Co-fermented coffees might be divisive, but there is clearly a market for them

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Key takeaways

• Co-ferments have shifted from niche to mainstream within specialty coffee.
• Consumers treat co-ferments as occasional additions, not daily staples.
• Milk drinks and cold brew suit co-ferments particularly well.
• The trend may eventually move into canned beverages and commercial blends.

Despite their polarising nature, co-fermented coffees have grown considerably in popularity over the last few years. Roasters across the US, Japan, South Korea, the UAE, and parts of Europe are now stocking these unusual, fruit-forward lots. Markets in East Asia and the Middle East, which consistently reward flavour innovation with higher prices, have been particularly receptive.

“Co-ferments have been around for a while, but the last three years are when they really started to land commercially,” says Veronique Lagarde, co-founder of Amsterdam’s Dak Coffee Roasters. “We’ve watched the category move from niche to fairly mainstream within specialty. Part of that shift came from roasters noticing there was a real audience – that people actually enjoy drinking these coffees.” 

Dak released two co-ferments, Candy Crush and Coco Bongo, a few years ago. Both gained traction online, and Veronique believes that kind of visibility gave other roasters confidence to explore the category themselves. As evidence of how far things have moved, she points to a recent visit to World of Coffee in San Diego: “Most of the roasters we visited had at least one on their bar.”

What separates co-ferments from other processed coffees is the deliberate introduction of external organic substrates during fermentation. Producers add fruit, tea, herbs, coffee mossto (the juice extracted from coffee pulp), or spices into the fermentation tank alongside the coffee cherries. This shapes the resulting cup in ways that no conventional processing method can replicate – which is precisely what divides opinion.

You may also like our article on why Colombia produces so many co-fermented coffees.

The rise of co-ferments

Co-fermentation is generally considered to have begun in Colombia. Producers like Diego Bermudez, Edwin Noreña, and Rodrigo Sanchez helped pioneer the technique, redefining controlled fermentation in coffee processing.

Colombia’s infrastructure helped these ideas spread quickly; training programmes connect smallholder producers across the country’s many growing regions. 

“When one producer tries something, and it works, they share knowledge with other producers,” says Alan Fischer, CEO and CMO of Perc Coffee in Savannah, Georgia, US. “Adoption is happening more rapidly in Colombia compared to other places in the world.”

Chris Hall, co-founder of Portland, Oregon roaster Push x Pull, has committed to thirty different co-ferment lots this year. “We even had a pineapple co-ferment from Ethiopia,” he says, emphasising how quickly the practice is moving beyond its Colombian origins.

Producers can create intensely bold, prominent flavour profiles that match the ingredients they add. In turn, they can access new markets and potentially boost cup scores – offering major advantages in an industry that advocates for farmers’ empowerment.

Despite the benefits, co-ferments remain divisive. Purists object to the use of external ingredients, claiming flavour inauthenticity and a higher risk of a lack of transparency. 

Although they remain relatively niche in terms of everyday consumption, co-ferments have emerged as a distinct category within specialty coffee, one that sits alongside washed and natural coffees rather than underneath them.

“We carry co-ferments in the showroom, and they move quickly,” Veronique says. “As soon as we sell out, people ask when the next one is coming in.”

How are people drinking co-ferments?

One underappreciated aspect of co-ferments is their role in bringing new people into specialty coffee. “They’re like a gateway for flavour exploration,” Veronique says. “Training your palate to pick up nuance in a washed lot takes years, whereas a co-ferment gives you an immediate, vivid reference point.”

This has direct implications for the wider industry, influencing consumer perception of coffee flavour and encouraging a shift towards flavour-first branding.

Given how intense co-ferments can be, most consumers drink them as filter, but they’re not dominating the market over more typical washed and natural coffees. “The co-ferment is not the first cup of the day and maybe not every day,” says Chris. “People are throwing it in the freezer, mostly for pour over.”

This suggests consumers are treating these coffees as something to return to occasionally, rather than a daily routine. “Most agree they’re not a daily coffee, but a lot of our customers treat them as something special,” Veronique confirms.

Espresso is a different matter. The intensity that makes co-ferments interesting as filter coffee becomes much more pronounced as espresso. Concentrating a coffee that already presents as a “fruit bomb” produces striking and, for many, overwhelming results. 

Milk drinks, on the other hand, suit co-ferments well. The fat in milk softens the sharper edges of a very fruity coffee, and the sweetness can complement rather than compete with the fruit-forward character. Veronqite adds that she has seen cafés add a co-ferment to a house blend to lift an older lot that was starting to age or taste flat.

Alan says Perc is experimenting with decaf and instant formats. Decaf often struggles to deliver the kind of complexity that justifies its price premium; pairing the decaffeination process with a co-fermented lot gives producers and roasters a way to make decaf genuinely interesting.

Cold brew is a natural fit for co-ferments, too. Slow, cold extraction is gentle enough to preserve the aromatic compounds that define a co-ferment’s character, and the resulting concentrate can work well in cocktails.

Acknowledging the complexity of co-fermented coffees

It’s clear that co-ferments are not everyday coffees; their intensity means most consumers drink them selectively. But as the market for these coffees becomes more established, roasters are finding new ways to serve co-fermented lots – opening up new flavour experiences.

Veronique is clear that the category has real staying power and pushes back on the idea that co-ferments are easy to produce. “There’s a persistent idea that they’re one-dimensional, that a producer can just throw watermelon back in the tank and recreate the same coffee, but that isn’t how fermentation works,” she says. “It takes control, knowledge, and a deep understanding of inputs and outputs.”

She adds that Dak has received orders in which two batches from the same lot arrived tasting noticeably different – demonstrating the complexity and nuance behind the process.

Transparency is where Veronique sees the most room for improvement. “We need to know what’s actually being added: a specific yeast strain, fruit, something else,” she says. “Every producer has their methods and their industry secrets, and that’s fair, but there’s a difference between protecting a recipe and obscuring the ingredients. A chef can share what goes into a dish without giving up the technique.”

What lies ahead?

The SCA’s recently introduced Coffee Value Assessment scoring system could make it easier to evaluate these coffees on their own terms rather than forcing them through criteria designed for washed or natural lots. This structural support, combined with growing consumer familiarity, gives co-ferments a solid foundation.

Alan predicts co-ferments will eventually reach mainstream chains. “I do think we will at least see the word co-ferment appear in the not-so-distant future among larger brands,” he says. 

Chris, meanwhile, sees the trajectory differently: demand will rise for a couple of years before the initial excitement settles. “I think we’ll see more co-ferments in canned beverages and blends,” he adds.

Co-ferments have earned their place in specialty coffee, not as a novelty, but as a category with traction, practical value for producers, and a measurable effect on how new consumers engage with the industry. Dak, Perc, and Push x Pull all point to the same pattern: demand is consistent, and customers are willing to pay for something different.

Whether co-ferments eventually appear on larger brands’ offerings or expand into new market segments, they have shown that flavour innovation at farm level can move markets and bring new people into the fold.

Need more leads for your coffee business? Get in touch with PDG Media, our marketing agency, here.

Photo credits: Push x Pull

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