Understanding Coffee Processing Methods

A coffee bean is the seed of a fruit. Processing is everything that happens between picking that fruit and shipping a dry, stable green bean, and it shapes flavor as much as variety or altitude do.

Washed coffees have their skin and fruit removed before drying. Fermentation breaks down the sticky mucilage, which is then rinsed away. The result is clarity: crisp acidity and transparent origin character, as in our Yirgacheffe and Kiambara.

Natural coffees dry as whole cherries, often for weeks. Sugars from the fruit migrate into the seed, giving jammy, winey sweetness and a heavier body. Our Huila Las Flores is a good example.

Honey and pulped natural processes sit in between. The skin is removed, but some or all of the mucilage stays on while the bean dries. The cup keeps the structure of a washed coffee with extra sweetness, which is why San Bartolo and Riverfront Evening taste of caramel and orange peel.

“Processing shapes flavor as much as variety or altitude.”