Introduction to Honey Process Coffee Beans - How Much Mucilage is Needed for Sweetness in White Honey Processing

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to White Honey Processing

What is Honey Processing?

Honey processing, also known as Honey Process or Miel Process, produces what's called Honey Coffee. This doesn't mean that honey is coated on the coffee beans! The "honey" here refers to the mucilage layer of the coffee pulp. After harvesting, coffee cherries have their outer skin removed by a pulping machine, leaving the pulp to undergo sun-drying. This allows the sweetness of the pulp to penetrate the beans, yet it doesn't require as much time as the natural drying method, making it a currently popular processing method.

Honey processing is complex and very labor-intensive. If not properly controlled, the entire batch of beans can develop overripe fermented rotten flavors. However, when done well, the coffee beans have relatively higher sweetness. The advantage of honey processing is that it can reduce the acidity of the beans while providing more delicate aromas. However, this is the flavor profile achieved when honey processing is perfectly executed. If poorly executed, it will have undesirable acetic flavors, with spicy notes like onion or garlic.

Even when executed quite well, it will still carry some earthy flavors, with a less clean aftertaste, and impurities will be heavier than typical washed processing. Therefore, overall, using honey processing carries much higher risks than general wet processing methods. Taste differences between honey processing and washed processing: higher sweetness than washed, higher sugar content, and relatively higher body (under the same roast level comparison), allowing the coffee to retain the cleanliness of washed processing. Although the brightness of the coffee decreases, it gains sweetness and caramel flavors.

First, during the drying process, because the mucilaginous pulp layer is still on the coffee beans, they must be turned at high frequency during the initial days to avoid the beans clumping together. Therefore, more labor is required than general washed processing.

Second, if not dried quickly, it can easily over-ferment.

Third, if turning is insufficient or the overall environment is too humid, or if the mucilaginous pulp layer is left too thick, the coffee beans can easily mold. For this reason, some coffee estates use machines to control the thickness of the mucilaginous pulp layer left, allowing the coffee beans to dry faster and achieve better consistency in overall flavor profile.

Fourth, compared to washed processing, it requires larger space and the drying days are also longer.

According to different degrees of honey processing, honey processed coffee is divided into white honey processing, yellow honey processing, red honey processing, and black honey processing.

White honey: retains 20-30% of pectin; depending on drying thickness and turning frequency, the drying time is short.

Knowledge extension: Honey processing is a processing method between natural and washed processing. It allows coffee to retain the cleanliness of washed processing, and because it's dried together with pulp and pectin, it increases the coffee's sweetness and caramel sweetness.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research establishment, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to let more friends fall in love with coffee, and we have low-discount coffee activities three times every month. This is because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price, which has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past 6 years!

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