What Is Cherry Mosto Co-Ferment? A Guide to Colombia’s Most Distinctive Coffee Process

If you’ve ever tasted a coffee with notes of black cherry and cola instead of the usual citrus or nutty flavors, there’s a good chance it went through a process called Cherry Mosto Co-ferment. It’s one of the more experimental processing methods coming out of Colombia right now, and it’s the reason our Cherry Blossom Blend tastes the way it does.

Here’s a breakdown of what the process actually involves, why it produces such distinctive flavors, and what to expect when you brew it.

Starting With the Basics: What Is Coffee “Processing”?

Before coffee cherries become the beans you brew with, they go through a processing step that removes the fruit around the bean (the “cherry”) and prepares it for drying. How that removal happens has a huge effect on flavor.

The three most common methods are:

• Washed process — the fruit is removed before fermentation, producing a cleaner, brighter cup
• Natural process — the whole cherry is dried with the bean still inside, producing heavier, fruitier flavors
• Honey process — somewhere in between, with some fruit pulp left on during drying

Cherry Mosto Co-ferment is a variation that adds an extra layer to the washed process.

What Makes Cherry Mosto Co-Ferment Different

“Mosto” is the Spanish word for must — the pulp, skin, and juice left over after grapes are pressed in winemaking. Colombian producers borrowed the term and the technique for coffee.

In this process:

1. The coffee cherries are picked and the skins are removed as usual.
2. Instead of discarding the fruit pulp, producers set it aside and let it ferment on its own.
3. That fermented pulp — the “mosto” — is then reintroduced to the beans during their own fermentation.
4. The beans essentially co-ferment alongside a concentrated, already-fermented version of their own fruit.

This re-introduces fruit sugars and acids back into the fermentation environment, which intensifies specific flavor compounds without pushing the coffee into full natural-process territory. The result is a washed coffee with the clean structure of a washed process, but a much bigger fruit character layered on top.

Why It Produces Notes Like Black Cherry and Cola

The extended contact with fermented fruit pulp during co-fermentation encourages the development of fruit-forward compounds that don’t typically show up as strongly in a standard washed process. That’s why coffees using this method often show tasting notes like:

• Black cherry
• Cola
• Dark chocolate
• Occasionally deeper stone-fruit or wine-like notes

Our Cherry Blossom Blend, sourced from Nariño and Quindío using Caturra and Castillo varieties, is a direct example — the black cherry and cola notes come straight from this fermentation technique, not from added flavoring.

How to Brew It

Because Cherry Mosto Co-ferment coffees carry a lot of natural sweetness and fruit character, they tend to shine with filter and drip brewing methods, which let those notes come through cleanly without the heavier body of espresso extraction overwhelming them. A pour-over or standard drip brew is a good starting point if you want to taste the process at its clearest.

Try It for Yourself

If you’re curious what this process actually tastes like, our Cherry Blossom Blend is a great place to start — it’s a 250g bag built specifically around this fermentation style, with black cherry, cola, and dark chocolate as the dominant notes.

Have questions about our processing methods or sourcing? Reach out — we’re always happy to talk shop about coffee.