that coffee wine predates the use of the roasted been to make "coffee"

In the early days of coffee consumption on the Arabian peninsula, the drink made from the coffee tree was prepared in two ways; one as a fermented decoction made from the hull and the pulp surrounding the beans, and the other from the bean itself. The fact that the word for coffee in Arabic, "Qahwah", is the same as one of those used for wine, adds to this view. The pulp surrounding the coffee seeds is pleasant to taste, has a sweetish, aromatic flavor, and quickly ferments when allowed to stand. So originally, then, the coffee drink may have been a kind of wine made from the coffee fruit or pulp

Has anyone here tried this or know of anyone that makes coffee fruit wine or brandy ?

[MDH]

Nope, but probably similar to Solbeso in production

[DontQuoteMe]

A few considerations:

1) You'll probably want to immediately kill the wild yeast on the cherry after harvest in order to introduce a yeast of your own selection. That would involve pasteurizing the cherry with the bean inside of it, but I'm not sure what that would do to the coffee bean. The green coffee bean is very green and vegetal in taste, would probably modify the pH level, and I'm not sure that you want the contents leaching out. You'd want to try to lacerate or macerate the pulp as much as possible prior to fermentation, but your degree of success will probably be pretty limited.

2) After fermentation its pretty easy to remove all of the pulp by hand. Perhaps you could do that, press it, and re-start fermentation to try and convert residual sugars. On the other hand, the residual sugars may be desirable. Not having tried it, who's to say?

3) The amount of sugar in a coffee cherry is substantial in percentage terms but limited in volume. I did the math on this once and the number of coffee cherries that I would want for a batch numbered in the thousands. Consider adding a refined monosaccharide as an adjunct, or table sugar if that's what you've got. Locals in my area sometimes use this method with berries or plums and with wild yeast in order to make a thick syrupy wine to which they add ice for a good refreshing drink in the summer, but I don't think I've seen them use coffee cherries yet, and I haven't seen them distill anything of this sort.

4) Try as I might, I haven't found any record of commercially-made coffee cherry wines or distilled liquors. I don't think that its perceived as economic; but what we do doesn't have to be. Give it a shot and maybe also try doing some infusions and see what happens. Its coffee harvest season where I am (although mine are mostly robusta), so I might also try some stuff in parallel and report back.

[NZChris]

You could start with a Panty Dropper to check out the flavor. What time of year are they ripe where you are?

[Rastus]

you reminded me of a drink my kid brought home once that used the pulp of coffee beans and i must say it was seriously yummy, we got thoroughly addicted to it and our source dried up and never saw it again. it was called konared. google it... could be some ideas to use as you ponder your approach to the resource ...

good luck man sounds promising

[MDH]

I would do it like this:

1. Take the ripe cherries, crush them.
2. Add fresh water, stir
3. Measure the pH and adjust to <4.4 as necessary
4. Put in a warm place under airlock, allow wild yeast fermentation (it's summer in Australia, no?)
5. Distill as soon as fermentation is finished.

[thecroweater]

Yeah mate it is but I won't have the berries to do it this season personally DQM sounds like he might. I might ask some of the fellas in know up nearer the plantations if they have access. Another thought is if someone lived near a processing plant they may be able to purchase the waste product as I believe it just gets composed.

[DontQuoteMe]

I've had a robusta coffee cherry infusion going on now for about a couple of weeks. All of the red pigment has leached off of the cherries, which are now a light tan color. The color of the spirit (distillation-proof rice spirit) is pink-orange. The flavor is tannic and a bit harsh, but is definitely identifiable as the flavor of coffee cherry pulp. That makes sense given that most of the tannins are contained in the skin, would have leached first, and that there's a fairly high ration of skin to pulp. I expect that this might improve with age, the same as how aging untoasted/uncharred oak chips can result in a harsh sawdust flavor early on before mellowing out. Or it might reflect the flavor of the coffee seed, and that could be good or bad. I am not sure.

I did an experiment in parallel with this one where I took coffee flowers for an infusion. Farmers where I am apply a kind of medicine to them, but these sprouted early in the season and were not yet treated. These were whole flowers. I did not remove the stamens as perhaps would be ideal to get right at the pollen and isolate that flavor. The aroma of these flowers is similar to honeysuckle. The color of the spirit after two weeks is a light golden shade. The aroma is not very harsh, unlike the coffee cherry infusion. The flavor is perhaps a little too stout, not delicate enough. I may need to transfer them to a larger container and dilute the infusion with more rice spirits.

