What are the three common coffee bean processing methods? Flavor characteristics of washed, natural, and honey processed coffee beans

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For those familiar with pour-over coffee, the terms washed process, natural process, and honey process are certainly not unfamiliar! Today, FrontStreet Coffee will use three Geisha coffee beans from Panama's Boquete region to explain in detail the differences between these three traditional coffee processing methods.

After being discovered in Ethiopian forests in 1931, Geisha coffee beans traveled through Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania before entering Panama in 1960. Initially, Geisha coffee beans remained relatively unknown in a small corner of Panama's coffee-growing regions due to their low yield. It wasn't until 2004 when the owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda discovered faint floral aromas hidden among the harvested coffee beans—truly captivating—that they traced this "underdog" Geisha variety, harvested it separately for competition, and overnight became famous, launching into the forefront of the specialty coffee market.

Basic Differences Between These Three Processing Methods

In simple terms (ignoring the time parameter):

Natural Process: The entire coffee cherry is dried (sun-dried) to approximately 12% moisture content, then hulled to extract the beans.

Washed Process: The pulp and mucilage are removed, leaving only the parchment coffee to be dried (sun-dried) to approximately 12% moisture content, then the parchment is removed to extract the beans.

Honey Process: The skin is removed while retaining some mucilage for drying (sun-drying) to approximately 12% moisture content, then hulled to extract the beans. (It's called "Honey Process" not because honey is added to process the coffee beans, but because after removing the skin, the sticky mucilage on the coffee bean surface resembles honey in texture and consistency, hence the name.)

Washed Process

First, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the operational steps of each of these three coffee processing methods. Let's start with the washed process. FrontStreet Coffee believes that washed process coffee has more pronounced acidity, better clarity, medium body, and the most consistent green bean quality. Among the three common processing methods, the washed process offers the highest stability and produces more acidic coffee. Washed processed green beans appear blue-green in color, with a silver skin line in the middle of roasted beans.

1. Cleaning/Collection/Flotation/Rinsing

After harvesting, coffee cherries are immediately sent for processing, typically within 6 to 12 hours of picking. The coffee cherries are first weighed, then soaked in water to select fruits that float due to insufficient quality.

2. Depulping

Next, the coffee cherries are sent through a depulper to remove the skin and pulp from the coffee fruit.

3. Fermentation/Demucilation

The depulped coffee cherries are placed in fermentation tanks or barrels for static fermentation for 18 to 36 hours, during which enzymes break down the mucilage in the coffee fruit.

4. Washing

The demucilaged coffee cherries in the tank are washed with an appropriate amount of water, during which the mucilage decomposition products on the bean surface are removed through agitation. After washing, only the coffee parchment, silver skin, and green beans remain.

5. Drying

The washed coffee beans are sorted to remove defective beans. They are then sent to drying areas (waterproof tarps, cement patios, raised beds, etc.) for drying. The drying time depends on environmental climate factors and typically ranges from 5 to 14 days. During this time, the moisture content of the coffee beans drops from 55% to 11%.

6. Storage

Once drying is complete, the coffee beans are called parchment coffee—green beans with the parchment layer still attached. The parchment coffee is sent to warehouses for storage and will only be hulled before export.

FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Estate Geisha Green Label

Region: Panama, Boquete

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Altitude: 1600-1800m

Variety: Geisha

Brewing Flavor: Rich jasmine floral aroma, high sweetness, citrus, berries, juicy, creamy, green tea, orange peel, cantaloupe, with overall rich flavor layers and lingering floral and citrus notes.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Record

Preheat roaster to 190°C, charge beans with heat at 150 and damper at 3; turning point at 1'36", when temperature reaches 140°C, open damper to 4 and reduce heat to 130; when temperature reaches 150.8°C, bean surface turns yellow and grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. When temperature reaches 166°C, adjust heat to 110; damper unchanged. At 7'55", at 176°C, adjust heat to 90; bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma明显转为咖啡香, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 8'30", first crack begins, open damper to 5, at 187°C adjust heat to 60; develop for 1'30 after first crack, discharge at 193.5°C.

Natural Process

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss the natural process. FrontStreet Coffee believes that compared to washed and honey processed coffee, natural processed coffee has the lowest acidity, highest sweetness, clearest body, but slightly lower clarity. In terms of flavor, it produces more berry-like notes and is more complex. Green beans have slight silver skin residue, appearing yellow-green, and roasted beans have no silver skin line in the middle.

1. Collection & Selection

After harvesting, coffee cherries undergo manual hand sorting to remove defective cherries, including overripe, underripe, insect-damaged ones, as well as foreign objects other than the fruit.

2. Drying

After sorting, coffee cherries are sent to drying areas for drying. Different regions may use different drying racks—some use waterproof tarps, some raised beds, some cement patios, etc. The drying time averages 3 to 4 weeks until the coffee moisture content drops to 11% to complete the drying process.

