Coffee fermentation: New approaches to enhance quality

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages globally, and changes in production, processing, trading, appreciation, and consumer culture are noticeable. Significant changes in the history of the coffee market were divided into “waves” and described different moments of coffee consumption/production in the world. Coffee microbiota comprise a wide variety of bacteria, yeast, and filamentous fungi. Fermentation is a biochemical process that converts carbohydrates into primary products. The objective of coffee fermentation is to reduce the drying time, boost the flavor precursors, and increase the quality. During fermentation, many biochemical reactions take place outside and inside the beans. The natural coffee process, also known as the dry process, is one of the oldest and most straightforward, and is currently used in Brazil, Ecuador, Cameroon, and Ethiopia. In Brazil, a new coffee type known as “honey coffee” is derived from the pulped natural process.