Next up are some experiments with coffee wood and leaves.

[raketemensch]

HD: Fermenting anything and everything in pursuit of unique flavors.

Please make sure y'all post results. I assume the caffeine would carry over, but there would be chemical reactions going on that are well beyond my knowledge.

[NZChris]

What are the chances of finding ripe berries in the Tropical Southern Hemisphere in March? I'm taking neutral with me in case there is something ripe worth experimenting with.

[DontQuoteMe]

NZChris, most of the northern hemisphere harvests right up until about March and I'd expect that the southern hemisphere is opposite that; but its possible that equatorial regions like Indonesia or Columbia are still harvesting.

About the infusions, at about three weeks the coffee cherry infusion was at its best. Its starting to harshen-up again, I think possibly because the coffee seed is now leeching. But at that point the coffee cherry infusion by itself was good to drink. The coffee flower infusion was initially too rich and too bitter to drink on its own and enjoy it; however at three weeks, a 4:1 mix of cherries:flowers is well-balanced and enjoyable. As the coffee flower infusion ages, it continues to be rich and becomes more viscous, but the bitterness is mellowing. I may need to dilute it with water or additional spirits, but I am interested to see if this becomes something worth drinking on its own after some more time.

[NZChris]

Thanks for that, DontQuoteMe.

It seems I might miss out this time, but there will be other things to try, (unless they get hit by a cyclone like last time I was there in March ).

[NZChris]

I didn't miss out. I now have the base spirit for my liqueur. Nice flavor, nothing like coffee.

[Yummyrum]

Good topic Crow.
We planted an Arabica coffee plant about 14 years ago .Each year is produces a bit more.Its about 3 meters high now . We have looked into processing the beans but it seams like a lot of bother for the bugger all we get off it .
Just went and had a look .We are in mid north coast NSW Australia and the tree is starting to fruit up .The berrys are green and about 1/2" in dia at the moment .
There are lots of self seeders under it.

Perhaps Crows method is the answer to utalizing the pulp and ending up with a bean

[NZChris]

I peeled off the flesh by hand, then steeped it SPD style, meanwhile dried and roasted the beans. The color is fantastic, but it is around 80% and is yet to be diluted and sweetened.

[Gorebyss]

I did some quick searching since I didn't know the process of removing the pulp and inner membrane and from what I found my guess would be that it could an pH issue causing fermentation trouble. From the info below I am assuming the wet method is used to produce the material you are trying to ferment.

Do you have a way to test acid and or pH?

Processing
Quality coffees must be picked by hand, a process that takes from three to four visits per tree each year. This is because coffee cherries do not ripen at the same time. A branch of a tree might simultaneously bear blossoms, green fruit, and ripe cherries. A good picker can pick about 200 pounds of coffee cherries in one day. This equals about 50 pounds of green coffee beans or 39 pounds of roasted coffee. Once the coffee cherries have been picked, the beans must be removed from them. Three methods may be used in the extraction process:

The Wet Method or Washed Coffee - This is used in regions where there is a plentiful supply of fresh water. A machine first strips away the outer layers of skin and fruity pulp. The beans, still enclosed in a sticky inner pulp and parchment wrapper, are soaked for 24 to 72 hours in fermentation tanks. This loosens the remaining pulp through a series of enzymatic reactions, which is then washed away. Time in the fermentation tanks is critical as too much or too little time will harm the beans. These coffees will generally have a higher acidity and cleaner flavors than their dry cousins.
The Dry or Natural Method - The cherries are allowed to dry on the tree or are laid out to dry in the sun for three to four weeks. When the pulp has dried, a hulling machine strips away the outer skin and pulp. Although the beans are not always consistent in quality, the acidity of the beans is reduced and the body and earthy flavor is increased. Producing high quality coffee with the dry method is challenging because the beans are exposed to climatic conditions during the drying process. Some of the dry method coffees are Sumatra, Ethiopia Harrar, and Yemen.
Semi-washed method - In Sulawesi, the coffee cherries are washed and sorted as in the washed method, but are not placed in fermentation tanks. Instead they are set out to dry. Sulawesi coffees are a bit more cleaner and smoother than their Sumatra cousins.

