The Hachi Project: Engineering a Future for Coffee

Redefining coffee from plant to cup

We're at a crossroads. Global demand for quality coffee increases, yet climate change threatens to shrink suitable growing regions by more than half by 2050.

For farmers already operating in volatile climatic and economic conditions, this means producing more value from less land. For coffee drinkers, it poses the very real question of will their favourite coffees (or coffee full-stop) still exist? The answer to both could be found in research initiatives such as the Hachi Project.

Led by two of specialty coffee’s most influential actors - Colombian producer Diego Bermudez (formerly of Finca El Paraíso) and Panamanian Allan Hartmann (Rocky Mountain Coffee) - the project's primary objective is to implement biogenetic protocols to maximise the inherent genetic expression and flavour potential of every variety of coffee.

The philosophy is wholly holistic - the extraction of quality doesn't begin in the post-harvest process, it begins in the plant itself. The name “Hachi” derives from the Japanese word for eight, symbolising infinity - an emblem of the boundless possibilities emergent when cultivation and processing are informed by scientific rigour.

Spanning five farms across Colombia and Panama, coffees produced by the project have been sold to roasters and competition baristas across the globe. Already Hachi has built a reputation for truly unique flavour profiles and remarkable complexity, and we're excited to have two of their Geisha lots in our catalogue - the Hachi Saikō Geisha and the Hachi Kibō Geisha.

But what makes the coffees special? Pioneering production? Innovative biotechnology? World-first fermentation? All three? Here's the lowdown.

Processing to Elevate Expression

Recognised globally for reshaping post-harvest fermentation methods, Diego Bermudez has applied his in-field experience to create a suite of protocols designed to be repeatable, scalable, and replicable across the world's growing regions. There are four main approaches.

Oxidative Natural Process

Once harvested, naturally-processed coffees in the typical sense are left to ferment of their own volition, with little-to-no control over the variables (mainly PH levels, oxygen levels, temperature) impacting the creation of the compounds that drive flavour in the cup.

Hachi's Oxidative Natural Process treats oxygen as a controlled variable. Coffee cherries are fermented in shallow tanks with monitored airflow, regular stirring, and consistent layer depth to ensure uniform aerobic ('with oxygen') conditions.

This encourages oxygen-loving yeasts and bacteria to dominate, producing chemical compounds and alcohols associated with wine-like fruit and floral flavours, while suppressing anaerobes (microorganisms that can only live in the absence of oxygen) that create sour or muddy flavours.

The intended result is a structured, complex cup profile that combines the flavour intensity of a coffee processed naturally with the balance and cleanliness of a washed coffee, all facilitated with greater chance of repeatability versus a classic natural.

Inverted Process

Hachi's Inverted Process reorders the classic fermentation process. Instead of de-pulping first, whole cherries are submerged in a yeast- and enzyme-rich liquid, where flavour-driving microbial activity begins while the fruit remains intact.

This early-stage immersion enhances the breakdown of pectins and preserves desirable aromatic precursors that might otherwise be lost or degraded in a more classic approach.

Afterward, the cherries are de-pulped and washed, leaving a coffee that has already undergone targeted microbial refinement. The goal is extraordinary clarity and harmony in the cup.

This process often drives fruit-forward profiles with integrated acidity, sweetness, and body. A demonstration of preserving inherent qualities of coffees from the very first minute of the post-harvest process.

Washed-Symbiotic Process

Hachi's Washed-Symbiotic Process starts with fermenting de-pulped coffee in mosto - the liquid by-product naturally released by coffee cherries during the first stages of processing. This nutrient-rich liquid accelerates microbial activity - favouring yeasts and bacteria that generate delicate, high-value aromatics.

The coffee is then washed of it's mucilage to lock in the developed flavours and aromas. The objective is a profile with vivid florality and a replicable process to achieve refined complexity in flavour, whatever the variety of coffee.

Low-Caf Process

Stripping caffeine from harvested coffee decimates flavour quality... Or does it? Diego and Allan would argue that it doesn't.

Hachi's Low-Caf Process attempts to harness the power of microbes with natural caffeine-metabolising abilities. During fermentation, certain yeasts and bacteria - such as the Pseudomonas putida and Aspergillus species - can break down caffeine into compounds like theobromine (a compound that gives dark chocolate its bitterness) and xanthine (a chemical backbone of caffeine).

In this approach, controlled conditions encourage these microbes to act selectively, lowering caffeine without stripping flavour precursors.

Unlike post-harvest decaffeination which uses solvents or CO₂, this method works in situ - preserving sweetness, texture, and variety-specific character. The result is a coffee that is naturally lower in caffeine yet rich in flavour.

While these processes are demonstrative of the expertise applied to Hachi's homegrown coffees, the project's core focus is on much earlier stages of production... when the cherries are still on the tree.

Coffee Plant Genetics: Innovation at the Root

While processing fine-tunes, Diego and Allan recognise that the foundation of flavour lies in the coffee plant itself. They believe every variety holds untapped genetic potential, much of it hidden under conventional farming practices.

By studying plant genetics across three key streams of research, the project explores how different varieties express their most desirable traits - aromatics, sweetness, acidity, resilience to disease and adverse climate events - when grown under specific environmental conditions.

Genetic Expression and Environment

Hachi’s research in this field begins with understanding how plant genes and growing conditions interact. A Geisha tree in Panama may reveal coffees with bright jasmine florals, while the same variety grown in Cauca, Colombia, might offer stone fruit or tropical notes.

These shifts are not accidents - they are the result of gene–environment interactions, where factors like soil composition, altitude, and rainfall patterns influence how a plant’s genetic code is expressed through sensory qualities in the cup.

By mapping these relationships, Hachi aims to identify the environments that bring out the best in each variety, enabling producers to prioritise the plants that will return the most value for them.

Tailored Cultivation Practices

Coffee plant genetics provide potential, but cultivation determines whether that potential is realised. Hachi experiments with precision agronomy, including:

• Data-informed tissue cloning to replicate elite plants with limited genetic drift
• Precise, controlled, clean micrografting to create disease-free plants
• Nutrient strategies matched to a plant’s metabolic need (for example, Caturra and Catuaí varities grow faster than other varieties so their metabolic demand for nitrogen and potassium is higher)
• Shade management that modulates sugar development (more shade equals elongated maturation, less shade equals faster maturation)
• Pruning methods that influence yield and bean uniformity by ensuring cherries across the plant have access to comparable space, sunlight and airflow to mature at the same rate.

These methods shift coffee farming away from broad, standardised practices toward variety-specific land management systems that elevate cup quality without compromising consistency or volume - both of which can be detrimentally impacted by post-harvest protocols.

Building Resilience Through Diversity

Beyond flavour, genetic research addresses one of coffee’s biggest challenges: climate change. Many of the varieties most prized for their quality in the cup - Geisha, SL28, Pacamara - are also the most vulnerable.

Studying a wide range of plant types is enabling the Hachi Project to identify traits linked to heat tolerance, disease resistance, and drought adaptation - characteristics that are becoming increasingly important in the present and will be essential in the future as the climate warms.

For Diego and Allan, this isn’t about replacing existing types. It's about showing how even the less celebrated coffees can be re-imagined when their genetic capacity is fully understood and cultivated with precision.

For producers in a world where climate change is narrowing options, this offers a path to higher value per harvest through safeguarding diversity in plant types, enhancing plant resilience, and driving quality in the cup.

For consumers, it surfaces the potential for discovering coffees more expressive and more likely to be available to enjoy in the long term.

Find out more about our Hachi Project Geisha Double Pack here.