In Colombia, most coffee growers process coffee by fermentation and in several farms, the mucilage is removed mechanically from the grain. In order to determine the degradation and stability of coffee mucilage until its possible use and disposal, the contents of water, ash, lipids, proteins, total sugars, reducing sugars, fiber, alcohol, total acidity and caloric intake of the fresh material, fermented at an average temperature of 20.5°C and stored under refrigeration at 6.6°C for up to 74 hours were quantified. The raw mucilage showed between 85% and 91% of water and between 6.2% and 7.4% of sugars, which consisted of 63% of reducing sugars. The content of sugars, as well as the yeasts and bacteria from coffee mucilage, explain their perishable property and the occurrence of its natural fermentation. During fermentation at room temperature, the total and reducing coffee mucilage sugars dropped, the acidity increased, ethanol was formed, and the lipids were degraded. These changes were slower under refrigeration conditions, alcoholic and lactic fermentations were also delayed, and coffee mucilage features were preserved up to 24 hours. Refrigeration is recommended for storing coffee mucilage until it is used as fermentation substrate or in other agricultural, industrial or livestock processes, it is also a way of preserving pulped coffee until it is processed. The results of this research contribute to knowledge about the chemistry and kinetics of coffee fermentation.