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Are Natural Processed Yirgacheffe Beans Sweeter? Yirgacheffe Coffee Natural vs Washed: Sweet and Sweeter

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Washed vs Natural Comparison. There are many processing methods for coffee beans, with the most common being natural and washed processing. Natural Process: Simply put, coffee cherries with their pulp and skin completely intact are placed on raised beds for natural sun drying processing, which is precisely

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For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Washed vs Natural Comparison

There are many processing methods for coffee beans, with the most common being natural and washed processing.

Natural Processing

Simply put, coffee cherries with intact pulp and skin are placed on raised beds for sun drying. It is precisely this labor-intensive raised bed drying method that characterizes this approach.

Washed Processing

Machines are used to remove the skin and pulp, leaving only coffee beans wrapped in parchment, which are then processed.

Mouthfeel

Natural: Complex and diverse.

Washed: Clean. Because of its cleanliness, the wonderful fruit acidity of citrus and lemon comes through brightly, making it suitable for everyone to enjoy.

Flavor

Natural: Diverse in flavor, with the most prominent being red wine aroma, intense fruit fragrance, rich dried fruit notes, with strawberry, mango, and apricot jam aromas.

Washed: Single-focused flavor, with floral and lemon aromas.

Body

Natural: Beans have complete natural flavor, rich and full-bodied.

Washed: Clean and thin, more like drinking a cup of lemon tea.

Sweetness

Natural: Salty-sweet flavor with sauce-like richness.

Washed: Sweetness is not prominent.

Acidity

Natural: Leans toward sauce-like flavors, with lower acidity.

Washed: Has bright lemon acidity.

Yirgacheffe displays extremely complex aromas and showcases exceptionally refined mouthfeel that is difficult to describe.

We cannot absolutely say whether washed or natural is better—it depends on individual taste preferences to choose what suits them.

Personal recommendation: If you prefer clean mouthfeel and lean toward fruit acidity, choose washed Yirgacheffe.

If you enjoy sauce-like richness, value full-bodied mouthfeel, and prefer multi-layered complexity, choose natural Yirgacheffe.

Knowledge Point

Honey processing, also known as semi-washed processing, uses pulp removers to eliminate the skin and part of the pulp. The proportion of pulp retained determines the classification into black/red/yellow/white honey.

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