Honey Processed Coffee Beans What is Coffee Honey Processing? Honey Process Coffee Bean Drying Process

Why is it called Honey Process?

Honey Process, translated from the English "Honey Process" or "Miel Process," gets its "honey" character from Miel, which means "honey" or "syrup" in Spanish. The term Honey Process originated from Costa Rica in Central and South America, where locals refer to the sticky mucilage layer of coffee as "Miel." The so-called Honey Process refers to the method of processing raw beans by retaining all or part of the mucilage for sun-drying, evolved from Brazil's Pulped Natural processing method.

So where's the honey?

The term Honey Process might lead many to believe that this processing method involves using honey to treat coffee or that coffee processed this way tastes as sweet as honey, but in fact, neither explanation is correct. The meaning of Honey Process comes from the very sticky mucilage layer of the coffee beans before sun-drying—the sticky feeling resembles honey; when the coffee pulp is separated from the coffee beans, the surrounding mucilage layer, after exposure to sun, absorbs moisture from the air, making the mucilage layer sticky.

When coffee is screened to remove pulp, a mucilage layer remains on the outer periphery of the coffee fruit. The image below shows the identification of various processing methods—washed, white honey, yellow honey, red honey, black honey, natural—based on the appearance of raw beans without the inner parchment.

Why is Honey Process popular among coffee farmers?

Honey Process initially gained traction when people noticed that this processing method could continuously improve the quality of their coffee beans, originating in Costa Rica, and this processing method is now trending.

So why did Costa Rican coffee farmers initially consider using Honey Process? When coffee farmers want to improve their coffee quality or selling price, they have three choices: change the coffee tree variety, change the growing altitude, or change the processing method. Just like most people brewing coffee who prefer simpler methods like adjusting grind size and coffee amount before considering adjusting the coffee machine's water volume, pressure, and temperature; most coffee farmers also want to change the processing method first before considering growing new tree varieties or moving their estate—methods that require investment of time and money.

The Honey Process method is not simple; it requires long processing times and careful handling. So what steps does Honey Process include?

First, coffee farmers must select ripe coffee cherries from the coffee trees, then screen out the outer pulp, as mentioned earlier, retaining the mucilage layer around the coffee beans. The mucilage layer retains high proportions of sugar and acidity, and these sweet and acidic components are key to Honey Process.

The next steps are the most complex and meticulous aspects of Honey Process: sun-drying. Timing must be well-controlled, and duration is crucial. If the sun-drying time is too short, the substances from the mucilage layer cannot be transferred to the coffee beans, but the time cannot be too long either—action must be quick to avoid internal fermentation of the beans, which would lead to moldy beans.

So how to achieve balance? Place the beans on sun-drying racks or cement floors. For the first few days, the beans need to be turned several times every hour until the desired moisture content is reached—this step usually takes 6-10 hours. For the next 6-8 days, the beans need to be turned at least once daily. Very time-consuming, right? The reason why sun-drying in the Honey Process method is so time-consuming is that every night, the beans absorb moisture from the air, so the next day requires more time for sun-drying. When coffee sun-drying is complete, it can then undergo drying treatment and roasting, just like other processing methods.

Why is the Honey Process method so wonderful?

When Honey Process is so difficult to execute well and time-consuming, you might wonder if it's really worth all the effort? Without a doubt, it's absolutely worth it.

Coffee from Honey Process generally has excellent balance between sweetness and fruit acidity. The flavor is typically less intense than natural process coffee but is fresher and more aromatic—why wouldn't you want that? The key to this flavor difference lies in the sugar and acidity from the mucilage layer. During the sun-drying period, the sugars in the mucilage layer become increasingly concentrated, and these sugars permeate into the coffee beans.

What are the differences between Yellow, Red, and Black Honey processing?

When you want to buy Honey Process coffee, you usually have choices like Yellow Honey, Red Honey, and Black Honey. You might have heard that these Honey Process methods retain different percentages of mucilage layer, but what exactly do these mean?

Coffee farmers will classify their coffee—some will retain less mucilage layer, allowing for faster sun-drying, while others will retain more mucilage layer, requiring longer sun-drying time. Yellow Honey (retaining approximately 25% of the mucilage layer) must be sun-dried in an environment with minimal shade (clouds, shade trees) to complete faster, acquiring a yellow appearance. Red Honey (retaining approximately 50% of the mucilage layer) takes longer and requires some shade for sun-drying. Black Honey (retaining approximately 100% of the mucilage layer) is usually covered during sun-drying to extend the drying time.

Which is better: Yellow, Red, or Black Honey?

Black Honey might be superior. The flavor of Honey Process is influenced more subtly and deeply by the residual sugars from the mucilage layer—the more mucilage residue, the richer the flavor. Coffee processed with Black Honey often presents rich fruity sweetness and a full-bodied sensation, sometimes with a mouthfeel reminiscent of red wine.

However, for coffee producers, another business consideration must be faced: although using Black Honey processing can yield better quality and higher-priced coffee, the risks and costs also increase significantly, which might affect farmers' willingness to use Black Honey processing. The longer the coffee sun-drying time, the more susceptible it is to bacterial growth during fermentation, causing defective moldy beans. More frequent turning of these beans is required, and they occupy more sun-drying space—up to twice as much as Yellow Honey processing. It's not just about producing high-quality coffee; it's also about enabling coffee farmers to produce the most profitable coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Yangjia 800N, raw beans input 550g, specific operation:

Heat the roaster to 200°C, set damper to 3. After 1 minute of steaming, adjust heat to 160°C, keep damper unchanged. When the temperature reaches 160°C, adjust heat once more, reducing to 135°C. At 5'40'', temperature reaches 154.9°C, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete, damper unchanged;

At the 9th minute, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'21'', first crack begins, reduce heat to 80°C, open damper fully to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not so low that cracking stops), 50°C, unload at 193.4°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping

Flavor: Preserved plum, honey, brown sugar, orange blossom, white chocolate

Mouthfeel: Excellent sweetness, gentle fruit acidity, round and full-bodied, persistent aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Recommendation

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: 80% pass-through rate on standard #20 sieve

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Coffee Amount: 15g

Multi-stage extraction:

First, use 30g of water to evenly moisten the coffee powder layer and let it bloom for 30 seconds. For the second stage, pour 95g of water evenly in circular motions from inside to outside until the water level drops to 2/3 of the filter's powder layer, then begin the third stage of 100g. Note to maintain a small water flow throughout. After approximately 2 minutes and 10 seconds of dripping, remove the filter.

Important Notice :

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