Honey Process: Coffee Bean Mucilage and Proper Turning Techniques

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Honey Processing

Coffee Cherry Structure

1. Exocarp / Pulp

Two coffee seeds sit inside the outermost layer, the exocarp. Except for natural or fully sun-dried coffee, this outermost layer is removed within a few hours of harvesting. Since the fruit is edible, this layer can also be called the pulp, and in coffee production it is mostly treated as a byproduct.

2. Mucilage

Inside the exocarp, the mucilage wraps tightly around the fruit, a gelatinous substance surrounding the two seeds. Because it is rich in pectin and sugar, it is sometimes called "honey."

3. Endocarp

Beyond the mucilage lies another membrane protecting the two beans. Once sun-dried, the endocarp looks and feels much like parchment paper, which is why it is also called "parchment."

4. Silver Skin

One layer deeper than the endocarp is an even thinner membrane wrapping the seeds. It takes the name silver skin from its faint silver sheen, and it is removed during roasting.

5. Coffee Beans

Each fruit contains two coffee beans, except for peaberries, which hold only one. After drying and processing, the beans are ready to be roasted.

Honey Processing Method

Because the mucilage on the surface of a coffee bean is extremely sticky and high in sugar, people usually call it "honey." In honey processing, the coffee retains part or all of that "honey" while it dries. After picking, grading and depulping, the coffee fruits are placed on drying beds.

Because the mucilage dries quickly, the beans barely ferment during drying. Coffee made this way carries slightly more acidity than a natural washed method, but far less than fully washed or natural sun-dried coffee.

Yellow, Red and Black Honey: What's the Difference

Simply put, honey processing means treating coffee with the mucilage and endocarp that remain after the exocarp and pulp are removed. The key to telling the styles apart lies in how that remaining mucilage is handled.

Yellow Honey

Approximately 40% of the mucilage is removed. Drying calls for the most direct heat absorption and maximum sunlight, taking about 8 days to reach a stable moisture content. In general, drying time depends on the local climate, temperature and humidity.

Red Honey

Approximately 25% of the mucilage is removed. Compared with yellow honey, drying takes longer and direct sun exposure is reduced, sometimes with shade covers, running about 12 days.

Black Honey

Almost no mucilage is removed. Drying takes the longest - at least two weeks - and covers are used to keep the sun from drying the beans too fast, allowing a more complete conversion of sugars. Black honey green coffee is the most complex to produce and the most labor-intensive, which makes it the most expensive.

Did you know? The coffee bean is the fruit of the coffee tree, a perennial evergreen shrub or small tree belonging to the Rubiaceae family.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mission

In short, FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research center that is happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We hold nothing back, only so that more friends fall in love with coffee. Each month we hold three coffee promotions at deep discounts, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more people to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste black honey at its most expressive, try the FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Blackberry. It is made with a distinctive black honey process that removes almost none of the mucilage, so drying lasts at least two weeks under covers, with the beans turned at intervals to keep the heat even and avoid over-fermentation. Roasted medium-light, it grinds into an intense floral fragrance and brews into grape, berry and ripe blackberry notes.

If you prefer a fruitier, more layered cup, the FrontStreet Coffee Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend combines Panamanian Geisha with Costa Rican coffee. The Geisha supplies the classic orange-blossom and honeyed character, while the Costa Rican component is raisin honey processed with 100% mucilage retention and zero water. After harvest the cherries are floated to remove immature and overripe fruit, dried on raised beds for at least three days, then depulped with the mucilage kept intact. The result has Geisha's floral-tea lift alongside fresh grape and dried blueberry, soft fruit acidity, an almond finish and clear sweetness.

For something more floral and exotic, the FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart uses an innovative raisin honey method in which the whole cherries are pre-dried on raised beds for at least three days before the skin and pulp are removed and honey processing continues. It keeps 100% of the pectin and demands even stricter timing than black honey. Brewed as pour-over, cold brew or moka, Mozart delivers osmanthus, pineapple and raisin aromas.