Coffee genetics can be very surprising – who would guess that crossing two basic-tasting varietals would result in a super tasty new one? It happens sometimes and Acaua is an example – the crossing between a Mundo Novo and a Sarchimor. Besides being a vigorous and productive tree, the varietal usually makes coffees with distinctive milk chocolate and orange taste. It’s a long road to get here, though – this is Acaua’s sixth generation and each generation takes almost three years to make!
The Acaua cherries were fermented inside a hermetically closed tank equipped with an airlock valve, making the CO2 released during the fermentation push all oxygen out. After a couple of hours, the whole tank is completely devoid of oxygen and the anaerobic microorganisms can work their magic on the beans.
