Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Natural Processing Method: Process, Pros, Cons, and Flavor Characteristics

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Natural processed coffee beans are naturally dried inside the coffee cherry pulp, so weather conditions affect the quality of the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee uses natural coffee beans alongside two other traditional processing methods: washed and honey processing. FrontStreet Coffee believes that natural processed coffee beans amplify their inherent flavors, resulting in rich body, intense flavor profiles, and noticeable sweetness. Washed processed coffee features more prominent acidity, better clarity, medium mouthfeel, and the most consistent raw bean quality. Honey processed coffee beans offer superior flavor with balanced acidity and sweetness. Like natural processing, honey processing also involves sun-drying, which amplifies the coffee beans' natural aromas and creates a rich, full-bodied profile.

Natural Processing Steps

Collection/Selection → Drying → Hulling → Sorting & Grading → Storage

Collection & Selection: After harvesting, coffee cherries undergo manual hand selection to remove defective cherries, including overripe, underripe, insect-damaged ones, as well as foreign materials mixed with the cherries.

Drying: After selection, coffee cherries are transported to drying areas for sun-drying. Different regions may use various drying racks - some use waterproof tarps, others raised beds, and some concrete surfaces. The drying process averages 3 to 4 weeks until the coffee moisture content drops to 11%.

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

Sorting & Storage: After hulling, green coffee beans undergo another selection to remove beans with poor appearance. This reflects the quality of the drying process - over-dried coffee beans become brittle and may break into fragments during hulling, while under-dried beans contain excessive moisture, making them susceptible to bacterial growth and mold.

Advantages of Natural Processing

Besides using water to filter out inferior beans in the first step, natural processing requires no additional water and allows for water reuse. In regions with limited water resources, this method is simply fantastic!

Additionally, because naturally processed beans offer irreplaceable distinctive flavors, many excellent farms have begun taking natural processing seriously, such as using raised beds to prevent contamination and implementing careful selection. Today, we can find many high-quality natural coffee beans as a result.

Disadvantages of Natural Processing

Natural processing entirely depends on weather conditions, making it difficult to control the drying level of coffee cherries. If drying beds aren't clean, contaminants can easily mix in. During the natural drying process, the coffee pulp isn't removed, so mold and rot often occur. Therefore, in many people's perception, naturally processed coffee beans have poor quality control and lower grade ratings.

Flavor Profile of Natural Processed Coffee

Although natural coffee beans may have uneven appearance and significant color variation, because they mature naturally inside the cherry without external interference, they exhibit more intense flavors, with wine-like fermentation notes and noticeable sweetness. FrontStreet Coffee found that the most famous natural coffee beans come from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions. Although both originate from Ethiopia, their flavor profiles present different characteristics. FrontStreet Coffee brewed Yirgacheffe's Red Cherry and Ethiopia's "Hua Kui" to compare the flavor performances of these two coffees.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Altitude: 1700-2200m
Processing: Natural Process
Variety: Local Landraces

Ethiopia Natural Hua Kui Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella
Processing Station: Buku Able
Altitude: 2350m
Variety: Local Landraces
Processing: Natural Process

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips

To highlight the fermentation characteristics of natural processing, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster used medium-light roast for both coffee beans. For brewing medium-light roasted beans, we recommend 90-91°C water temperature. Higher water temperatures help extract aromatic compounds and acidity from light-roasted beans (tropical fruit aromas and tropical fruit acidity). Since medium-light roasted beans have harder density, increasing water temperature improves extraction efficiency and avoids sharp acidity. The V60 conical brewer features a wide opening and unique spiral ribs that allow air to escape more easily, thereby improving extraction quality. The mouthfeel might not be as full, but its high concentration of sweet-tart balance and distinct aroma are its major characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Brewer: V60
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% pass through #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique

First pour: Pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds. Then pour 95g (digital scale shows around 125g total), completing this pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (digital scale shows around 225g total), completing this pour in about 1 minute 35 seconds. The drip finishes at 2 minutes 4 seconds. Remove the brewer to complete extraction.

Tasting Notes

Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry: Delicate fermented wine aroma, citrus notes, honey-like sweetness, cocoa flavors, with persistent aftertaste.

Natural Hua Kui: Citrus acidity, full-bodied blackcurrant juice sensation, lemon black tea character, with lasting sweetness.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473