What are the flavor and texture characteristics of honey-processed coffee beans? What types of coffee are suitable for honey-processed coffee beans?

When discussing coffees with distinct sweetness, FrontStreet Coffee first thinks of honey-processed coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Carnet Estate Musician Series coffee beans are processed using the honey method, and when brewed by pour-over, they often present fermented sweetness of dried fruits and tropical fruits, making them popular among many female customers.

Why is it called "Honey Process"?

The structure of a coffee cherry can be divided into skin, pulp, mucilage, parchment, silver skin, and seed—what we drink as coffee is the innermost seed. To obtain the innermost coffee beans, there are traditionally two green bean processing methods: washed and natural.

Washed processing involves coffee cherries first passing through a depulper to remove the skin and pulp, followed by extensive washing with clean water before drying to stable moisture density, resulting in washed green beans. Natural processing, on the other hand, involves directly drying coffee cherries to the appropriate moisture density before hulling. Honey processing can be considered a hybrid of these two methods, hence also called semi-washed/semi-natural, and is more common in Central and South American countries.

When producers use honey processing, they first pour coffee cherries into water tanks for flotation, removing immature green fruits and impurities, then use a depulper to remove the outermost layer of the fruit. Unlike washed processing, after depulping the coffee cherries, they don't use large amounts of clean water to wash away the mucilage, but instead retain the mucilage for drying. Because the mucilage contains sugar and has a sticky consistency, it easily reminds people of honey, hence the name "honey process."

Compared to washed processing, honey processing requires less fresh water and related equipment, and also reduces defect flavors that come from prolonged exposure to sunlight. Coffee processed using the honey method generally presents rich tropical fruit flavors and fermented sweetness in cupping, with an overall clean taste and crisp acidity.

What are the types of honey processing?

The subsequent step in honey processing involves coffee seeds fermenting while the sticky mucilage is still present. Depending on the sugar content and fermentation state of the coffee cherries, producers give different names such as white honey, yellow honey, red honey, and black honey. Darker colors mean the coffee seeds ferment longer in the mucilage, with greater oxidation of the mucilage.

White honey processing is the method closest to washed processing, where green beans retain 40-60% mucilage with the shortest fermentation time. It's typically dried in open air, requiring frequent turning to maintain maximum enzyme and bacterial activity. Shortly after drying, the mucilage is washed off using the washed method, then the coffee beans undergo final drying for export.

Yellow honey processing also retains about 60% mucilage, with slightly longer fermentation time than white honey processing, but still belongs to the quick fermentation category, with total sun-drying time around 7-8 days.

Red honey processing represents the perfect middle ground between washed and natural processes, and red honey is also the most common honey processing method. Red honey processing requires two to three weeks of drying time, so natural weather changes will correspondingly slow down or accelerate fermentation. As honey processing progresses further, it becomes increasingly important for farmers or dry mill operators to skillfully and diligently turn the coffee beans. If the fermentation reaction is unstable, the coffee can easily turn sour, moldy, or develop negative flavors.

Black honey processing produces coffee with the highest degree of fermentation in honey processing methods. This is the closest to fully natural-processed coffee flavor. Due to the very long fermentation time of black honey process coffee—at least two weeks, depending on weather conditions—it is usually the most expensive. This is because it requires constant attention and care during fermentation, with additional fermentation to present richer fruit flavors in the finished coffee. Black honey processed coffee often tends to have wild flavors, presenting intense sweetness and body, sometimes with red wine-like characteristics.

What about Raisin Honey Processing?

Honey processing involves removing the outer layer of coffee first, then fermenting and drying, while raisin honey processing is an innovative honey processing method that breaks from traditional honey processing. In raisin honey processing, coffee cherries are dried on raised beds for at least three days before removing pulp and skin, allowing the fruits to dehydrate into a "raisin" state, before proceeding with subsequent honey processing steps.

The characteristics of raisin honey processing are "retaining 100% mucilage" and "zero water processing," which increases the difficulty of the raisin honey processing method. According to FrontStreet Coffee's analysis, this requires strict timing control and is more challenging than black honey processing. The initial drying stage allows the aromatic flavors of the pulp to penetrate into the green beans under sunlight heating, so coffee processed using raisin honey not only has rich floral and fruity sweetness but also clear sweet and sour flavor profiles. Two FrontStreet Coffee beans from Costa Rica on FrontStreet Coffee's regular menu use raisin honey processing: FrontStreet Coffee's Carnet Estate Musician Series Baha coffee and FrontStreet Coffee's Mirasou Strawberry Sugar Geisha Blend.

What brewing method is suitable for honey-processed coffee beans?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, compared to other natural and washed processing methods, honey-processed coffee presents diverse fruit flavors with higher sweetness, making it more acceptable even for those who don't regularly drink black coffee. If you want to taste the inherent flavors of honey-processed coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes that pour-over black coffee is most suitable.

Pour-over recommendations:

Filter: V60
Water temperature: 90°C
Grind size: 80% pass-through on #20 standard sieve
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Coffee amount: 15g

Segmented extraction:

First, use 30g of water to evenly moisten the coffee bed 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 bed, then begin the third stage of 100g. Note to use small water flow throughout, and remove the filter after approximately 2 minutes and 10 seconds of dripping.

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Carnet Estate Musician Series Baha coffee pour-over flavor: Ripe fruits, dark berries, caramel cookies, dark chocolate aftertaste
FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mirasou Strawberry Sugar Geisha Blend pour-over flavor: Dried fruits, red floral notes, strawberry, grape, berries

The extraction methods for honey-processed coffee are not limited to pour-over. If you want a refreshing taste, FrontStreet Coffee also uses cold drip and cold brew methods for extraction. In low-temperature environments, the release of bitter substances in coffee is reduced. The cold drip coffee made by FrontStreet Coffee using FrontStreet Coffee's Mirasou Strawberry Sugar Geisha Blend presents raisin-like dried fruit sweetness, and after overnight settling and fermentation, it develops distinct fruit wine-like flavors, deeply loved by FrontStreet Coffee's customers.

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