How to Properly Drink Washed Coffee: Taste Profiles of Washed and Natural Coffee Beans

Do You Pay Attention to Coffee Processing Methods When Buying Coffee?

If this is how you drink coffee, you probably don't yet know how to properly appreciate it. Next time, try ordering a specialty coffee and take note of its origin and processing method. Listen to the barista's explanation and savor the flavors carefully. If you know anything about coffee, you have certainly come across washed and natural processing—the two most common ways coffee beans are processed. The flavors they produce are poles apart: washed coffee tends to be acidic, while natural coffee tends to be sweet. Let's use scientific research to explain the difference between these two methods!

The Structure of a Coffee Cherry

Coffee beans are the seeds of coffee cherries. From the outside, coffee cherries look like undried jujubes. Because these small, bright red fruits resemble cherries, they are known abroad as coffee cherries.

Structurally, the coffee cherry, from outside to inside, generally consists of skin, pulp, a pectin layer, and the coffee beans. Different processing methods leave different structures on the beans, which naturally affects flavor.

Initially, after harvesting the coffee cherries, farmers first remove unripe fruit and then process the beans using different methods.

Natural Processing

If farmers judge that the weather allows it, they may adopt the natural process, spreading the selected coffee cherries directly across large patios to dry in the sun for 2 to 3 weeks. Once the cherries are dried, the outer husks are removed to obtain the coffee beans. These naturally processed beans retain their dried pulp and pectin layers, making the flavor richer and giving the cup a sweeter taste.

Washed Processing

In the washed method, the selected coffee cherries pass through a pulping machine that removes the skin and pulp, leaving beans that still carry the pectin layer. These are then fermented for 12 to 24 hours by symbiotic bacteria naturally present on the coffee, such as acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria. These strains digest the pectin layer on the outside of the beans and produce acids that penetrate into them, giving the coffee its acidic character. The subsequent washing step gives the method its name.

A 2001 study examined the fermentation changes in washed coffee beans. It found that the beans had a pH of about 5.7 before fermentation, which dropped to 3.8 after 20 hours of fermentation. Sugar content fell significantly while organic acid content rose substantially—clear evidence that washed coffee beans do contain more acidic substances, which pushes their flavor toward acidity.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Method

Both natural and washed processing have their strengths and drawbacks. Natural processing is simple—just dry the cherries in sunlight—but because it depends heavily on several consecutive weeks of strong sunshine, it is limited by weather conditions. If it rains for several days during that window, an entire batch of cherries can be ruined. That is why high-quality natural beans command high prices at green coffee auctions. Washed processing has its own limitation: it may not be feasible in countries with water scarcity or poor water quality.

FrontStreet Coffee's Selection

FrontStreet Coffee offers many washed-processed beans, such as [Jamaica Blue Mountain], [Kenya], and [Washed Yirgacheffe], among others. What sets them apart is that although Blue Mountain is washed, it is very balanced with a mellow mouthfeel, while [Kenya] and [Washed Yirgacheffe] show very bright acidity. FrontStreet Coffee therefore recommends brewing [Jamaica Blue Mountain] at 88°C for one minute and fifty seconds, while [Kenya] and [Washed Yirgacheffe] are brewed at 90-91°C for about two minutes and ten seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The washed process is a traditional method that uses water to process coffee cherries. The steps typically include floatation sorting, removing the pulp, soaking and fermenting to strip the mucilage, washing or continued soaking, then drying, hulling, and finally grading the green beans. Because washed beans sit in water for extended periods, chemical changes occur inside them: simple sugars (fructose and glucose) are heavily consumed, lowering the coffee's sugar content while increasing various organic acids. Washed coffee therefore tends to preserve more of the bean's intrinsic aroma while showing bright fruit acidity, cleanliness, and freshness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative coffee: Many people know Yirgacheffe, but fewer know that because local smallholder yields are so small, farmers send their cherries to cooperatives for unified processing and sale. FrontStreet Coffee's Guodingding Cooperative is an outstanding processing team from Guodingding village with skilled processing experience; its reputation grew from the exceptionally refined and clean flavors it produces. Thanks to the washed process, the Guodingding Cooperative lot shows jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity to the fullest. After a medium-light roast, the coffee reveals green tea and honey tones, and it suits pour-over, cold brew, and espresso alike.

FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Cherry Tomato coffee: When it comes to the washed process, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Cherry Tomato is among the most famous representatives, because Kenya excels at double-washed (double-fermented) processing of green beans—an additional washed stage layered onto the standard routine: floatation sorting, soaking the beans in water, washing away the mucilage clinging to the bean surface, soaking again, then drying, hulling, and storage. Through these repeated rinses and soakings, the coffee presents an intensely juicy quality, with rich aromas of cherry tomato, dried plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar. Its sweet-tart, juicy texture makes it a favorite among many coffee enthusiasts.

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 coffee: Jamaica, once one of the world's most famous coffee-producing countries, suffered from insufficient sunshine. The island's maritime climate means sunlight hours are shorter than in most other origins, so to reduce the risk of the beans spoiling, the washed process was born. The biggest difference between washed and natural processing is that washed coffee has its skin, pulp, and mucilage removed before drying, reducing the moisture wrapped around the bean, shortening drying time, and producing beans with a bright color and a low defect rate. The washed process guarantees Blue Mountain coffee's rich aroma, revealing the pure flavors of hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel when brewed, with a balanced cup in which no single flavor stands out or falls short.