Pu’er Coffee

 As people become more health-conscious, decaffeinated coffee has become a hot topic among coffee enthusiasts. Traditional decaffeination methods usually involve harsh chemicals or sacrifice the coffee's original flavor. For instance, early methods used chemical solvents like methylene chloride to extract caffeine from coffee beans—these chemicals leave behind residual tastes and can pose health concerns. Ever since, decaf coffee has carried a somewhat suspicious reputation. With technological advancements, the Swiss Water Process became the mainstream decaffeination method. This process uses water filtration to remove caffeine. While considered a safer alternative, it also strips away some desirable flavor compounds from the beans, resulting in coffee that tastes flat or even oddly off-flavor. I'll never forget the time I tasted shiitake mushroom and vegetable bun notes in a Swiss Water decaf—absolutely baffling! Let's take a quick look at the history of decaffeination. In...

 When “Panama Carmen Estate” comes up, you already know this is another release from Jianjia Specialty Coffee Studio . And sure enough, their new-crop Carmen Estate beans have just come out of the roaster. Back in the 2024 harvest, I was deeply impressed by the magnolia-like elegance of their Mu Yun He Bi Washed Geisha . This new crop, however, brings a noticeably different flavor experience. Today, I want to share this tasting and talk about what’s changed with the new Carmen harvest. This custom lot from Jianjia Specialty Coffee Studio is entirely processed using a temperature-controlled anaerobic dark-room washed method . Let’s briefly break down how this processing works. The “dark room” refers to a fully enclosed space where temperature and humidity are strictly controlled—typically low temperature, low humidity—and completely isolated from natural light. During the dark-room drying stage, after the coffee cherries are depulped, the beans are left with their mucilage intact ...

 In a gold washed coffee, I tasted unmistakable notes of lemongrass and ginger. A few days ago, I shared a dedicated introduction to what gold washed processing is—a relatively new method that combines the strengths of both washed and natural processing. The first time I encountered a gold washed coffee was last November at the Shanghai Coffee Expo. At the booth of Direct Coffee from Kyoto, this particular coffee immediately caught my eye. That moment marked the beginning of a flavor experience that completely amazed me—one that has stayed with me ever since. I placed an order for the beans on the spot. This coffee is a Gold Washed Red Bourbon from Popayán, Cauca, Colombia. The barista at the booth was also the roaster of this very coffee, and the way he presented its flavors was incredibly impressive. It was the first time I had ever tasted such distinctly clean and vivid lemongrass and ginger notes in a Colombian coffee built on an innovative twist of traditional processing met...

 When shopping for coffee, you may have come across a processing method labeled “Gold Washed.” We’re all familiar with one of the classic processing methods— washed —but what does the addition of gold actually mean? How is it different from traditional washed coffee? Today, I’d like to dedicate this article to exploring exactly what the Gold Washed process is. I wanted to write this piece because I recently encountered an outstanding roaster from Kyoto at a coffee festival. They were showcasing a Red Bourbon from the Popayán region of Cauca, Colombia, processed using the Gold Washed method. That coffee left a deep impression on me—it was simply too good. Naturally, it sparked my curiosity to dig deeper into this processing style. (I’ll be sharing a full tasting review of that coffee later. I couldn’t resist and ordered two bags on the spot—no hesitation at all.) When it comes to “Gold Washed,” there is a certain degree of producer-specific ownership to the method. By that, I m...

 In recent years, “flavor-enhancing” coffee processing methods have become one of the most talked-about topics in the industry. As more and more unconventional techniques emerge, it’s easy for concepts to get blurred and definitions to overlap. Clarifying these processing methods can be genuinely helpful when you’re choosing coffee beans in the future—it gives you a more concrete framework and makes it easier to identify the flavor profiles you actually enjoy. One of the most commonly confused pairs is co-fermentation and yeast fermentation . Some marketing narratives even lump yeast fermentation directly into the category of co-fermentation. In reality, the two should be seen as parallel but distinct approaches . Today, let’s take a closer look at how they differ. Co-fermentation and yeast fermentation are essentially two major branches within flavor-enhancing coffee processing, covering the vast majority of “boosted flavor” coffees you’ll find on the market. They do share certa...

 A few days ago, I introduced the cold-wash processing method developed by POMA Lab in Denmark, and I mentioned that I’d soon share a flavor review of the beans they grow and roast themselves. This is actually the first time I’ve ever tasted coffee beans produced directly from a research lab. Since they are both the growers and the roasters, this batch definitely counts as a rare find—haha. POMA is a coffee research and roasting company founded in Copenhagen in 2024. Their mission is to develop coffee production technologies that can be easily adopted by farmers around the world, helping address industry challenges and bridge the gap between research and real-world application. Their main research facility is a greenhouse on the Danish island of Funen, where they simulate different farm microclimates to observe, study, and adjust various coffee production methods. They developed the POMA Cultivation System—a comprehensive set of best agricultural practices designed to unlock the f...