Three related labels
Anaerobic is the umbrella: fermentation in a sealed, oxygen-limited environment. It is a technique, not a complete process — 'anaerobic washed', 'anaerobic natural' and 'anaerobic honey' all exist. ASD (Anaerobic Slow Dry) is the term associated with Lamastus Family Estates' Elida lots: a sealed fermentation followed by a deliberately slow drying phase. Carbonic maceration (CM) is more specific: whole cherries fermented in a sealed tank purged or pressurized with CO2 — a technique borrowed from winemaking, with washed and natural variants. Every CM lot is anaerobic; not every anaerobic lot is a CM.
Panama examples, and the regulator's line
The ASD label is well established: Lamastus' Elida Geisha Natural ASD is in stock at LF Coffee (€260/kg, checked September 30, 2026), and Klatch Coffee's Pearl Reserve program has roasted Elida ASD lots; Black & White's La Victoria ASD Gesha sold out. Carbonic maceration is documented at one Panama producer-roaster: Savage Coffees sells a washed CM Geisha ('Illumination', from $28) and an extended natural CM ('Enigma', from $37) — both in stock at the October 1, 2026 check. On the regulatory line: the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama called 'co-fermented' and 'thermal shock' labels 'deceptive' in its 2024 statement — CM and ASD were not named in that criticism, but the episode shows the same origin scrutinizes processing claims closely.
How to read any of these labels
Three questions resolve most of the ambiguity. First: at which stage — whole cherry or depulped parchment? Second: sealed how — a simple valve bag, a tank, or a CO2-purged one? Third: was anything added — cultures (yeast inoculation, as in Savage's Horizon and Interstellar lots) or fruit (which is co-fermentation, a different and contested category)? A label that answers none of these is a marketing word; the coffee records on this site preserve the seller's exact wording so you can compare.