Jeff Pentel wrote:Dear Mr. Bedwell,

In response to your question about possible ferment in our espresso, none of the coffees in our espresso have any detectable degree of ferment. We check every bag with a black light, which is the same method Daterra uses in their Penta process. In fact, a portion of the the Brazil in Red Bird Espresso comes from Daterra and has gone through the Penta process, so there's no chance of any ferment whatsoever.

Also, we do not use dry processed Brazils, but rather pulped natural. And ferment is not unique to any one type of processing. Washed coffees, which is by far the most common method, go through a necessary period of fermentation - 12-18 hours or longer - as part of the washing process. If that stage is mismanaged in any way, you can end up with terribly fermented coffees. If any coffee we receive from a supplier has detectable taint it is rejected, and we have rejected a few that were billed as great coffee.

Thanks for your interest and for your past business; we do truly appreciate it.

Jeff Pentel
Red Bird Coffee

another_jim wrote:Some Brazils acquire strong aftertastes in dry processing, including those in Redbird. These flavors are enjoyed by most people, but disliked by some. It sounds like you may be in the later group.

The flavors that emerge in dry processing are natural, a product of ferment and other microbial action; but a few experts treat them as taints, since they derive from the processing, not the fruit. If you dislike the dry process ferment flavors, you should use roasters that avoid them, like George Howell or Intelligentsia.