3. Hulling

After drying is complete, coffee cherries are sent to processing plants for hulling and even polishing. The skin, pulp, and other parts are all removed during this step.

4. Sorting & Storage

The hulled green coffee beans undergo another round of sorting to remove poor-quality beans. This reflects the quality of the coffee drying process—over-dried coffee beans are more fragile and may break into fragments during hulling; under-dried coffee beans have too much moisture, are overly active, and are prone to bacterial growth and mold. After sorting, they are sent to warehouses for storage until export.

FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Natural Horse Champion

Region: Ethiopia, Hambella

Station: Buku washing station

Process: Natural process

Altitude: 2250-2350 meters

Variety: Heirloom

Brewing Flavor: Berry juice sensation, camellia floral aroma, clean sugarcane sweetness, citrus sourness, black tea aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Record

Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame roaster, 300g batch. Preheat roaster to 170°C, charge beans with heat at 120 and damper at 3; turning point at 1'42", maintain heat; at 133°C, heat unchanged, open damper to 4. At 5'25", beans turn yellow, grassy aroma disappears, entering dehydration stage. At 166°C, reduce heat to 100, damper remains at 4. At 173°C, adjust heat to 60, damper unchanged. At 8'00", dehydration complete, bean surface shows wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma turns to coffee aroma, as prelude to first crack. At this point, pay attention to the first crack sound. At 8'52", first crack begins, fully open damper to 5, heat unchanged. Development time after first crack is 1'45", discharge at 193.2°C.

Honey Process

Finally, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss the honey process. Honey processed coffee beans have excellent flavor, with balanced acidity and sweetness. Like the natural process, because it undergoes sun drying, the coffee bean's inherent aroma is also amplified, with rich body. Honey processed green beans appear yellow, and roasted beans have明显的发酵味道.

The honey process officially emerged in Central and South American regions like Costa Rica and El Salvador. Its predecessor originated from Brazil's pulped natural process (also called semi-natural). At that time, Brazil generally adopted natural processing due to its terrain and water resources (dry climate). However, since most Brazilian farms are commercial plantations using mechanical harvesting, they then spread the coffee in patios for drying. The quality was inferior to African raised bed natural beans from the same period. To solve this problem, Brazil adopted the pulped natural method—removing the skin before sun drying—which both shortened drying days and解决了巴西日晒豆在广场上容易引发的发酵不当杂味, greatly improving the flavor of coffee beans.

The success of Brazil's pulped natural process caught the attention of Central American countries that traditionally used washed processing, like Costa Rica. When Costa Rica introduced Brazil's processing method, due to its different climate from Brazil (Costa Rica has more rainfall and shorter sunshine hours), they improved it by adjusting the amount of mucilage retained and drying time length, creating what became the honey process. This further differentiated into more specific categories: black honey, red honey, yellow honey, and white honey processing.

【Black Honey】 Almost no mucilage is removed, so drying takes the longest time, requiring more than 14 days continuously. During the process, to avoid drying too quickly, coverings are used to block too intense sunlight, allowing more thorough sugar conversion.

【Red Honey】 Retains 80% mucilage (specific practices vary among estates), with sun drying for about 12 days, during which shade nets may also be used.

【Yellow Honey】 Retains 40-60% mucilage, dried with maximum sunlight exposure for about 8 days.

【White Honey】 Retains 40-60% mucilage, spread thinner on drying beds for shorter drying time.

FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend

Region: Panama + Costa Rica

Process: Honey Process + Washed Process

Altitude: 1600-1650 meters

Variety: Geisha

Brewing Flavor: Aroma has fermented and floral notes, with citrus and lemon acidity at entry, creamy sweetness emerges in the middle, apple and green tea sensation in the finish, with sugarcane and honey aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Record

When FrontStreet Coffee received this Frontsteet honey processed Geisha coffee bean, opening the packaging revealed a light floral aroma and fresh apple scent, so we adopted medium-light roast to highlight the captivating aroma of this Frontsteet honey processed Geisha coffee bean and the sweetness brought by the honey process. Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame roaster, 300g batch. Preheat roaster to 170°C, charge beans with heat at 120 and damper at 3; turning point at 1'42", maintain heat; at 140°C, heat unchanged, open damper to 4. At 5'25", beans turn yellow, grassy aroma disappears, entering dehydration stage. At 166°C, reduce heat to 100, damper remains at 4. At 176°C, adjust heat to 80, damper unchanged. At 8'00", dehydration complete, bean surface shows wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma turns to coffee aroma, as prelude to first crack. At this point, pay attention to the first crack sound. At 8'37", first crack begins, fully open damper to 5, heat unchanged. Development time after first crack is 1'28", discharge at 190.5°C.

Important Notice :

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