Fermented coffee? We've been challenged!

[Sshamash]

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-latest-coffee-trend-fermentation-food-news-211868?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Category%2FChannel%3A+Main

We have been challenged. I have never made Kambucha, but I am excited to try this.

Suggestions on yeast? Has anybody played around with this?

 

[NinjaBear]

Ironically, was looking in this forum for the exact purpose of thinking about doing this once I empty my half-gallon carboy. (Perfect for crazy experiments like this.)

My thought is to use my expresso machine for strong coffee. (If you can brew Turkish coffee, that might be better.)

Then I'm thinking about sweetening it with either honey, or raw sugar for the added flavor profile.

Dissolve the sugar on the stove keeping the temperature at 180° or above to ensure we're not contaminating the brew.

Then use champagne yeast.
1) because it is cheap.
2) because it will eat up all the sugars without adding to the flavor profile since it ferments very clean.

I'm not sure coffee and honey would give a preferred environment for yeast. So I'm planning to use a yeast nutrient to be safe.

 

[ChefRex]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f79/coffee-wine-421497/

 

[bernardsmith]

I have made coffee wine and it does taste quite bitter and needs to be aged at least two years to smooth out the bitterness. I treat the coffee as the base for the flavor and add enough sugar to create a potential ABV of about 11.5% (a starting gravity of about 1.090). I think the secret is not to brew the coffee for longer than you would brew if you were drinking the coffee, to use the best coffee you can get, to use the same amount of coffee per gallon as you would for drinking that coffee, and to use a good wine yeast like QA23 or 71B. Boiling coffee brings out the bitterness so again, don't heat the water for the coffee any higher than you would if you were going to drink the coffee before pitching your yeast. Oh, and don't worry about contamination. Simply add K-meta (campden tabs) 24 hours before you pitch the yeast. Kills all wild yeasts and other possible sources of contamination. I understand that the best temperature range to brew coffee is between about 85-95 degrees C.

 

[feinbera]

Anybody ever try this with cold-brewed coffee? 24 hours at fridge temp will extract a lot of color and flavor, with minimal bitterness. It probably won't taste exactly like your morning cup of drip-filtered joe, but, then, maybe it won't need to age for months/years before it's drinkable, either?

 

[NinjaBear]

Good idea. Definitely use K-meta if you cold brew.

 

[NinjaBear]

I just thought of an old trick my Grandma had taught me for reheating cold coffee.

If you heat up your coffee, add egg white to it. (Remove cooked egg whites before cold crashing and pitching yeast)

The egg whites will clarify your coffee and remove bitterness leaving flavor.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

If you heat up your coffee, add egg white to it. (Remove cooked egg whites before cold crashing and pitching yeast)

Its like coffee consommé!!

 

[NinjaBear]

Cold brew in the fridge...

Chillin and aging for maximum extraction...

 

[LabRatBrewer]

User Leadgolem has done some work on coffee wine. I think it's the link the Chef referenced but I can't get my phone to check the link.

 

[NinjaBear]

Yeah, that's the link.

Keeping it simple and basic.

About a half gallon cold brew coffee with 9 oz of table sugar.

Letting it settle to ensure the sugar is fully dissolved and then I will add k-meta. (I used filtered water chilled to start. So no heating or pasteurizing to kill wild yeast or bacteria. K-Meta will be a necessity)