The Status of Sun-Dried Coffee Beans in Specialty Coffee - Flavor Profile and Pricing of Sun-Dried Coffee

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Reasons Why Natural Process Coffee Beans Are a Major Player in the Future of Specialty Coffee:

The natural processing method saves water resources.

Natural process beans offer abundant flavors.

What is Natural Process Coffee?

For those unfamiliar with natural process coffee, please don't feel inadequate. For those who understand natural process coffee, please don't be conceited. The main issue is that there are too many terms describing natural processing in today's coffee market, which confuses us. "Pulped Natural," "Honey Coffee," "Dry-Milled," and "Semi-washed" are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to green bean processing methods. Furthermore, the author has found that current coffee professionals often mix up these concepts and use them inaccurately.

In summary, "Natural Coffee," which is natural process coffee, refers to coffee cherries that are sun-dried, either with or without removing the pulp (skin). In contrast, the washed method uses water to peel coffee cherries, ferment them, remove mucilage, and complete a series of processes to create green coffee beans. Therefore, there is a significant difference between natural and washed processing.

Natural Process Saves More Water Than Washed Processing

One of the best reasons the author loves natural process coffee is that it requires very little water. The washed method uses at least 10 kilograms of water per kilogram of green beans, while natural processing uses at most 1 kilogram of water per kilogram. You can imagine the disaster this would be for Earth's water resources if all green bean processing plants used the washed method.

Considering that 85% of green bean processing plants worldwide still face water shortages but must use the washed method to process green beans, yet lack advanced scientific and technological support, and few coffee buyers and roasters are willing to help farmers fund equipment upgrades. This is one of the reasons the author prefers the natural method.

The Debate Still Continues Today

There are many opinions about natural processing methods for green beans, and reaching a final conclusion is not simple. Washed or not washed? Natural or not natural? If you delve deeper, you'll find many "gray areas."

Geoff Watts, founder of Intelligentsia Coffee, elaborated excellently on this debate in his official blog, but the article has since been taken down. His main point was: "As a specialty coffee industry, natural processing may not be what we should promote at our current stage."

The author believes that the biggest issue between natural and washed processing lies in the consistency of green bean quality. Due to various environmental factors, natural process beans cannot maintain "consistent quality." Geoff Watts said this because he didn't want coffee farmers to suffer in dire straits just to satisfy "coffee enthusiasts," ignoring the farmers' risks, allowing them to be consumed by the fickle market characteristics of specialty coffee.

Different viewpoints stand on different angles. Those enthusiasts who promote natural processing are like stubborn nouveaux riches wearing fur coats, disregarding the life and death of coffee farmers. However, water scarcity has become a fatal problem in coffee-producing countries, and natural processing offers an excellent solution. Therefore, each side has its own valid reasoning.

The Flavor of Natural Process Coffee Beans is Truly Excellent

At a symposium held in 2015, Dr. Flavio Borem delivered an excellent presentation on natural processing, pointing out that when done properly, natural process coffee is truly delicious.

In the market, natural process coffee is actually not that rare, but only a few cuppers and buyers evaluate it. Below are some professional insights on natural process coffee:

Ryan Ahn from Gastrograph: "Natural process coffee has excellent fruit perception, rounded body, balanced and harmonious, highlighting subtle differences in origin and variety, enjoyable to appreciate, full of flavor."

Kenneth Davids from Coffee Review: "Brandy fruit fermentation flavors, sweet and sour berry notes, dark chocolate flavors, quieter mouthfeel, full of fruitiness."

Kenneth Davids from Coffee Review: "Sweet and spicy, already possessing all the characteristics of washed coffee, but rich in chocolate flavor, the mystery of honey processing lies in its sweetness."

Conclusion

Looking at the current development of the specialty coffee industry, natural process coffee should have a future. Downstream coffee industry players should provide economic and technical support to source processing plants, systematically improve natural processing procedures, and launch better-tasting, more balanced natural process coffees.

Natural Process Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's fresh-roasted single-origin natural process coffee beans - such as Natural Yirgacheffe and Natural Sidamo coffee - offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality, suitable for brewing with various equipment. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227-gram) bag costs only around 70-90 yuan. Calculating with 200ml per cup of single-origin coffee at a 1:15 powder-to-water ratio, one bag can make 15 cups of specialty coffee, with each cup costing only about 5-6 yuan. This represents extremely high value compared to coffee shops selling single cups for dozens of yuan.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473