After the wet or dry process, a mill removes any remaining parchment and the silverskin - a thin covering that clings to the bean

[Cabron99]

Boy, reviving an old thread; looking for some assistance.
I have access to the juice from coffee cherries. So far it has been fermented before I received it. Hoping for the pre-fermented juice, but that remains to be seen.
The fermented juice I ran was quite thick with pulp or something and I couldn't get it to settle out. After the run, I began to think scorching might have occurred though I used a band heater for the process. I've been told the juice is quite high in pectin. Have no idea how that would affect the process. Don't know the SG and the pulp hindered the FG. It tasted done. The final product had an insecticidal smell to it, however that is gone. The coffee was grown organically. No insecticides.
I'm pretty new to this and any help or suggestion would be much appreciated.

[RidgeBack]

Here on O`ahu coffee trees grow wild in many of the valleys. If I tried I could harvest thousands of beans in the right season. Something to think about. I once made coffee from these beans but getting the drying and roasting right was hit and miss. Coffee production is best left to the experts who produce darn good stuff. Making something from the "flesh, fruit" sounds interesting. Maybe next season. LOL

[NZChris]

I don't think I would go to the trouble of fermenting the pulp, but the steeped liqueur I made from it is rather nice if you are into liqueurs or know someone who is.

[SGB]

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2021/01/29/ ... fee-fruit/

[SGB]

We grow a lot of coffee and cocoa and I was referred to this thread and wondering has anyone had success with this ? I won't be able to try it until the season starts, May -Aug,
We do the drying, dry style, with all the beans laid out flat in the sun before hulling.

[Kareltje]

There is a study done with spent coffeegrounds, that were used as base for a ferment. Try to find it.

[thecroweater]

No one watered our coffee plants while Sue and I were away so that was the end of that for us but I'm interested to hear how others have done.

[The Baker]

There is a study done with spent coffeegrounds, that were used as base for a ferment. Try to find it.

I tried a liqueur with coffee grounds from a coffee shop, so they made their coffee the usual way, passing steam through the ground coffee.
The result was horrible, tasted like straw.
Those machines sure get all the flavour out.

As for fermenting the grounds, I don't recall that study.
I wouldn't be hopeful but could be fine.

Geoff

[NZChris]

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2021/01/29/ ... fee-fruit/

That's a great link SGB. There's enough info in it for a skilled pot distiller to be able make fine product from fresh, or dried, fruit. I was surprised that dried makes good product, but I shouldn't have been as I do regularly sun dry produce from my garden. It makes a lot of sense to use the dried flesh when that is an easy way to remove it.

[NZChris]

I'm sampling the liqueur that I made from fresh berries nearly five years ago and it is unique and very nice. I expect the fruit would make a nice flavored vodka.

[SGB]

It makes a lot of sense to use the dried flesh when that is an easy way to remove it.

Well come May -Aug there will certainly be a lot of that piled up. I'm keen to see what happens
I'm thinking, fill up the buckets with the waste by product, then top it off with water. Check the gravity and wait

[SGB]

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... _East_Java

Here's a link on making biofuel from the waste pulp o had heard about.
Originally I had turned away from the idea of creating a drinkable product until I saw the previous news link on that coffee vodka.
Certainly something worth exploring

[jonnys_spirit]

Or a brandy.

[Evil Wizard]

I went down to Costa rica with a still and did this very thing. Got the coffee cherry skins (arabica) from the mill, fermented them in bags and barrels with water and a bit of sugar. Didn't kill any natural yeast. Used Distilamax TQ (killer strain) and LS seperately. Fermented out in under 36hrs. Stripped and finished around 90-92%. Had no problems with wild yeast, caffeine inhibiting the yeast, there's no caffeine in the distillate. No pectin issues. Its an easy lauter.
The TQ tasted a bit like tequila, the Ls more subtle. Blended them together, sweetened (barely) with dried skins and oaked briefly. Its an amazing spirit, leathery and cherry like.
I taught a couple people there how to make it and how to build their own stills.