Coffee Bean Processing Methods: Understanding Natural Processing and Its Characteristics

Natural Process: The Original Coffee Processing Method

The natural process can be described as the most ancient method of coffee bean processing.

After coffee cherries are picked one by one from heavily laden coffee trees, they are all spread out evenly on the ground, waiting for the sunlight to dry the moisture from the skin and pulp of the fruit. Once dried, the processing is complete.

Anatomy of a Coffee Cherry

The structure of a coffee cherry, from the outside in, consists of the exocarp (outer skin), mesocarp (pulp), mucilage layer, endocarp (parchment), silver skin, and the coffee embryo (bean). That is why coffee beans must go through various processing methods before becoming green beans ready for export.

Characteristics of the Natural Process

The natural process places whole coffee cherries directly under the sun. Once the moisture content of the beans drops below a certain level, machines remove everything from exocarp to endocarp in one pass. The advantage is a richer flavor; the disadvantages include more defective beans and the need for larger space.

The Reward of Natural Processing

The effort of natural processing is not wasted. In high-quality natural beans, the sugar of fully ripe fruit is gradually concentrated into the bean by the sun, producing intense fruit aroma, rich body, high sweetness, and gentler acidity than washed coffee. The special fermentation character of natural coffee makes many people fall in love with it after just a few tastes.

Example: FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Yirgacheffe

Take FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Yirgacheffe [Berry Orchard]: the natural process gives this coffee an intense fermented berry aroma, making it sweet and fruity on the palate - closer to a glass of fruit wine than to coffee.

Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing parameters:

V60/90°C/1:15/Time 1'50"

Flavor: Fermented berries, strawberry, strawberry jam, cream

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this natural style appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Red Cherry is the benchmark natural Yirgacheffe: only fully red-ripe, defect-free cherries are picked, sorted again at the mill, and sun-dried on raised beds for three to five weeks, turned every 2-3 hours during the first days to prevent uneven fermentation. Because the beans dry inside the cherry, the cup keeps classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit - citrus acidity, berry juiciness, honeyed sweetness, and creamy smoothness.

For a washed contrast, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe house coffee and the Guodingding cooperative lot offer white jasmine florals with bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like finish - the clean, bright counterpart to a natural's wild fruitiness. Brewing either at 90-91 degrees with a 1:15 ratio in a V60 brings out the best of both styles.