Belayneh Bariso

Country: ETHIOPIA

Name: Belayneh Bariso Limited Oxygen

Tasting Notes: blackberry jam, passion fruit, watermelon

Region: Bombe

Process: limited oxygen semi anaerobic

Catalyst LO2 process

Catalyst Trade’s Limited Oxygen Fermentation process starts starts with ripe cherries bought from smallholder outgrowers who bring them to the washing station. We pay an additional premium for them to be first dumped into float tanks so lower-density cherries can be skimmed off, leaving the highest density fruit to be scooped out and then carried to drying tables to be carefully hand sorted for any visible defects. They are then pulped to remove the cherry skins. At this stage in a typical process, the cherries will be moved to the beds, but for our Limited Oxygen Process, we add another critical fermentation step. The hand sorted cherries are bagged and tied off in fresh GrainPro bags to be stored in shaded area for a fermentation cycle. What happens next is kind of like magic! Over the course of the specifically timed cycle, oxygen becomes limited within the environment, aided by the Grain Pro barrier minimizing oxygen infiltration from the outside.While the oxygen within the environment is not entirely controlled, it is indeed limited (hence the name), and the resulting fermentation is of a pseudo-spontaneous nature, meaning impacted by naturally occurring and non-manipulated environmental yeasts. Many call this type of processing anaerobic, semi-anaerobic or even carbonic maceration. However, we think of those as misnomers since all fermentation occurs anaerobically, and carbonic maceration refers to a very specific set of controlled processes employed in a kind of wine making which are not possible to replicate in coffee processing. Our Limited Oxygen aims to steer clear of booze and over-fermented character, and instead intensifies clarity and boosts intrinsic fruit notes and sweetness in a coffee. Over the past several seasons, we have really dialed in this processing method throughout the areas where we work in Ethiopia. Each farm, washing station and microclimate present a unique set of variables, requiring careful adaptation in order for us to hit our intended flavor profile and quality targets. Following this special fermentation cycle, the cherries are carried to open-air drying tables that are shaded by mesh canopies and then laid out to slowly let the sun kiss them and draw out their moisture